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• 

NICHOL'S  SERIES  OF  STANDARD  DIVINES. 


PURITAN  PERIOD. 


ttjr  deroral  Wxtfact 


BY  JOHN  C.  MILLER,  D.D., 

LINCOLN  OOLLEOB  ;  HONORARY  CANON  OF  WORCESTER  ;   RECTOR  OF  ST  MARTIN'S,  BIRMINGHAM. 


THE 


WORKS  OF  THOMAS  BEOOKS. 

VOL.   I. 


COUNCIL  OF  PUBLICATION. 


W.  LINDSAY  ALEXANDER,  D.D.,  Professor  of  Theology.  Congregational 
Union,  Edinburgh. 

JAMES  BEGG,  D.D.,  Minister  of  Newington  Free  Church,  Edinburgh. 

THOMAS  J.  CRAWFORD,  D.D.,  S.T.P.,  Professor  of  Divinity,  University, 
Edinburgh. 

D.  T.  K.  DRUMMOND,  M.A.,  Minister  of  St  Thomas's  Episcopal  Church, 
Edinburgh. 

WILLIAM  H.  GOOLD,  D.D.,  Professor  of  Biblical  Literature  and  Church 
History,  Reformed  Presbyterian  Church,  Edinburgh. 

ANDREW  THOMSON,  D.D.,  Minister  of  Broughton  Place  United  Presby- 
terian Church,  Edinburgh. 

<5mrral  ©Oitor. 
REV.  THOMAS  SMITH.  M.A..  Edinburgh. 


THE  COMPLETE  WORKS 


THOMAS    BROOKS. 


(Sftitefc,  fcuitlj  gUirarir, 

BY  THE  REV.  ALEXANDER  BALLOCH  GROSART, 

LIVERPOOL. 


VOL.   I. 

CONTAINING  : 

PRECIOUS  REMEDIES  AGAINST  SATAN'S  DEVICES APPLES  OF  GOLD  FOR 

YOUNG  MEN  AND  WOMEN THE  MUTE  CHRISTIAN  UNDER  THE 

SMARTING  ROD A  STRING  OF  PEARLS. 


EDINBURGH  :  JAMES  NICHOL. 

LONDON :   JAMES  NISBET  AND   CO.     DUBLIN :    G.  HERBERT. 


M.DCCJ.LXVI. 


FDINKVHGM  : 

I'RINTEP  BT  JOHN   ORRIS    ANI1  80V, 

OLP  PRT8TC  GARPKNS. 


CONTENTS. 


I.  The  Preface, 

II.  Memoir  of  Brooks, 
Appendix  to  Memoir, 


PAKfi 

xv— six 


.    XX-XXXY11 

xxxviii-lxxxii 


III.  Precious  Remedies  against  Satan's  Devices,              .              .  1 

Epistle  Dedicatory,       ......  8-7 

A  Word  to  the  Reader,              .             .             .              .             .  8,  9 

A  Table  shewing  the  principal  things  in  this  Treatise : — 

The  words  opened,  and  the  point  proved,  from              .              .  1U-12 

I.  In  the  next  place  is  shewed,  The  several  devices  that  Satan 
hath  to  draw  souls  to  sin  : — 

Satan's  first  device  to  draw  the  soul  to  sin  is,  To  present  the 
bait,  and  hide  the  hook.  Four  remedies  against  this 
device,  from      ......       12-16 

His  second  device  to  draw  the  soul  to  sin  is,  By  painting 
sin  with  virtue's  colours.  Four  remedies  against  this 
device,  from      .  .  ...  .  .       16-18 

The  third  device  that  Satan  hath  to  draw  the  soul  to  sin  is, 
By  extenuating  and  lessening  of  sin.  Seven  remedies 
against  this  device  of  Satan,  from  .  .  19-28 

The  fourth  device  that  Satan  hath  to  draw  the  soul  to  sin 
is,  By  presenting  to  the  soul  the  best  men's  sins,  and  bi/ 
hiding  from  the  soul  their  virtues.  Four  remedies  against 
this  device  of  Satan,  from  ....       2-1-27 

The  fifth  device  that  Satan  hath  to  draw  the  soul  to  sin  is, 
By  presenting  God  to  the  soul  as  one  made  up  all  of  mercy. 
Five  remedies  against  this  device,  from  .  .       27-81 

The  sixth  device  that  Satan  hath  to  draw  the  soul  to  sin  is, 
By  persuading  the  soul  that  the  work  of  repentance  is  an 
easy  work.     Six  remedies  against  this  device,  from  .       81-88 


CONTENTS. 


The  seventh  device  that  Satan  hath  to  draw  the  soul  to  sin 
is,  By  making  the  soul  bold  to  venture  upon  the  occasions 
of  sin.     Four  remedies  against  this  device,  from  .       38-41 

The  eighth  device  that  Satan  hath  to  draw  the  soul  to  sin  is, 
By  present ing  to  the  soul  the  outward  mercies  thai  vain  men 
enjoy,  and  the  outward  miseries  that  they  are  freed  from, 
wliilst  they  have  walked  in  the  ways  of  sin.  Eight  remedies 
against  this  device,  from  ....       41-47 

The  ninth  device  that  Satan  hath  to  draw  the  soul  to  sin  is, 
By  presenting  to  the  soul  the  crosses,  the  losses,  reproaches, 
sorrows,  and  sufferings  that  daily  attend  those  that  walk  in 
the  icays  of  holiness.  Seven  remedies  against  this  device, 
from  ...  ...       47-54 

The  tenth  device  that  Satan  hath  to  draw  the  souls  of  men 
to  sin  is,  By  working  them  to  be  frequently  in  comparing 
themselves  and  their  ways  with  those  that  are  reputed  to  be 
worse  than  themselves.  Three  remedies  against  this  de- 
vice, from  ......       54-56 

The  eleventh  device  that  Satan  hath  to  draw  the  soul  to  sin 
is,  By  polluting  and  defiling  the  souls  and  judgments  of  men 
with  such  dangerous  errors,  that  do  in  their  proper  tendency 
tend  to  carry  the  souls  of  men  to  all  looseness  and  wicked- 
ness.    Seven  remedies  against  this  device,  from  .       56-61 

The  twelfth  device  that  Satan  hath  to  draw  the  soul  to  sin 
is,  To  work  it  to  affect  wicked  company.  Four  remedies 
against  this  device,  from  ....       61-62 

II.  Secondly,  As  Satan  hath  his  several  devices  to  draw  souls 
to  sin,  so  he  hath  his  several  devices  to  keep  souls  from  holy 
duties,  to  keep  them  off  from  religious  services,  and  they 
are  these  that  follow  : — 

The  first  device  that  Satan  hath  to  draw  souls  from  holy 
duties,  and  to  keep  them  off  from  religious  services,  is,  By 
presenting  the  world  in  such  a  dress,  and  in  such  a  garb  to 
the  soul,  as  to  ensnare  the  soul,  and  to  win  upon  the  affec- 
tions of  the  soul.  He  presents  the  world  to  them  in  its 
beauty  and  bravery,  which  proves  a  bewitching  sight  to  a 
world  of  men.     Eight  remedies  against  his  device,  from         68-70 

The  second  device  that  Satan  hath  to  draw  souls  from  the 
ordinances  or  holy  duties  is,  By  presenting  to  them  the 
dangers,  the  losses,  and  the  sufferings  that  do  attend  the  per- 
formances of  such  and  such  religious  services.  Five  remedies 
against  this  device,  from  ....       70-74 

The  third  device  that  Satan  hath  to  draw  souls  from  holy 
duties,  and  to  keep  them  off  from  religious  services,  is, 
By  presenting  to  the  soul  the  difficulty  of  performing  them. 
Five  remedies  against  this  device,  from  .  .       74-77 

The  fourth  device  that  Satan  hath  to  draw  the  soul  off  from 
holy  exercises,  from  religious  exercise,  is,  By  working  them 
to  make  false  inferences  from  those  blessed  and.  glorious 
things  that  Christ  hath  done.  Five  remedies  against  this 
device,  from      ......       77-81 

The  fifth  device  that  Satan  hath  to  draw  souls  off  from 
religious  services,  and  to  keep  souls  off  from  holy  and 


CONTENTS. 


heavenly  performances,  is,  By  presenting  to  them  the  paucity 
and  poverty  of  those  that  walk  in  the  ways  of  God.  Six 
remedies  against  this  device,  from  .  .  .       81-84 

The  sixth  device  that  Satan  hath  to  keep  souls  off  from 
religious  services  is,  By  presenting  before  them  the  examples 
of  the  greatest  part  of  the  world,  that  walk  in  the  ways  of 
their  own  hearts,  and  that  make  light  and  slight  of  the  ways 
of  God.     Three  remedies  against  this  device,  from  .        84-86 

The  seventh  device  that  Satan  hath  to  keep  souls  from  holy 
and  heavenly  services  is,  By  casting  in  a  multitude  of 
vain  thoughts,  whilst  the  soul  is  in  waiting  on  God.  Seven 
remedies  against  this  device,  from  .  .  86— 8i) 

The  eighth  device  of  Satan  to  keep  souls  from  holy  and 
heavenly  services  is,  Bg  working  them  to  rest  in  their  holy 
performances.     Four  remedies  against  this  device,  from  .       89-91 

III.  In  the  third  place  is  shewed  the  several  devices  Satan  hath 
to  keep  souls  in  a  sad,  doubting,  and  questioning  condition ; 
and  they  are  these  that  follow  : — 

The  first  device  that  Satan  hath  to  keep  .  souls  in  a  sad, 
doubting,  and  questioning  condition  is,  By  causing  them 
to  pore  more,  and  mind  more  their  sins  than  their  Saviour. 
Six  remedies  against  this  device,  from     .  .  .       91-94 

The  second  device  that  Satan  hath  to  keep  souls  in  a  sad, 
doubting,  and  questioning  condition  is,  By  working  them 
to  make  false  definitions  of  their  graces.  Four  remedies 
against  this  device,  from  ....       95-97 

The  third  device  that  Satan  hath  to  keep  souls  in  a  sad, 
doubting,  and  questioning  condition  is,  By  working  the 
sold  to  make  inferences  from,  the  cross  actings  of  providence. 
Four  remedies  against  this  device,  from  .  .       97-99 

The  fourth  device  that  Satan  hath  to  keep  poor  souls  in  a 
sad,  doubting,  and  questioning  condition  is,  By  suggesting 
that  their  graces  are  not  true,  but  counterfeit.  Two  remedies 
against  this,  and  in  the  handling  of  these  two  remedies, 
ten  differences  are  shewed  between  renewing  grace  and 
restraining  grace,  betwixt  sanctifying  grace  and  tem- 
porary grace,  from        .....     99-104 

The  fifth  device  that  Satan  hath  to  keep  souls  in  a  sad, 
doubting,  and  questioning  condition  is,  By  suggesting  to 
them  that  that  conflict  that  is  in  them,  is  not  a  conflict  that 
is  only  in  saints,  but  such  a  conflict  that  is  to  be  found  in 
the  hearts  of  hypocrites  and  profane  souls.  Six  remedies 
against  this  device,  from  ....  104-107 

The  sixth  device  that  Satan  hath  to  keep  poor  souls  in  a 
sad,  doubting,  and  questioning  condition  is,  By  suggesting 
to  the  soul,  that  certainly  the  soul  is  not  good,  because  the 
soul  cannot  joy  and  rejoice  in  Christ,  as  once  it  could. 
Five  remedies  against  this  device,  from  .  .  .  107-110 

The  seventh  device  that  Satan  hath  to  keep  poor  souls  in  a 
sad,  doubting,  and  questioning  condition  is,  By  suggesting 
to  the  soul  its  often  relapses  into  the  same  sin,  which  for- 
merly he  hath  pursued  with  particular  sorrow,  grief,  shame, 


CONTENTS. 


and  tears,  and  prayed  and  resolved  against.     Six  remedies 
against  this  device,  from  ....   110-113 

The  eighth  device  that  Satan  hath  to  keep  poor  souls  in  a 
sad,  doubting,  and  questioning  condition  is,  By  persuad- 
ing them  that  their  estates  is  not  [food,  their  hearts  are  not 
upright,  their  //races  are  not  sound,  because  they  are  so 
followed,  vexed,  and  tormented  with  temptations.  Several 
remedies  against  this  device,  from  .  .  .   113-117 

IV.  In  the  fourth  place  is  shewed  the  several  ways  and  devices 
that  Satan  hath  to  destroy  all  sorts  and  ranks  of  men  in  the 
world : — 
First,  He  hath  his  devices  to  destroy  the  great  and  honourable 
of  the  earth ;  and  that, 

First,  By  working  them  to  make  it  their  business  to  seek  how 
to  greaten  themselves,  to  enrich  themselves,  to  secure  them- 
selves.    Six  remedies  against  this  device,  from    .  .   117-122 

The  second  grand  device  that  Satan  hath  to  destroy  the 
great  and  honourable  of  the  earth  is,  By  engaging  them 
against  the  people  of  the  Most  High.  Four  remedies  against 
this  device,  from  .....  122-125 

Secondly,  Satan  hath  his  devices  to  destroy  the  learned  and 
the  wise,  and  that  sometimes,  By  working  them  to  pride 
themselves  in  their  parts  and  abilities,  and  to  rest  upon,  and 
make  light  and  slight  of  those  that  want  their  parts  and 
abilities,  though  they  excel  them  in  grace  and  holiness. 
Four  remedies  against  this  device,  from  .  .   125-128 

Thirdly,  Satan  hath  his  devices  to  ensnare  and  destroy  the 
saints,  and  that,  By  working  them  first  to  be  strange,  and 
then  to  be  bitter  and  jealous,  and  then  to  divide.  Twelve 
remedies  against  this  device,  from  .  .  .   128-136 

Fourthly,  Satan  hath  his  devices  to  destroy  poor  ignorant 
souls,  and  that  sometimes,  By  drawing  them  to  affect 
ignorance,  and  to  neglect,  slight,  and  despise  the  means  of 
knowledge.     Four  remedies  against  this  device,  from        .   136-138 

An  appendix  touching  five  more  several  devices  that  Satan 
hath  to  keep  poor  souls  from  believing  in  Christ,   from  re- 
ceiving,  from  embracing,  from  resting,  leaning,  or  relying 
upon  Christ  for  everlasting  happiness  and  blessedness  accord- 
ing to  the  gospel.     And  remedies  against  those  devices, 
from    .......  139-14!) 

Seven  characters  of  false  teachers  by  whom  Satan  labours  to 

delude  poor  souls,  from  ....  149-152 

To  prevent  some  objections,  six  propositions  or  conclusions 

concerning  Satan  and  his  devices  are  laid  down,  from      .   153-154 
Five  reasons  of  the  point  are  laid  down,  from         .  .  156,  157 

Lastly,  several  sweet  and  profitable  uses  of  the  point,  from    157-164 
The  Stationer  to  the  Reader,  ....  165 

True  Copy  of  a  Letter,      .....  165,  166 


CONTENTS.  IX 

PAGE 

IV.  Apples  of  Gold,         ......  167 

Epistle  Dedicatory,      ......  169-174 

The  explication  of  the  words,  from        .  .  .  .  175-178 

Chaptee  I. 

Doct.  That  is  a  very  desirable  and  commendable  thing  for  young  men  to 

be  really  good  betimes  ;  this  truth  proved,    ....  178 

Twelve  reasons  of  this  point : 

1.  Because  he  commands  it,  whose  commands  are  not  to  be  dis- 

puted, but  obeyed,  from     .....  178-179 

2.  Because  they  have   means  and  opportunities  of  being  good 

betimes,  from        ......  179-180 

3.  Because  then  they  will  have  fewer  sins  to  answer  for,  and 

repent  of,  from      ......  180-181 

4.  Because  time  is  a  precious  talent  that  young  men  must  be 

accountable  for,  from         .....  181—182 

5.  Because  then  they  will  have  the  greater  comfort  and  joy  when 

they  come  to  be  old,  from  .....  182-188 

6.  Because  an  eternity  of  felicity  and  glory  hangs  upon  those 

few  moments  that  are  allotted  to  them,  from  .  .  183-184 

7.  Because  they  do  not  begin  to  live  till  they  begin  to  be  really 

good,  from  ......  184-185 

8.  Because  the  promise  of  finding  G-od,  of  enjoying  God,  is  made 

over  to  an  early  seeking  of  God,  &c,  from  .  .  185-187 

9.  Because  the  time  of  youth  is  the  choicest  and  fittest  time  for 

service,  from         ......   187-188 

10.  Because  death  may  suddenly  and  unexpectedly  seize  on  youth, 

youth  being  as  fickle  as  old  age,  from         .  .  .  188-190 

11.  Because  it  is  ten  to  one,  nay,  a  hundred  to  ten,  if  ever  they 

are  converted,  if  they  are  not  converted   when  they  are 

young,  from  ......   190-191 

12.  Because  else  they  will  never  attain  to  the  honour  of  being  an 

old  disciple,  from  .....  190-191 

Chapter  II. 

The  honour  of  an  old.  disciple,  shewed  in  seven  particulars  : 

1.  All  men  will  honour  an  old  disciple,  from      .  .  .  191-192 

2.  God  usually  reveals  himself  most  to   old   disciples,  to   old 

saints,  from  ......  192-193 

3.  An  old  Christian,  an  old  disciple,  hath  got  the  art  of  serving 

God,         .......  193 

4.  An  old  disciple,  an  old  Christian,  is  rich  in  spiritual  experi- 

ences, from  ......   193-194 

5.  An  old  disciple  is  firm  and  fixed  in  his  resolutions,  from        .   194-195 

6.  An  old  disciple  is  prepared  for  death,  from   .  .  .  195-196 

7.  An  old  disciple  shall  have  a  great  reward  in  heaven,  from      .  196-198 
Use  of  reproof,  from     ......  198-199 

Chapter  III. 

The  several  evils  that  most  properly  attend  youth,  as, 

1.  Pride,  from  ......  199-200 

2.  Sensual  pleasures  and  delights,  from  .  .  .  200-202 


X  CONTENTS. 

TAGE 

8.  Rashness,  from        ......  202-203 

4.  Mocking  and  scoffing  at  religions  men,  and  religious  things, 

from  .......  208 

5.  Wantonness,  ......  203-204 

Chapter  IV. 

Use  of  Exhortation  to  exhort  young  persons  to  be  good  betimes,  and  mo- 
tive* moving  thereunto,  as, 

1.  It  is  a  high  honour  to  be  good  betimes,  from  .  .  204-206 

2.  Christ  gave  himself  for  sinners  when  he  was  in  the  primrose 

of  his  age,  from     ......  206-207 

3.  It  is  the  best  way  in  the  world  to  be  rich  in  spiritual  expe- 

riences, from         .  .  .  .  .  .  207-208 

4.  The  present  time  is  the  only  time  that  you  are  sure  of,  from  .  208-211 

5.  It  is  just  with  God  to  reserve  the  dregs  of  his  wrath  for  them, 

who  reserve  the  dregs  of  their  days  for  him,  from  .  211 

6.  The  sooner  you  are  good  on  earth,  the  greater  will  be  your 

reward  in  heaven,  from     .....  211-214 

7.  The  Lord  is  very  much  affected  and  taken  with  your  seeking 

of  him,  and  following  after  him  in  the  spring  and  morning 

of  your  youth,  from       ...  .  .  214-215 

8.  It  will  prevent  many  sad  and  black  temptations,  from  .  215-216 

9.  Consider  the  worth  and  excellency  of  souls,  from       .              .  216-217 
10.  God  will  at  last  bring  young  men  to  a  reckoning,  from           .  217-220 

Chapter  V. 

Quest.  Whether  in  the  great  dag  of  account,  the  sins  of  saints  shall  be 
brought  into  the  judgment  of  discussion  and  discovery,  or  no  ?  The 
negative  proved  bg  divers  arguments,  from   ....  220-224 

Chapter  VI. 

Directions  to  such  as  ivould  be  good  betimes,  as  would  know  and  love, 
seek  and  serve  the  Lord  in  the  primrose  of  their  days  ;  as, 

1.  Take  heed  of  putting  the  day  of  death  afar  off,  from  .  224-226 

2.  If  you  would  be  good  betimes,  take  heed  of  leaning  to  your 

own  understanding,  from  .....  226-227 

3.  If  you  would  be  good  betimes,  take  heed  of  flatterers  and 

fkttery,  from         ......  227-230 

4.  If  you  would  seek  the  Lord  in  the  spring  and  morning  of  your 

days,  then  take  heed  of  engaged  affections  to  the  things  of 

the  world,  from     ......   230-231 

5.  If  you  would  be  good  betimes,  then  you  must  take  heed  be- 

times of  carnal  reason,  &c,  from  ....  232 

6.  Take  heed  of  comparing  yourselves  with  those  that  are  worse 

than  yourselves,  from        .....  233-284 

Chapter  VII. 

Secondly,  As  those  six  things  must  be  declined,  so  several  other  things 
must  be  practised,  if  you  would  be  good  betimes  ;  as, 

1.  If  you  would  be  good  betimes,  then  you  must  labour  to  be 
acquainted  with  four  things  betimes,  as, 


CONTENTS. 


[1.]  You  must  labour  to  acquaint  yourselves  with  the  Scripture 

betimes,  from   ......  235-238 

You  must  acquaint  yourselves  with  yourselves  betimes,  from  238-240 

If  you  would  be  good  betimes,  then  you  must  acquaint  your- 
selves with  Jesus  Christ  betimes,  from  .  .  .  240 
Now  tbere  are  six  things  which  you  should  be  thoroughly 

acquainted  with  concerning  Jesus  Christ.     As, 

If  you  would  be  good  betimes,  then  you  must  know  that 
there  is  every  thing  in  Christ,  that  may  encourage  you 
to  seek  him,  and  serve  him,  from  .  .  .  240-241 

If  you  would  be  good  betimes,  then  you  must  know  be- 
times, that  Jesus  Christ  is  mighty  to  save,  from  .  241-242 

Then  you  must  know  betimes,  that  there  is  a  marvellous 
readiness  and  willingness  in  Christ  to  embrace  and  enter- 
tain returning  sinners,  &c,  from  .  .  .  242-243 

If  you  would  be  good  betimes,  then  you  must  know  betimes 
that  Jesus  Christ  is  designed,  sealed,  and  appointed  by 
the  Father  to  the  office  of  a  mediator,  from         .  .  243-244 

If  you  would  be  good  betimes,  then  you  must  know  betimes 
that  there  is  no  way  to  salvation  but  by  Jesus  Christ, 
from     .......  244-245 

If  you  would  be  good  betimes,  then  you  must  know  betimes 
that  the  heart  of  Jesus  Christ  is  as  much  set  upon  sin- 
ners, now  he  is  in  heaven,  as  ever  it  was  when  he  was  on 
earth,  from        ......  245-246 

If  you  would  be  good  betimes,  then, 

You  must  acquaint  yourselves  with  those  that  are  good  be- 
times, from        .....  .  246-248 

If  you  would  be  good  betimes,  then  you  must  shun  the  oc- 
casion of  sin  betimes,  from        ....  248-250 

If  you  would  be  good  betimes,  then  you  must  remember  the 

eye  of  God  betimes,  from  ....  250-251 

If  you  would  be  good  betimes,  then  you  must  hearken  to 

the  voice  of  conscience  betimes,  from      .  .  .  251-252 

If  you  would  be  good  betimes,  then  you  must  know  wherein 

true  happiness  lies  betimes,  from  .  .  .  252-253 

Lastly,  If  you  would  be  good  betimes,  then  you  must  break 
your  covenant  with  sin  betimes.  Now  to  work  you  to  that, 
you  must  always  look  upon  sin  under  these  six  notions : 

You  must  look  upon  sin  under  the  notion  of  an  enemy,  from  253-254 

Under  the  notion  of  bonds,  &c,  from  .  .  .  254-255 

Under  the  notion  of  fire  ;  six  resemblances  between  sin  and 

fire,  from  ......  255-258 

Under  the  notion  of  a  thief,  &c,  from        .  .  .  258-259 

Under  the  notion  of  a  burden,  &c,  from     .  .  .  259-260 

Under  the  notion  of  a  tyrant,  &c,  from     .  .  .  260-261 


Chapter  VIII. 

1  Obj.  It  may  be  time  enough  hereafter  to  seek  and  serve  the 

Lord,  dc. 
This  objection  answered  four  ways,  from        .  .  .  261-262 

2  Obj.  If  1  should  seek  and  serve  the  Lord  in  the  spring  and 


xl1  CONTENTS. 

PAGX 

morning  of  my  days,  I  should  lose  the  love  and  favour  of  such 
and  such  friends  and  relations. 
Four  answers  to  this  objection,  &c,  from       .  .  .  262  264 

3  Ob j.   I  shall  meet  with  many  reproaches. 

Eight  answers  to  this  objection,  from  .  .  .  264-269 

4  Obj.   Most  men  give  liberty  to  themselves,  and  walk  in  ways  more 

'pleasing  to  t lie  flesh. 
This  objection  answered  five  ways,  from         .  .  .  269  273 

5  Obj.  The  last  I  shall  mention  is,  That  God  is  a  God  of  mercy  ; 

in  hi  in  are  bowels  of  mercy,  yea,  a  sea,  an  ocean  of  mercy;  he 
delights  in  mercy,  dc. 
Five  answers  to  this  objection,  from  .  .  .  273-275 

Chapter  IX. 
Lastly,  The  Old  Man's  Doubts  resolved,  in  eight  several  Answers,  from  275-278 

Appendix. 
Title-page  of  1st  Edition,  .  279 

Epistle  Dedicatory  of  ditto,       .....  280-284 


The  Mute  Christian  under  the  Smarting  Rod,  .  .•  285 

Epistle  Dedicatory,       ......  287-293 

A  Table  shewing  the  Principal  Things  in  this  Treatise  : — 

The  words  opened  and  the  doctrine  raised,  viz.,  That  it  is  the 
great  duty  and  concernment  of  gracious  souls  to  be  mute  and 
silent  under  the  greatest  afflictions,  the  saddest  providences, 
and  sharpest  trials  they  meet  with  in  this  world,  from  .  294-295 

For   the   opening  of  this   point,    first,  there  is  a  sevenfold 

silence,  ......  295-298 

2.  What  doth  a  prudent,  a  gracious,  a  holy  silence  include, 

shewed  in  eight  things,  ....  298-306 

3.  What  a  prudent,  a  holy  silence  under  affliction  doth  not 

exclude,  shewed  in  eight  things,  .  .  .  306-312 

4.  Eight   reasons  why   Christians  must  be  mute  and  silent 

under  their  greatest  afllictions,  &c,         .  .  .  312-319 

/  .sc.  This  truth  looks  sourly  upon  five  sorts  of  persons,  .  320-323 

Six  considerations  to  prevent  men  from  using  sinful  shifts  and 

courses  to  deliver  themselves  out  of  their  afliictions,  &c,  323-326 

Twelve  considerations  to  prevail  with  Christians  to  be  mute 
and  silent  under  the  sharpest  afflictions  that  they  meet 
with  in  this  world,  &c,  ....  326-334 

The  heinous  and  dangerous  nature  of  murmuring,  discovered 

in  twelve  particulars,     .....  334-341 

Obj.  1.  Did  I  but  know  that  my  afflictions  were  in  love,  I 
would  be  quiet,  I  would  hold  my  peace,  &c,  answered 
eight  ways,         ......  341-346 

Obj.  2.  The  Lord  hath  smitten  me  in  my  nearest  and  dearest 
comforts  and  contentments,  and  how  then  can  I  hold  my 
peace  ?    Answered  twelve  ways,  .  .  .  346-o-Vl 

Obj.  3.  Oh  !  but  my  afflictions,  my  troubles,  have  been  long 


CONTENTS. 


upon  me,  and  how  can  I  hold  my  peace  ?     Answered  ten 

ways,   .......  354-359 

Obj.  4.  I  would  be  mute  and  silent  under  my  afflictions,  but 
they  daily  multiply  and  increase  upon  me,  &c,  how  then 
can  I  be  silent  ?     Answered  eight  ways,  .  .  359-361 

Obj.  5.  My  afflictions  are  very  great,  how  then  can  I  hold  my 

peace  ?  &c.     Answered  six  ways,  .  .  .  361-364 

Obj.  6.  Oh  !  but  my  afflictions  are  greater  than  other  men's, 

&c,  how  then  can  I  be  silent  ?     Answered  six  ways,       .  364-366 

Obj.  7.  I  would  hold  my  peace,  but  my  outward  afflictions  are 
attended  with  sore  temptations,  &c,  how  then  can  I  be 
silent  ?  Answered  five  ways  ;  wherein  eigbt  advantages 
are  discovered  that  saints  gain  by  their  temptations,        .  366-371 

Obj.  8.  Oh  !  but  God  hath  deserted  me,  he  hath  forsaken  me, 
and  hid  his  face  from  me,  &c,  how  can  I  then  be  silent  ? 
Answered  six  ways  ;  also  eight  advantages  the  saints  gain 
by  their  being  clouded,  ....  372-379 

Obj.  9.  Oh  !  but  I  am  falsely  accused  and  sadly  charged,  and 
reproached  in  my  good  name,  &c,  how  then  can  I  be 
silent  ?  Answered  ten  ways,       ....  379-385 

Obj.  10.  I  have  sought  the  Lord  in  this  my  affliction  for  this 
and  that  mercy,  and  still  the  Lord  delays  me,  and  puts 
me  off,  &c,  how  can  I  then  hold  my  peace  ?  How  can  I 
be  silent  ?  &c.     Answered  six  ways,       .  .  .  385-387 

Quest.  But  what  are  the  reasons  that  God  doth  so  delay  and 

put  off  his  people  ?     Answered  seven  ways,        .  .  387-390 

Quest.  What  are  the  means  that  may  help  persons  to  be  silent 
and  quiet  under  their  greatest  afflictions,  their  sharpest 
trials  ?  &c.     Answered  from       ....  390-398 


A  String  of  Pearls,           ......  399 

The  Epistle  Dedicatory,            .....  401-403 

Character  of  Mrs  Blake,            .....  404-406 

An  Elegy,        .......  406-408 

The  Table  of  the  chief  Heads  :— 

The  explication  of  the  words  from     ....  409-410 
Doct.  That  God  reserves  the  best  and  greatest  favours  and  blessings 
for  believers  till  they  come  to  heaven. 
This  point  is  made  good  by  an  induction  of  particulars  :  thus, 
First,  The  best  inheritance  is  reserved  for  believers  till  they  come 
to  heaven ;  this  is  made  good  by  six  particulars,  as, 

[1.]  Tbe  inheritance  reserved  for  believers  till  they  come  to 

heaven,  is  a  pure,  undefiled,  and  incorruptible  inheritance,   410-411 
[2.]  It  is  a  sure,  a  secure  inheritance,        .  .  .  41 1 

[3.j  It  is  a  permanent,  a  lasting  inheritance,  .  .  411-412 

[4.]  It  is  the  freest  inheritance,  an  inheritance  free  from  all 

vexaiion  and  molestation,  ....  412 

[5.]  It  is  an  inheritance  that  is  universal,  to  Jews,  to  Gen- 
tiles, to  bond,  to  free,  &c,         ....  412-413 
[6.]  It  is  a  soul-satisfying  inheritance,       .  .  .  413-414 


CONTENTS. 


Secondly,  The  best  rest  is  reserved  for  believers  till  they  come  to 

heaven,  proved  thus,  .....  414-415 

[1.]  The  rest  reserved  in  heaven  for  believers  is  a  superla- 
tive rest,  ......  416 

[2.]  It  is  an  universal  rest,  ....  416 

[8.]  It  is  an  uninterrupted  rest,    ....  416 

[4.]  It  is  a  peculiar  rest,  .....  417 

|  5.]  It  is  a  rest  that  is  universally  communicable  to  all  the 

sons  and  daughters  of  God,        ....  417 

[6.]  It  is  a  permanent,  a  constant  rest,      .  .  .  418 

Thirdly,  The  best  knowledge  of  God  is  reserved  for  believers  till 
they  come  to  heaven.     Proved  thus,  .  .  .  418 

[1.]  Saints  shall  have  the  clearest  knowledge  and  revelation 

of  God  in  heaven,  .....  418-419 

[2.]  They  shall  have  the  fullest  knowledge  of  God  in  heaven,  420 

[3.]  They  shall  have  an  immediate  knowledge  of  God  in 

heaven,  ......  421 

[4.]  They  shall  have  a  permanent  and  constant  sight  of  God 

in  heaven,  .....  421-422 

Fourthly,   They  shall  have  the  best  and  choicest  presence  of 

God  and  Christ  in  heaven  :  this  is  proved  thus,  .  .  422 

[1.]  In  heaven  they  shall  have  the  greatest  and  the  fullest 
presence  of  God,  .....  422 

[2.]  They  shall  have  a  soul- satisfying  presence  of  God  in 
heaven,  ......  422-424 

[3.]  They  shall  enjoy  a  constant,  a  permanent  presence  of 
God  in  heaven,  ..... 

Fifthly,  They  shall  enjoy  perfection  of  grace  in  heaven,  and  that 

is  proved  thus,  ......  424 

[1.]  The  joy  of  saints  in  heaven  shall  be  pure  joy,  .  425 

[2.j  Their  joy  in  heaven  shall  be  full,         .  .  .  425 

[3.]  Their  joy  shall  be  lasting,  it  shall  be  uninterrupted,     .  425-426 
Sixthly,  The  best  society,  the  best  company,  is  reserved  for 

them  till  they  come  to  heaven,  ....  427-428 

Quest.  Whether  the  saints  shall  have  a  real,  a  personal,  and 

particular  knowledge  of  one  another  in  heaven,  .  .  428 

It  is  answered  affirmatively,  they  shall,  and  this  is  proved  by 

seven  arguments,  from  .....  428-432 

Seventhly,  and  lastly,  The  glorifying  of  the  saints'  bodies  is  re- 
served till  last ;  the  glory  of  glorified  bodies  is  set  forth,  from  432-435 
Eight  reasons  why  God  has  reserved  the  best  and  greatest  things 

for  his  people  till  they  come  to  heaven,  .  .  .  435-439 

Twelve  inferences,  from  .....  439-451 

Twenty  motives   or  considerations,    to  work  Christians  to  be 

willing  to  die,  ......  451-403 

Ohj.  I  would  be  willing  to  die  if  I  had  but  assurance,  &c,         .  463 

Answered  in  four  particulars,    .....  463-464 

An  inference  by  way  of  use,       .....  465-467 

An  Elegy  on  Mrs  Blake,  .....  467-468 


PREFACE. 


IT  may  surely  be  regarded  as  a  favourable  sign  of  the  times,  that 
so  many  reprints  of  the  works  of  the  thinkers  of  former  days — laic 
and  cleric — have  been  called  for  during  the  last  ten  years.  It  argues 
that  while  there  may  be  many  whose  tastes  incline  them  to  '  milk  for 
babes,'  there  are  those  who  have  appetites  to  relish,  and  stomachs  to 
digest,  '  stronger  meat.'  We  have  reference  more  immediately  to  the 
numerous  and  widely  circulated  republications  of  the  elder  Theologians 
of  all  shades  of  opinion  on  lesser  matters  :  as  well  the  acknowledged 
and  famous,  as  the  less  known  and  hitherto  uncollected  and  inedited. 
Of  the  former,  suffice  it  to  name  Eden's  '  Jeremy  Taylor,'  Napier's 
'  Isaac  Barrow,'  Wynter's  'Joseph  Hall,'  'Thomas  Goodwin'  of  this 
series  ;  of  the  latter,  our  own  '  Richard  Sibbes,'  and  now  '  Thomas 
Brooks,'  with  others  in  hand,  together  with  the  fine  series  of  Commen- 
taries being  issued  by  our  Publisher,  and  including  such  ripe  and  rare 
books  as  Airay  on  '  Philippians,'  King  on  '  Jonah,'  Stock  and  Torshell 
on,  ■  Malachi,'  Rainolds  on  '  Obadiah  and  Haggai,'  Bernard  and  Fuller 
on  '  Ruth,'  Marbury  on  '  Obadiah  and  Habakkuk,'  Hardy  on  '  ]  st 
Epistle  of  St  John,'  Bayne  on  '  Ephesians,'  and  that  magnum  opus,  Dr 
William  Gouge  on  '  Hebrews.'  It  seems  impossible  that  such  intel- 
lectual and  spiritual  seed-corn  as  is  treasured  up  in  these  early  worthies 
can  be  sown  thus  broadcast,  and  yield  an  unbounteous  harvest- 
Granted  that,  as  with  the  sown  grain,  there  is  not  a  little  of  what  is 
chaff,  or, — speaking  unmetaphorically, — that  is  tedious  and  attenuated, 
over-worded,  effete,  musty  :  yet  the  '  ingenuous'  and  thinking  reader, 
like  the  kindly  earth  under  supernal  influences,  assimilates  the  good  and 
fruitful  :  and  toward  all  the  venerable  writers,  has  a  tender  patience 
and  charity  and  forgivingness,  such  as  one  feels  for  the  garrulous  'white- 
head' that  in  other  days  wearied  us  in  the  chimney-corner,  but,  being 
gone,  is  remembered  sacredly,  pathetically,  and  with  wet  eyes. 
vol.  I.  b 


XVI  TREFACE. 

We  add  Thomas  Brooks  to  the  '  Divines '  of  the  '  Puritan  Period ' 
with  no  fear  of  contradiction  when  we  claim  for  him  a  foremost  place 
among  the  greatest  of  the  later  Puritans ;  meaning  thereby  those  who 
were  m-cluded,  and,  as  Thomas  Fuller  would  have  said,  excluded  also, 
by  the  'Ejectment'  of  1662.  With  the  exception  of  John  Bunyan, 
and  perhaps,  in  separate  minor  works,  of  Richard  Baxter,  no  writer  of 
the  17th  century  has  been  so  permanently  and  widely  and  variously 
represented  in  the  living  Literature  of  the  18th  and  19th  as  the  author 
of  '  Precious  Remedies  against  Satan's  Devices/  '  The  Mute  Christian 
under  the  Smarting  Rod/  'Apples  of  Gold,'  and  'Heaven  on  Earth:' 
but,  unfortunately,  he  has  been  mainly  represented  and  known  by  these 
four  treatises,  whereas  his  other  and  numerous  writings  have  the  same 
merits — if  the  word  be  not  chill  and  poor — with  these  ;  all  passed 
through  frequent  editions  in  the  outset,  and  have  popularly  gone  out 
of  sight,  not  as  less  weighty  and  vital,  but  capriciously  and  arbitrarily 
and  mistakenly. 

One  immense  advantage  of  Brooks  over  Sibbes  is,  that  the  whole  of 
his  many  volumes,  lesser  and  larger,  were  published  by  himself.  He 
left  nothing  behind  him  to  be  thrust  on  the  world  as  'Remains'  or 
postlmmous — a  healthy  self-restraint  and  wisdom  which  it  had  been 
well  if  others,  even  of  our  most  illustrious  Divines,  ancient  and  modern, 
had  exercised. 

Tn  submitting  this  first  collective  edition  of  the  '  Complete  Works' 
of  Brooks  to  the  public,  I  beg  attention  to  these  six  things  : — 

(a.)  Our  text,  in  every  separate  treatise  and  tractate,  is  based  upon 
the  last  '  revised  and  corrected'  impression  thereof  that  joassed  under 
the  eye  of  the  author  :  an  explanatory  '  Note  '  being  prefixed  to  each, 
giving  all  needful  information  on  the  different  editions.  It  may  be 
mentioned  that  his  collection  of  the  original  and  early  editions  has  cost 
the  Editor  fully  £35,  whereas  the  reprint  will  be  furnished  to  the  public 
for  25s. 

(/3.)  The  whole  is  incorrupt,  unmutilated,  unchanged.  Of  this, 
John  Foster  the  '  Essayist'  may  be  allowed  to  speak.  Writing  to  a 
friend  for  the  works  of  Howe,  and  preferring  the  old  edition,  he  charac- 
teristically observes  :  '  In  the  new  one,  I  recollect  the  Editor  engaged, 
as  a  favour  to  the  readers,  to  make — and  I  suppose  he  did  make — some 
little  tinkerings  of  the  long,  involved,  and  grotesquely  constructed  sen- 
tences :  a  thing  sufficiently  wanted,  I  allow,  for  it  is  quite  wonderful 
that  such  a  man  as  Howe  should  have  bungled  so  sadly  in  the  manner 
of  sentence-making.  But,  nevertheless,  I  should  prefer  having  his 
paragraphs  just  as  he  had  made  them,  to  any  Editor's  rectification  of 
them  :  a  preference,  however,  which  cannot  be  supposed  to  be  felt  by 
any  gentleman  of  the  literary  form  of  Burder  and  Hughes,  the  Editors 


PREFACE.  XVll 

and  Correctors  of  Henry's  Exposition.'1  We  offer  no  '  tinkerings/  no 
'rectifications/  no  'corrections,' no 'improvements.'  Even  in  bringing 
the  old  arbitrary  orthography  into  accord  with  modern  usage,  we  have 
duly  noted  all  peculiar  or  transitive  forms  of  words.  So  that  Thomas 
Brooks  is  here  given  genuinely,  as  he  himself  published  his  writings. 
His  style  as  a  whole,  however,  is  accurate,  and  compact,  and  modern- 
like, save  in  occasional  quaintnesses  and  outspokenness. 

(y.)  The  whole  of  the  Bible-texts  and  references  have  been  carefully 
verified.  Only  those  who  have  consulted  the  original  editions  are  able 
to  appreciate  the  toil  involved  in  this:  eighty  percent,  at  least  being  in- 
accurate. The  important  classical  and  patristic  citations  and  allusions 
have  similarly  been  verified  and  supplemented.  This  does  not  apply 
to  the  well-nigh  innumerable  anonymous  '  anecdotes/  '  sayings,'  '  read- 
ings ;'  though,  even  of  those,  a  large  proportion  will  be  found  to  be 
traced  and  confirmed  in  our  footnotes.  Trite  classical  and  other  facts 
and  names  we  have  left  as  they  occur. 

(d.)  In  response  to  the  appeal  of  the  lamented  Herbert  Coleridge  and 
the  '  Philological  Society,'  we  have  marked  all  Shakespearian  and  other 
noticeable  words  and  phrases.  As  in  Sibbes,  a  Glossary  will  furnish  a 
Reference-Index  thereto. 

(«.)  For  all  foot-notes  bearing  my  own  initial,  G.,  I  am  responsible  : 
the  rest  belong  to  Brooks  himself ;  and  I  take  this  opportunity  of  calling 
special  attention  to  them.  They  consist,  for  the  larger  part,  of  the 
margin-notes  of  the  original  and  early  editions,  and  will  always  repay 
perusal.  Very  often  it  will  be  found  that,  by  his  multifarious  reading, 
he  gives  point  to  some  argument  or  appeal,  or  illustration,  by  a  racy 
saying  of  Luther,  or  a  felicitous  bit  from  a  Father,  or  some  apt  anecdote, 
or  quaint,  however  unreal,  opinion  of  old  science,  or  a  flash  of  wit  or 
play  upon  a  word.  So  that  he  will  be  a  loser  who  passes  by  these 
notes,  which  are  as  the  dust-of-gold  of  a  rich  and  brilliant  mind.  Brooks 
himself  attached  no  little  importance  to  them.  Thus,  in  his  '  Word  to 
the  Reader,'  prefixed  to  '  Precious  Remedies,'  he  observes  :  '  If  in  thy 
reading  thou  wilt  cast  a  serious  eye  upon  the  margin,  thou  wilt  find 
many  sweet  and  precious  notes  that  will  oftentimes  give  light  to  the 
things  thou  readest,  and  pay  thee  for  thy  pains  with  much  comfort  and 
profit/     (Our  reprint,  page  9.) 

It  only  remains  that  I  notice  the  one  representative  of  an  '  edition ' 
of  the  Works  of  Brooks,  and  shew,  by  a  recent  reprint  of  a  single  book, 
how  unworthily  he  has  hitherto  been  edited. 

(1.)  The  Rev.  Charles  Bradley,  M.A.,  of  Glasbury,  Brecon,  in  1824, 
issued  two  volumes  (cr.  8vo.)  containing,  (1.)  'The  Unsearchable  Riches 
of  Christ ;'  (2.)  '  Remedies  against  Satan's  Devices  '  [the  golden  Bible- 

1  Letter  to  the  Rev.  Joseph  Hughes,  in  Foster's  'Life  and  Correspondence,'  Vol.  i. 
pp.  420,  421.     (Ed.  1852.) 


XV111  PREFACE. 

word  '  precious '  left  out !]  ;  (3.)  '  A  Treatise  on  Assurance '  [i.  e. 
Heaven  on  Earth]  ;  (4.)  •  The  Mute  Christian  under  the  Smarting 
Rod;'  (5.)  'Apples  of  Gold/ 

This  has  long  been  out  of  print,  so  that  we  do  no  prejudice  to  exist- 
ing interests  when  we  characterise  it  as  worthless,  by  its  modernizations, 
and  errors  of  omission  and  commission,  beyond  reckoning.  A  com- 
parison of  any  single  page  with  our  text  will  reveal  such  tampering 
with  what  Brooks  wrote  as  is  most  discreditable  and  vitiatory.  It  is 
sadly-amusive  to  observe  the  thin  things  that  are  deemed  '  improve- 
ments '  on  our  robust,  outspoken  Puritan. 

(2.)  The  '  Cabinet  of  Jewels'  was  reprinted  in  a  fair-looking  volume, 
which  bears  the  imprint,  '  Huntly :  published  by  Duncan  Matheson. 
1SG0.'  If  we  err  not,  this  is  the  earnest  Revivalist  and  Missionary  of 
Crimean  celebrity.  All  honour  to  him  as  such,  and  all  honour  to  his 
motives  in  re-issuing  the  precious  book.  But  it  swarms,  as  does  Brad- 
ley, with  blunders  and  '  corrections '  (!)  e.  g.,  the  very  Errata  carefully 
prefixed  by  the  author — not  to  specify  others — are  left  unchanged  ;  and 
so  (to  give  a  few  specimens)  we  read  'fleshly  joys'  for  Brooks's  'flashy 
joys'  (page  22,  line  4) ;  saintly  John  Murcot  of  Dublin  is  transmogrified 
into  'John  Marcol'  (page  35,  line  22) ;  'Assur's  oppression'  is  spoken 
of  instead  of  'Asa's'  (page  53,  line  37)  ;  Rachel  is  made  to  cry  out, 
'Give  me  water'  for  'Give  me  children'  (page  75,  line  2);  and  so 
throughout. 

The  same  remarks,  with  but  slight  modification,  are  applicable  to  the 
many  reprints  of  the  'Religious  Tract  Society'  and  other  Publishers, 
who  'improve'  and  'polish'  into  conformity  with  ideas  of  'elegance' 
such  as  would  have  roused  the  rebuke  of  the  fearless  old  preachers,  who 
said  what  they  meant,  and  meant  to  the  letter,  what  they  said. 

I  have,  as  in  the  case  of  Sibbes,  very  gratefully  to  record  the  kind 
help  and  sympathetic  interest  in  our  work  shewn  by  many  correspond- 
ents, sought  and  voluntary.  I  must  specially  name  my  excellent  friend 
Joshua  Wilson,  Esq.  of  Nevil  Park,  Tunbridge  Wells  ;  John  Bruce, 
Esq.,  London,  the  accomplished  editor  and  biographer  of  the  new  Aldine 
'  Cowper,'  and  many  other  historico-biographic  works ;  the  Rev.  R.  Brook 
Aspland,  M.A.,  London  ;  the  Rectors  of  St  Thomas  Apostles,  and  other 
of  the  London  city  churches  ;  the  Rectors  aud  Curates  of  Newbury  and 
other  Churches  in  different  Counties  ;  the  Rev.  T.  W.  Davids,  Colches- 
ter ;  the  authorities  of  the  British  Museum  ;  Williams'  Library  ;  Guild- 
hall Library  ;  the  Bodleian,  Oxford  ;  the  University  Library,  and 
various  College  Libraries,  Cambridge ;  the  Rev.  J.  E.  B.  Mayor,  M.A., 
Cambridge,  and  the  late  Charles  H.  Cooper,  Esq.,  Town  Clerk,  Cam- 
bridge,— together  with  very  many  to  whom  I  am  indebted  for  letters 
in  answer  to  (I  fear)  troublesomely  minute  inquiries.  I  owe  thanks 
also  to  '  Notes  and  Queries,'  and  other  Literary  Journals. 


PREFACE.  XIX 

1  For  a  conclusion  of  all  by  way  of  prefix ' — here  in  part  appropriat- 
ing the  words  of  Cawdrey  and  Palmer  iu  the  Epistle  to  their  Sabbatum 
Redivivum  (1645.  Pt.  I.) — I  'have  but  one  word  or  two  more  to 
say,  and  that  by  way  of  earnest  entreaty.'  These  '  Works,'  reader  !  are 
full  as  the  honey-comb  of  '  exceeding  great  and  precious'  Truth  :  no 
mere  stately  scholarliness,  curious  questioning,  nice  casuistry,  windy 
phrases.  Therefore,  I  pray  '  That  thou  wilt  do  the  Truth  that  right  as 
to  yield  to  and  practise  what  thou  art  convinced  of/  '  Consider '  what 
I  say,  '  and  the  Lord  give  thee  and  me  understanding  and  grace  in  all 
things  through  Jesus  Christ.     So  prays, 

Thine  in  Him,' 

Alexander  B.  Grosart. 

308  Upper  Parliament  Street, 
Liverpool,  May  1866. 


MEMOIR  OF  THOMAS  BROOKS. 


IT  is  long  since  one  said  in  his  own  quaintly-pensive  way,  '  Who 
knows  whether  the  best  men  be  known,  or  whether  there  be  not 
more  remarkable  persons  forgot,  than  any  that  stand  remembered  in 
the  known  account  of  Time  V  Our  endeavours  towards  elucidating  the 
Lives  of  the  Worthies  embraced  in  these  series  of  reprints,  as  well  as 
the  like  experience  of  all  who  have  sought  to  trace  the  footprints  of 
shy,  sequestered  goodness,  as  distinguished  from  noisy  and  noised 
'  greatness/  so-called — satisfy  us,  that  Sir  Thomas  Browne  never  wrote 
truer  words.1  Light — that  shoots  its  silver  arrows  unbrokenly  across 
the  abysses  between  the  sun  and  our  earth,  and  yet  ruffles  not  tiniest 
feather  of  bird's  wing,  or  drop  of  dew  in  flower-cup — is  a  more  potent 
thing  than  lightning  ;  but,  lacking  the  thunder-roar  after  it,  in  vulgar 
account  is  the  weaker,  albeit  the  thunder  comes  from  no  higher  than 
the  clouds.  Similarly,  the  '  hidden  ones ' — who  are  really  the  '  best 
men ' — have  been  in  by  far  too  many  cases  outblazoned  by  your 
creature  of  circumstance.  It  needs  a  wider  and  intenser  sky  than  ours 
to  show  some  stars  ;  and  not  until  the  '  new  heavens  '  dome  the  '  new 
earth '  will  the  truly  '  great '  names  shine  excellingly.  Richard 
Sibbes,  with  rare  fineness  of  thought  and  felicitousness  of  wording,  has 
'  weighed  '  the  two  fames — and  his  '  counsel '  may  fittingly  come  in 
here.  '  Let  us  commit  the  fame  and  credit/  says  he,  '  of  what  we  are 
or  do  to  God.  He  will  take  care  of  that :  let  us  take  care  to  be  and  to 
do  as  we  should,  and  then  for  noise  and  report,  let  it  be  good  or  ill  as 
God  will  send  it.  .  .  .  If  we  seek  to  be  in  the  mouths  of  men,  to  dwell 
in  the  talk  and  speech  of  men,  God  will  abhor  us.  .  .  .  Therefore  let 
us  labour  to  lie  good  in  secret.  Christians  should  be  as  minerals,  rich 
in  the  depth  of  the  earth.     That  which  is  least  seen  is  his  (the  Chris- 

1  Works  by  Wilkin,  iii.  page  492  (4  vols.  8vo,  1836). 


xxu  MEMOIR  OF  THOMAS  BROOKS. 

tian  a)  riches.  We  should  have  our  treasure  deep  ;  for  the  discovery  of 
it,  we  should  be  ready  when  we  are  called  to  it ;  and  for  all  other  acci- 
dental things,  let  it  fall  out  as  God  in  his  wisdom  sees  good.  .  .  .  God 
will  be  ca/reful  enough  to  get  us  applause.  .  .  .  As  much  reputation  as 
is  fit  for  a  man  will  follow  him,  in  being  and  doing  what  he  should. 
God  will  look  to  that.  Therefore  we  should  not  set  up  sails  to  our  own 
meditations,  that  unless  we  be  carried  with  the  wind  of  applause,  to  be 
becalmed,  and  not  go  a  whit  forward  ;  but  we  should  be  carried  with 
the  Spirit  of  God,  and  with  a  holy  desire  to  serve  God  and  our  brethren, 
and  to  do  all  the  good  we  can,  and  never  care  for  the  speeches  of  the 
world.  .  .  .  We  shall  have  glory  enough,  and  be  known  enough  to 
devils,  to  angels,  and  men,  ere  long.  Therefore,  as  Christ  lived  a 
hidden  life — that  is,  He  was  not  known  what  He  was,  that  so  He  might 
work  our  salvation,  so  let  us  be  content  to  be  hidden  ones.  .  .  .  There 
will  be  A  resurrection  OF  credits,  as  well  as  of  bodies.  We'll  have 
glory  enough  BY-AND-BY.'1 

In  the  cases  of  Sibbes  himself,  and  Airay,  and  King,  and  Stock,  and 
Torshell,  and  Bernard,  and  Marbury,  and  indeed  nearly  all,  I  have  had 
to  deplore  the  paucity  of  materials  for  anything  like  adequate  Memoirs. 
But  more  than  ever  have  I  to  do  so  in  relation  to  Thomas  Brooks.  If 
a  pun,  that  he  himself  would  have  relished,  may  be  allowed,  his  memory 
has  passed  away  like  the  '  summer  brooks.'  This  is  all  the  more  regret- 
table, in  that  his  books  are  vital  and  influential  as  at  first — his  name  still 
a  venerable  and  loved  one  to  myriads.  Only  the  other  day  we  chanced 
upon  a  mission- volume  that  tells  of  strength  and  comfort  gained  from 
his  words,  away  on  the  other  side  of  that  India  which  in  his  days  was  as 
dream-land,  as  wonder-land.  I  may  as  well  give  the  pathetic  little  bit. 
Mrs  Mason  among  the  Karens  writes :  '  Two  days  passed  when  they 
came  again,  saying  the  money  was  all  gone.  At  first  I  felt  disposed  to 
rebuke  them,  but  turned  to  my  closet  for  an  hour,  giving  the  time  to 
prayer,  and  to  my  dear  little  help-book  "  Precious  Remedies  against 
Satan's  Devices."  In  that  time  God  taught  me  what  to  do,  and 
strength  was  given  for  the  day.'2  Verily  'he,  being  dead,  yet 
speaketh.' 

Various  explanations  suggest  themselves  as  to  the  absence  of  me- 
morial of  Brooks's  outward-life. 

(I.)  It  so  happens  that  the  '  Registers  '  of  his  University  are  singu- 
larly defective  at  the  period  of  his  attendance  ;  so  much  so  that  even  the 
sweet-naturcd  Historian  was  moved  to  these  severe  censures  :  '  Hither- 
to we  have  given  in  the  list  of  the  yearly  Commencers,  but  now  must 
break  off.     Let  Thomas  Smith,  University-Register,  bear  the  blame, 

1  Works,  Vol.  I.  ;  Memoir,  pp.  xxiii,  xxiv. 

*  Civilizing  Mountain  Men,  or  Sketches  of  Mission  Work  among  the  Karens.     By  Mrs 
Mason,  of  Burmah.     18C2.     (Nisbet.) 


MEMOIR  OF  THOMAS  BROOKS.  XXlll 

who,  about  this  year,  entering  into  his  office,  was  so  negligent  that,  as 
one  saith,  Cum  fuit  Academics  a  memorid,  omnia  tradidit  oblivioni. 
I  can  hardly  in-hold  from  inveighing  on  his  memory,  carelessness 
being  dishonesty  in  'public  persons  so  entrusted.' l 

(2.)  He  was  excluded  from  the  '  Worthies  '  of  Fuller  by  his  rule,  that 
'  the  living '  were  '  omitted/ 2  How  often  the  reader  sighs  over  like 
dismissal  of  other  names  as  still  '  surviving.' 3 

(3.)  The  '  Fire  '  of  London  destroyed  the  MSS.  of  Ashe,  and  various 
fellow-labourers  who  had  collected  for  the  Lives  of  the  elder  and  later 
Puritans,  including  'The  Ejected'  of  1662.4  Beyond  all  question 
Thomas  Brooks  held  an  honoured  place  therein.  Then  again  the  same 
'Fire/  destroying  the  different  Churches  in  which  Brooks  officiated, 
destroyed  with  them  all  their  Registers  and  Records.  So  that  New- 
court  and  other  authorities  are  blank  in  respect  of  dates,  and  almost 
everything  else.  Add  to  all  this,  his  own  singularly  reticent  and 
modest  'hiding'  of  self — his  absolute  indifference  to  fame,  other  than 
the  love  of  those  who  might  '  profit '  by  his  writings  :  and  he  yearned 
for  that,  as  the  close  of  his  '  Epistles  Dedicatory  '  shew. 

As  it  is,  after  having  expended  fully  the  maximum  of  labour  and 
'painfulness ' — as  the  old  Divines  say, — in  seeking  to  illumine  the 
memory  of  this  '  dead  Saint,'  I  can  only  offer  a  minimum  of  result : 
and  yet  our  little  is  relatively  large  to  what  has  hitherto  been 
known. 

It  is  not  ascertained  in  what  city,  town,  or  village  Thomas  Brooks 
was  born  :  not  even  in  what  county.  The  very  nativeness  of  his  name 
has  multiplied  the  difficulties  of  determining  it.  In  '  this  fair  England  ' 
'  brooks '  flash  by  meadow  and  woodland  everywhere  ;  and  as  familiar 
and  frequent  is  his  name. 5  Certain  turns  of  expression,  certain  ap- 
parently local  words,  occurring  in  his  volumes,  have  made  us  feel  assured 
that  in  this  County  or  in  that  we  should  discover  his  family  :  but  lo  ! 
the  phrase  and  word  proved  to  be  common  to  many  :  and  our  toil  went 
for  nothing,  save  morsels  of  fact  about  others,  unexpectedly  turning  up. 
From  his  '  Will ' — which  we  have  discovered,  and  print  for  the  first 
time — we  fondly  hoped  to  trace  him  to  Berkshire  :  but  again  were  dis- 
appointed, spite  of  complete  and  carefully  preserved  '  Registers,'  and 
all  courtesy  and  helpfulness  from  their  custodiers.  From  a  '  Memorial 
again,  of  Lancashire  '  Worthies,'  by  the  saintly  Oliver  Heywood — un- 

1  Fuller's  '  History  of  the  University  of  Cambridge,'  page  208. 

2  Ibid.,  page  207.  3  Ibid.,  page  206. 
4  Brook,  '  Lives  of  the  Puritans,'  vol.  iii.,  sub  nominibus. 

8  Mr  Spurgeon  plays  on  the  name  in  his  little  volume  of  sentences  from  Brooks's 
writings,  entitling  it,  '  Smooth  Stones  taken  from  Ancient  Brooks.  By  the  Rev.  C.  H. 
Spurgeon,  of  the  Metropolitan  Tabernacle.  Being  a  Collection  of  Sentences,  Illustra- 
tions, and  Quaint  Sayings,  from  the  Works  of  that  Renowned  Puritan,  Thomas  Brooks. ' 
(32rno,  pp.  xv.  296.) 


XXIV  MEMOIR  OF  THOMAS  BROOKS. 

published — which  notices  his  death,  in  a  little  record  that  is  useful,  we 
half  anticipated  to  be  able  to  claim  him  for  it ;  but  all  inquiries  leave 
us  in  uncertainty. '  Besides,  the  orthography  of  the  name  confuses  : 
for  just  as  there  were  among  Divines  a  John  Howes  as  well  as  a  John 
Howe,  a  John  Owens  as  well  as  a  John  Owen,  a  Thomas  Adam  as  well 
as  a  Thomas  Adams,  even  a  John  Milton  as  well  as  the  John  Milton, 
so  our  Thomas  Brooks  is  sometimes  met  with — even  early — as  now 
Thomas  Brooke,  and  now  Thomas  Brookes  and  Brook — the  penulti- 
mate being  his  own  spelling  on  the  title-page  of  '  Precious  Remedies  ' 
[2d  ed.  1G53]  and  ■  Unsearchable  Riches'  [1657,  1st  ed.],  though  in  the 
'  Epistles  '  he  adheres  to  Brooks.  Little  do  your  arm-chair-easy  critics 
know  of  the  honest  work  spent  in  furnishing  such  '  Memoirs ' — slight 
and  unsatisfying  though  they  be — as  they  magisterially  discuss  and 
dismiss  with  penurious  thanks  !  Personally  we  have  no  plaint,  much 
less  complaint,  to  make  :  for  our  labours  have  been  more  than  duly  ap- 
preciated :  but  we  feel  constrained  to  remind  those  who  may  be  tempted 
to  regard  a  given  '  Life '  as  insufficient,  that  in  ninety-nine  cases  of  a 
hundred  what  appears  is  as  the  one  to  the  ninety-nine  of  anxious  though 
fruitless  inquiries. 

The  Manuscript  'entry'  of  Oliver  Hey  wood  referred  to  a  short  way  back 
— and  which  will  appear  in  its  own  place — gives  his  age  at  death  as  '  72/ 
but  by  a  clerical  blunder  probably,  writes  1678  for  1680,  the  actual 
year  of  his  decease.  If  1680  was  intended,  then  his  birth-year  must 
have  been  1608 — John  Milton's  also  ;  if  calculated  from  1678,  two  years 
sooner,  1606.     It  seems  likely  that  the  former  is  the  accurate  date. 

We  are  shut  out  from  all  insight  into  ancestry,  parentage,  and  child- 
hood, and  '  boy  '  surroundings  of  our  Worthy — whether  he  were  of'  blue 
blood'  descent,  or  of  a  'godly'  or  worldly  fatherhood  and  motherhood, 
whether  '  in  populous  city  pent,'  or  blown  upon  by  the  freshening  influ- 
ences of  rural  life.  We  do  not  know  his  '  School,'  '  Schoolmasters/  or 
'  Schoolmates.'  The  whole  '  make '  of  the  man — as  it  is  expressed  in  his 
Writings — warrants  us  in  assuming  that  his  '  home'  was  a  '  church  in 
the  house,'  and  his  training  the  grave,  serious,  yet  not  morose  but 
blithesome  one,  of  the  Puritans.  By  his  '  17th '  year — at  latest — the  one 
University  '  date '  that  survives  through  the  heedlessness  of  that  scion 
of  the  immortal  Smiths  rebuked  by  Fuller — he  was  at  College,  at 
'  Emmanuel,'  Cambridge.  This  was  the  Puritan  College  par  excel- 
lence: the  illustrious  Founder  of  it — Sir  Walter  Mildmay — having 
been  flouted  by  Elizabeth  for  his  '  Puritan  foundation/2      So  that  we 

1  For  this  we  are  indebted  to  the  ever  open  stores  of  our  good  friend  Joshua  Wilson, 
Esq.,  of  Nevil  Park,  Tunbridge  Wells. 

a  Fuller  tells  the  story  pungently  :  '  Coming  to  Court  after  he  had  founded  his  College, 
the  Queen  told  him,  "  Sir  Walter,  I  hear  you  have  erected  a  Puritan  foundation."  "  No, 
Madam,"  saith  ho;  "far  be  from  me  to  countenance  anything  contrary  to  your  estab- 
lished laws ;  but  1  have  set  an  acorn  which,  when  it  becomes  an  oak,  God  alone  knows 


MEMOIR  OF  THOMAS  BROOKS.  XXV 

can  scarcely  err  in  finding  in  this  choice  confirmation  of  Puritan- 
parentage.     The  entry  is  as  follows  : ' 

'  Thomas  Brooks  :  matriculated  as  pensioner  of  Emanuel,  July  7th 
1625/ 

'  Pensioner'  must  not  be  misunderstood  as  indicating  narrow  circum- 
stances, much  less  poverty.  John  Milton  was  entered  as  '  pensioner/ 
only  a  few  months  previously,  at  a  sister-college.  There  were  four  grades, 
the  'greater  pensioner/  the  'lesser  pensioner,'  '  sizars/  and  '  scholars.' 
These  distinctions  designate  differing  rank.  All  the  first  three  lived  as 
now  we  are  accustomed  to  say  on  the  Continent,  en  pension,  id  est, 
paid  for  their  board  and  education,  and  in  this  respect  were  distinct 
from  the  scholars  properly  so  called,  who  belonged  to  the  foundation. 
The  '  greater  pensioners'  or  '  fellow  commoners  '  paid  most.  They  were 
(as  they  still  are)  the  sons  of  noble  or  '  gentle '  families,  and  had  the 
privilege  of  dining  at  the  upper  table  in  the  common  hall  along  with 
the  fellows.  The  '  sizars,'  on  the  other  hand,  were  poorer  students  ; 
they  paid  least ;  and,  though  receiving  the  same  education  with  the 
others,  held  a  lower  rank  and  had  inferior  accommodation.  Intermediate 
between  the  'greater  pensioners'  and  the  '  sizars  '  were  the  '  lower  pen- 
sioners ;'  and  it  was  (as  it  is  still)  to  this  class  that  the  bulk  of  the 
students  in  all  the  colleges  at  Cambridge  belonged.2  By  '  pensioner ' 
after  Brooks's  name  we  are  no  doubt  to  understand  '  lesser  pensioner  ;' 
so  that,  as  with  the  scrivener-father  of  the  bard  of  '  Paradise  Lost,' 
his  parents  were  in  good  circumstances.  When  we  know  that 
Jeremy  Taylor  entered  &s  pauper  scholaris,  and  Sibbes  as  a  'sizar/  it 
had  needed  no  vindication  had  Master  Thomas  Brooks  taken  his  posi- 
tion* in  either  class ;  but  the  matter-of-fact  is  as  stated,  and  it  is 
but  right  to  state  it.  He  must  have  been  well  born,  and  born  as  a 
'  gentleman/ 

Brooks,  in  'entering'  Emanuel  College  on  July  7th  1625,  as  above, 

what  will  be  the  fruit  thereof."  '  And  the  historian  adds,  '  Sure  I  am,  at  this  day,  it 
hath  overshadowed  all  the  University — more  than  a  moiety  of  the  present  Masters  of 
Colleges  being  bred  therein.'  As  before,  pp.  205,  206.  For  Full  details  on  Sir  Walter 
Mildmay,  see  Cooper's  Athence  Cantabrigienses,  Vol.  ii.  pp.  51-55,  544.  I  cannot  give 
this  reference  without  paying  a  tribute  of  heartfelt  regard  to  the  just  deceased  senior 
author  of  this  inestimable  work,  who,  within  a  few  days  of  his  lamented  death,  dictated 
and  even  signed  a  letter  bearing  on  my  researches.  Erudite,  laborious,  finely  enthu- 
siastic, ungrudging  in  communicating  from  his  ample  resources,  all  our  Memoirs  have 
been  indebted  to  him.  See  finely  touched  estimate  of  him  by  Mr  Mayor,  reprinted  from 
'The  Cambridge  Papers  of  March  24.1866,'  in  '  Notes  and  Queries,'  March  31.  1866, 
pp.  253-54. 

1  Rev.  J.  E.  B.  Mayor,  M.A.,  Librarian  to  the  University  of  Cambridge,  and  the  late 
Charles  H.  Cooper,  Esq.,  to  myself.  Moreover,  this  one  entry  is  all  that  the  industry  of 
Cole  provides  :  Cole  MSS.  in  British  Museum,  under  *  Emanuel.' 

2  On  all  this  cf.  Masson's  '  Life  of  Milton  in  Connection  with  the  History  of  His  Time,' 
particularly  vol.  i.  pp.  88,  89.  No  one  who  seeks  information  on  the  period  covered  by 
the  '  Life'  of  Milton,  will  fail  to  consult  this  treasure-house  of  materials. 


XXVI  MEMOIR  OF  THOMAS  BROOKS. 

had  for  Master  that  one  of  all  the  heads  of  Colleges,  '  whose  presence,' 
to  quote  the  words  of  an  unchallengeable  authority — Professor  David 
Masson — '  was  the  most  impressive.'1  '  He  was,'  says  Fuller — whose 
Chiuvhism  never  for  a  moment  hindered  his  generous  recognition  of 
worth  and  wit  in  whomsoever  found — 'the  greatest  pupil-monger  in 
England  in  man's  memory,  having  sixteen  fellow-commoners,  most  heirs 
to  fair  estates,  admitted  in  one  year  at  Queen's  College.  As  William 
the  Popular  of  Nassau  was  said  to  have  won  a  subject  from  the  King 
of  Spain  to  his  own  party  every  time  he  put  off  his  hat,  so  was  it 
commonly  said  in  the  College,  that  every  time  when  Master  Preston 
plucked  off  his  hat  to  Dr  Davenant,  the  College  master,  he  gained  a 
chamber  or  study  for  one  of  his  pupils.'2  He  was  pre-eminently  a 
Puritan  in  its  grandest  and — at  the  time — reproached  sense.  Chosen 
1  Master'  of  Emanuel  in  1622,  he  carried  most  of  his  pupils  with  him 
from  Queen's  thither ;  and  as  its  Head,  kept  up  the  reputation  of  that 
House  as  the  most  Puritanical  in  the  University.  His  '  Life  '  belongs 
to  History  :  it  jet  remains  unwritten,  as,  shame  to  Cambridge,  his  price- 
L<  ss  Works  remain  to  this  day  uncollected  and  inedited.3  It  was  no  com- 
mon advantage  to  our  student  to  have  been  placed  under  such  a  'Master'; 
and  his  margin-references  to  '  Dr  Preston,'  and  the  same  to  '  Dr  Sibbes,' 
together  with  occasional  '  sayings'  of  the  latter  not  met  with  elsewhere, 
assure  us  that  he  sat  reverently  at  their  feet.4  His  fellow-students  at 
'  Emanuel' — assuming  that  he  'proceeded'  through  the  ordinary  curri- 
culum of  study — included  Thomas  Shepard,  and  John  Cotton,  and 
Thomas  Hooker — afterwards  the  famous  trio  of  New  England  '  Divines,' 
and  spiritually  the  founders  and  fathers  of  Massachusetts.  To  the  same 
College,  earlier  and  later,  belonged  the  holy  Bedell,  the  many-sided 
Joseph  Hall,  the  large -though ted  Ralph  Cudworth,  and  these  still 
lustrous  Puritan  '  Worthies' — Samuel  Crooke,  John  Yates,  John  Stough- 
ton,  Ezekiel  Culvervvell,  Stephen  Marshall,  Samuel  Hudson,  Nathanael 
Ward.5  Elsewhere  we  have  sketched  his  contemporaries  in  the  Uni- 
versity. Beginning  with  that  name  which  overshadows  all  the  rest — 
John  Milton — the  roll  ends  with  Waller  and  Randolph.6 

From  the  reasons  assigned,  it  is  our  hap  and  mishap  not  to  be  able  to 

1  Masson  as  before,  p.  93. 

*  Fuller's  Worthies:  Northamptonshire;  and  Church  History,  sub  anno,  1628  ;  and 
also  (from  Masson  as  supra)  :  Wood's  Fasti,  i.  333  :  Neal's  History  of  the  Puritans,  ii. 
l$3,etseq.  Fuller  was  himself  a  student  of  Queen's  before  Preston  had  left  it  for  Emanuel. 
On  the  whole  position  and  subject  of  the  Puritans,  see  that  invaluable  trans- Atlantic 
contribution  to  history,  '  The  Puritans  :  or  the  Church,  Court,  and  Parliament  of  Eng- 
land, during  the  reigns  of  Edward  VI.  and  Queen  Elizabeth.  By  Samuel  Hopkins. 
3  vols.  8vo.  (Boston,  1859-61).  3  See  our  Memoir  of  Sibbes,  vol.  ii.  pp.  51,  52,  et  alibi. 

*  See  our  Index,  sub-nominibus,  for  these  references. 

6  Cf.  Brook's  '  Lives  of  the  Puritans,'  sub  nominibus;  also  Dr  Sprague's  '  Auuals'  of 
the  American  Pulpit,  ditto. 

0  See  our  Memoir  of  Sibbes  as  before,  pp.  52,  53,  et  alibi. 


MEMOIR  OF  THOMAS  BROOKS.  XXvii 

trace  the  '  progress'  of  Brooks.  In  all  likelihood,  he  '  proceeded  '  from 
degree  to  degree,  although  in  common  with  other  of  the  Puritans,  he 
places  none  on  his  title-pages,  preferring  the  nobler  designation,  'Preacher 
of  the  Gospel,'  or  '  Preacher  of  the  Word.'  Of  his  entire  University 
course  we  have  an  incidental  notice  in  one  of  those  rare  snatches  of 
autobiography  which  occur  in  his  writings.  It  occurs  in  a  tractate,  of 
which  more  anon,  and  runs  thus :  '  For  a  close  of  this  branch.  .  .  . 
I  shall  only  say  this  :  being  compelled  thereunto  by  some — that  I  do 
believe  that  I  have  spent  more  money  at  the  University,  and  in  helps 
to  learning,  than  several  of  these  petitioners  are  worth,  though  haply  I 
have  not  been  such  a  proficient  as  those  that  have  spent  less.'  He  adds  : 
'  I  am  a  lover  of  the  tongues,  and  do  by  daily  experience  find,  that 
knowledge  in  the  original  tongues  is  no  small  help  for  the  understanding 
of  Scripture,'  &C.1 

When  Brooks  left  the  University  we  cannot  tell.  The  periods  of 
residence  and  attendance  varied  ;  some  being  shorter  and  others  longer. 
If  he  remained,  as  Sibbes  and  Gouge  his  contemporaries  did,  from  nine 
to  twelve  years,  adding  the  former  to  1625,  we  are  advanced  to  1634  ; 
by  the  latter  to  1637.  He  must  have  been  '  licensed'  or  '  ordained'  as 
a  '  Preacher  of  the  Gospel'  by  1640  at  latest.  For  in  the  tractate 
already  quoted  ['  Cases  Considered  and  Resolved'],  which  is  dated  1653, 
he  says,  '  I  am  compelled  to  tell  you  that  I  have,  by  the  gracious  assist- 
ance of  God,  preached  publicly,  the  Gospel,  above  these  thirteen  years  ; 
and  the  greatest  part  of  those  years  I  have  spent  in  preaching  the  word 
in  London,  where  God  hath  given  me  many  precious  seals  of  my 
ministry,  which  are  now  my  comfort,  and  in  the  day  of  Christ  will  be 
my  crown.'2  At  this  time,  too,  he  must  have  been  involved  in  many 
labours ;  for  in  his  '  Epistle'  to  '  the  conscientious  reader,'  he  thus 
appeals  in  regard  to  '  errata/  'I  desire  that  thou  wouldst  cast  a  mantle 
of  love  over  the  mistakes  of  the  Printer,  I  having  no  opportunity  to 
wait  on  the  press,  by  reason  of  my  many  engagements  other  ways,  's 
How  one  wishes  that  the  good  man  had  had  a  little  more  communica- 
tive egotism,  and  confided  to  us  when  and  where,  before  coming  to 
London,  and  in  London,  he  had  'preached  the  Word!'  By  1648  he 
was  Preacher  of  the  Gospel  at  Thomas  Apostles,  London :  such  being 
his  designation  in  the  title-page  of  his  first  publication,  viz.,  his  SermoD, 
entitled  '  The  Glorious  Day  of  the  Saints'  Appearance,  calling  for  a 
glorious  conversation  from  all  Believers,'  which  was  '  delivered  .... 
at  the  interment  of  the  corpse  of  that  renowned  Commander,  Colonel 
Thomas  Painsborough,  who  was  treacherously  murdered  at  Doncaster, 
October  29.  1648,  and  honourably  interred  the  14th  of  November 
following,  in  the  Chapel  at  Wapping,  near  London.'     This  '  Sermon'  is 

1  '  Cases  Considered  and  Resolved,'  given  in  extenso  in  Appendix  A  to  this  Introduction. 

2  As  before,  page  8,  '  a  short  Preamble.'  3  Ibid.,  page  6. 


XXV111  MEMOIR  OF  THOMAS  BROOKS. 

on  various  accounts  important  and  interesting  Liographically.  It  fur- 
nishes certain  facts  which  must  be  brought  together.  First  of  all,  he 
must  by  this  time  have  won  a  commanding  positron,  to  have  been 
appointed  the  '  Preacher'  on  so  public  and  sorrowful  an  occasion.  The 
honour  came  most  unexpectedly,  as  was  the  giving  of  the  Sermon  to 
the  public  unintended  by  himself.  On  these  two  points  in  his  'Epistle' 
he  thus  speaks  :  •  When  I  preached  upon  the  subject  of  the  saints' 
glorious  appearance  at  the  last,  He  that  knows  all  hearts  and  thoughts, 
knows  that  I  had  not  the  least  thought  to  put  it  to  press.  And  that, 
partly,  because  the  meditations  following  were  not  the  meditations  of 
a  week,  no,  nor  of  two  days,  but  of  some  few  hours  :  I  having  but  short 
warning  to  provide  ;  and  other  things  falling  in  within  the  compass  of 
that  short  time  that  did  divert  my  thoughts  some  other  ways.  But 
mainly  because  of  that  little,  little  worth  that  is  in  it.'  Then  he  con- 
tinues :  '  And  yet,  Right  Honourable,  the  intentions  of  some  to  "put  it 
to  the  press  in  case  I  would  not  consent  to  have  it  printed — by  which 
means  truth  and  myself  might  have  been  co-partners  in  suffering — and 
the  strong  importunity  of  many  precious  souls,  hath  borne  me  down 
and  subdued  me  to  them.'1  Again:  It  is  dedicated  to  the  'Right 
Honourable  Thomas,  Lord  Fairfax,  Lord  General  of  all  the  Parliament's 
Forces  in  England,'  as  to  a  friend  and  familiar,  to  whom  it  is  his  pride 
to  '  testify,'  not  only  to  himself,  '  but  to  all  the  world/  his  '  thankful 
remembrance  and  due  acknowledgment'  of  his  Lordship's  'undeserved 
respect'  towards  him.'2  In  an  age  of  venal  flattery,  the  '  Epistles  Dedica- 
tory' of  Brooks  are  throughout  simple,  plain-spoken,  searching,  direct 
as  an  old  Hebrew  prophet's  '  burden :'  hence  this  language  certainly 
meant  what  it  said.  But  specially  one  allusion  is  at  once  a  key  to 
other  personal  references  scattered  up  and  down  his  writings,  and  an 
explanation  of  how  the  years  preceding  1 640,  as  above,  were  occupied. 
Near  the  close  of  the  Sermon, — and  it  is  characteristic  of  the  man,  that 
only  about  a  single  page  is  devoted  to  Rainsborough  himself, — he  reveals 
'service'  with  the  lamented  Commander.  '  As  for  this  thrice-honoured 
champion  now  in  the  dust:  for  his  enjoyment  of  God,  from  my  own 
experience,  being  with  him  both  at  sea  and  land,  1  have  abundance  of 
sweetness  and  satisfaction  in  my  own  spirit,  which  to  me  exceedingly 
sweetens  so  great  a  loss.'3  I  have  said  that  this  '  testimony'  furnishes 
a  key  to  other  references.  I  allude  to  incidental  intimations  of  his 
having  been  abroad.  Thus,  in  the  'Epistle  Dedicatory'  to  his  '  Precious 
Remedies,'  as  one  of  the  reasons  for  its  publication  he  gives  this  :  '  I 
have  many  precious  friends  in  several  countries,  who  are  not  a  little 
desirous  that  my  pen  may  reach  them,  now  my  voice  cannot.  I  have 
foiinerly  been,  by  the  help  of  the  mighty  God  of  Jacob,  a  weal-  instru- 
ment of  good  to  them,  and  cannot  but  hope  and  believe  that  the  Lord 
1  Page  12.  3  Page  1.  8  Page  22. 


MEMOIR  OF  THOMAS  BROOKS.  xxix 

will  also  bless  those  labours  to  them  :  they  being  in  part  the  fruit  of 
their  desires  and  prayers,  &C.1  Again  :  In  his  '  Unsearchable  Riches,' 
he  thus  barbs  one  of  his  many  fearless  rebukes  :  '  If  you  do  not  give 
them  [ministers  of  the  Gospel]  honourable  countenance,  Jews  and 
Turks,  Papists  and  Pagans,  will  in  the  great  day  of  account  rise  up 
against  you  and  condemn  you.  I  could  say  "much  of  what  I  have 
observed  in  other  nations  and  countries  concerning  this  thing  ;  but  I 
forbear.  Should  I  speak  what  I  have  seen,  many  professors  [professing 
Christians]  might  well  blush.'2  Once  more  :  '  In  the  '  Epistle  Dedica- 
tory' to  his  'Heaven  on  Earth/ there  occur  these  personal  reminiscences, 
tantalizing  by  their  very  suggestiveness :  '  /  have  observed  in  some 
terrible  storms  I  have  been  in,  that  the  mariners'  and  the  passengers' 
want  of  assurance,  and  of  those  other  pearls  of  price  that  in  this  Treatise 
are  presented  to  public  view,  hath  caused  their  countenance  to  change/ 
&c.  Then  the  '  Epistle'  itself  is  addressed  to  '  The  Right  Honourable 
the  Generals  of  the  Fleets  of  the  Commonwealth  of  England,  and  to 
those  gallant  Worthies  (my  much  honoured  friends),  who,  with  the 
noble  generals,  have  deeply  jeoparded  their  lives  unto  many  deaths,  out 
of  love  to  their  country's  good,  and  out  of  respect  to  the  interest  of 
Christ  and  the  faithful  people  of  this  Commonwealth  ;'  and  of  these, — 
besides  the  parenthesis  italicized  in  the  foregoing, — he  assigns  as  one 
reason  for  so  '  tendering'  his  volume  to  them.  '  Because  you  are  my 
friends,  and  that  cordial  love  and  friendship  which  I  have  found  from 
you  hath  stamped  in  my  affections  a  very  high  valuation  of  you.'  Once 
more  :  a  little  further  on,  he  says,  '  I  have  been  some  years  at  Sea,  and 
through  grace  I  can  say  that  I  would  not  exchange  my  Sea  experiences 
for  England's  riches.  I  am  not  altogether  ignorant  of  the  troubles,  trials, 
temptations,  dangers,  and  deaths,  that  do  attend  you.'  In  a  margin- 
note  at  the  close  he  adds,  '  Had  I  a  purse  suitable  to  my  heart,  not  a 
poor,  godly  soldier  or  sailor  in  England,  who  carries  his  life  in  one 
hand,  but  should  have  one  of  these  books  in  the  other.'3  Further  : 
In  his  '  London's  Lamentations,'  speaking  of  the  wind,  he  observes  : 
'  In  some  places  of  the  world — where  I  have  been — the  motions  of 
the  wind  are  steady  and  constant,  which  mariners  call  their  trade- 
wind.''1  Besides  these  notices  in  his  writings,  by  his  '  Will/  which 
will  be  found  in  its  own  place,  he  leaves  a  '  legacy'  to  '  Vice- Admiral 
Goodson's  eldest  daughter's  son,  that  she  had  by  her  husband  Captain 
Magger.' 

Combining  these  various  personal  allusions, — which  have  hitherto  been 
utterly  overlooked, — it  is  plain  that  Brooks  for  'some  years'  was  'at  sea.' 
The  question  is,  in  what  capacity  ?     A  consideration  of  the  facts  in  the 

i 

1  Our  reprint,  page  5.  3  2d  edition,  1657,  pp.  1,  4,  6,  27. 

2 1657,  1st  edition,  page  320.  4  Part  II.  page  21. 


XXX  MEMOIR  OF  THOMAS  BROOKS. 

career  of  the  two  'Commanders'  named,  viz.,  Colonel  Rainsborough 
and  Vice-admiral  Goodson,  with,  by  implication,  a  Captain  Magger, 
lead  me  to  the  conclusion  that  he  must  have  acted  as  'chaplain/  both 
'at  Sea,'  and  'on  Land,'  that  is,  in  the  Fleet  and  with  the  Army — alter- 
nating as  the  Commanders  were  then  wont  to  do  with  the  one  and  the 
other.  My  reasons  are  these,  in  brief :  Colonel  Rainsborough,  with 
whom  Brooks  informs  us  he  was  'at  Sea  and  on  Land,'  is  traceable  on 
both  by  help  of  the  'State  Papers.'  He  was  the  son  of  that  William 
Rainsborough  of  the  Navy,  who  was  '  Captain '  of  the  '  Marhonour '  in 
1635  :  of  the  '  Triumph  '  in  the  Fleet  of  the  Earl  of  Nortumberland  in 
163G :  'admiral'  of  the  Parliamentary  Fleet  which  revolted  in  1648, 
when  the  sailors  seized  their  admiral  and  quietly  put  him  ashore  :  and 
who  survived  the  Restoration,  and  was  imprisoned  by  Charles  II.  In 
all  probability  his  son  the  '  Colonel'  served  under  his  father  in  the  Navy ; 
and  the  years  1635,  and  1636  on  to  1639-40,  thus  correspond  with  the 
unaccounted  for  period  of  Brooks's  life.  Then  with  reference  to 
Brooks  having  also  been  'with  him  on  the  Land,'  our  'Colonel' is 
found  on  shore  at  the  siege  of  Bristol,  the  surrender  of  Woodstock,  the 
capture  of  Berkeley  Castle,  and  elsewhere  throughout  the  Civil  War, 
until  his  'death,'  of  which  below.1  Of  Vice-admiral  Goodson,  very  little 
remains  ;  but  as  Captain  William  Goodson,  he  was  commander  and 
vice-admiral  at  Jamaica  from  1655  to  1657,  and  received  on  9th  January 
1658  an  order  for  <£J500  from  the  Council  of  State,  as  a  gratuity  for 
his  extraordinary  services  and  expenses.2  During  these  years,  1655- 
1 658,  Brooks  could  not  be  with  Goodson  ;  but  he  may  have  been 
in  earlier  years.  It  is  a  pity  we  have  not  fuller  memoirs  of  those 
gallant  sailor-soldiers  and  soldier-sailors,  who  emulated  the  brave  deeds 
of  Blake,  and  whose  services  on  Sea  and  Land  bear  equally  the  impress 
of  genius  and  devotion.  I  am  not  without  hope  that  in  the  progress  of 
the  '  Calendars '  of  the  Papers  in  our  National  Archives,  light  may  yet 

1  I  must  here  acknowledge  the  very  great  trouble  taken  by  John  Bruce,  Esq.,  of  Lon- 
don toward  aiding  ray  researches  into  this  matter.  It  is  to  this  not  less  willing  than 
able  gentleman  I  stand  indebted  for  nearly  all  above  data.  Of  Colonel  Rainsborough's 
'  death  ' — celebrated  by  Brooks — it  may  be  said  that  it  was  one  of  the  saddest  incidents 
of  our  Civil  War.  It  occurred  on  the  29th  October  1648.  He  had  been  sent  by  Crom- 
well to  lay  siege  to  Poiitefract,  and  was  lying  at  Doncaster  on  his  way  thither.  A  party 
of  the  Garrison,  disguised  as  Parliament  soldiers,  entered  Doncaster,  deceived  Rains- 
borough's  men  into  the  belief  that  they  belonged  to  the  Cromwellian  army,  penetrated  into 
an  inn  where  Rainsborough  was  lying,  captured  him  in  his  bed,  and  on  his  making  some 
resistance  to  being  carried  off,  ran  him  through  with  their  swords,  and  left  him  dead 
on  the  streets.  The  dastardly  and  bloody  story  is  told  as  if  it  had  been  a  gallant 
achievement,  by  Clarendon  (Hist.  Rebell.,  Book  xi.),  and  as  '  a  murder  or  very  question- 
able kind  of  homicide,'  by  Caflyle  (Cromwell,  iii.  420.)  Brooks's  Sermon  will  be  given 
in  Vol.  VI. ;  and  there  further  details  may  be  looked  for,  including  singular  inedited 
broadsides  issued  on  the  day  of  the  Funeral. 

2  '  Colonial  Calendar,'  1 574-1 GGO,  p.  462,  and  Mr  Bruce  to  myself. 


MEMOIR  OF  THOMAS  BROOKS.  XXxi 

be  shed  on  this  altogether  unrecognised  portion  of  our  Worthy's  story. 
The  dates  and  facts  alike  of  the  Rainsborough  heroes  accord  with  his 
allusions  to  what  he  had  seen. 

By  1 648,  Brooks — as  we  have  found — was  '  Preacher  of  the  Gospel ' 
at '  Thomas  Apostles,'  London.  In  the  same  year,  '  26th  December/  and 
on  the  title-page  of  his  second  publication,  viz.,  his  first  Sermon  before 
the  House  of  Commons,  entitled,  '  God's  Delight  in  the  Progress  of  the 
Upright,  especially  in  Magistrates'  Uprightness  and  constancy  in  ways 
of  justice  and  righteousness  in  these  Apostatizing  Times,  notwith- 
standing all  discouragements,  oppositions/  &c,  he  is  still  designated 
'  Preacher  of  the  Gospel  at  Thomas  Apostles  ;'  so  also,  but  in  wording 
that  reminds  us  of  Richard  Baxter's  and  other  old  title-pages,  in  his 
second  sermon,  of  '8th  October  1650/ viz.,  his  'Hypocrites  Discovered,' in 
celebration  of  Cromwell's  '  crowning  victory '  at  Dunbar.  He  is  therein 
described  as  '  Thomas  Brooks,  a  weak  and  unworthy  Teacher  of  the 
Gospel  at  Thomas  Apostles,  London/ 

Of  this  first  known  '  benefice '  or  Church  of  Brooks,  much  curious 
antiquarian  lore  will  be  found  in  Newcourt's  '  Repertorium  Ecclesias- 
ticum  Parochiale  Londinense '  (2  vols,  folio,  1708) ;  and  thither  our 
readers  are  referred.1  But  '  the  Fire '  of  1666  destroyed  the  whole 
Registers,  and  no  trace  of  our  Puritan  Rector  remains,  save  that  by  the 
courtesy  of  the  present  Incumbent  of  the  united  Parish,  within  whose 
bounds  it  stood,  I  learn  a  '  Mr  Brooks '  resided  in  one  of  the  '  houses 
which  belonged  to  the  Church/2  As  there  was  a  '  parsonage-house ' 
before  the  Fire,  this  was  probably  our  Brooks.3 

We  cannot  be  far  amiss  in  concluding  that  it  was  most  probably  to 
the  impression  made  by  his  sermon  for  Rainsborough  that  Brooks 
owed  his  appointment  to  '  preach  '  before  Parliament.  The  former  ser- 
mon was  delivered  on  '  November  14.  1648/  the  latter  in  the  succeed- 
ing month,  '  December  26th.' 

By  1 652-53  Brooks  had  been  transferred  from  '  Thomas  Apostles '  to 
'  Margaret's,  Fish-street  hill.'  In  his  '  Precious  Remedies '  and  in  his 
'Cases  Considered  and  Resolved,'  the  title-pages  (of  1652-53)  desig- 
nate him  '  a  willing  Servant  unto  God,  and  the  faith  of  his  people,  in 
the  glorious  Gospel  of  Christ  at  Margaret's,  Fish-street  hill,'  and  so 
through  all  his  Writings  up  to  1662.  It  was  not  without  opposition 
that  our  Worthy  passed  into  this  higher  and  wider  sphere.  The  whole 
trying  story  is  given  by  Brooks  himself  in  the  pamphlet  already  more 
than  once  quoted.  It  is  printed  in  extenso  in  our  Appendix  to  this 
our  Memoir.4     To  it,  therefore,  all  are  referred.     It  is  an  invaluable 

1  See  Vol.  i.  pp.  549-551.  2  Rev.  L.  B.  White,  M.A.,  penes  me.     May  27.  1861. 

3  Newcourt  as  before,  page  551. 

4  See  A ;  this  tractate  is  exceedingly  rare,  and  seems  to  have  been  unknown  to  pre- 
vious writers,  even  to  Calamy  and  Palmer.     Hence  the  blunders  corrected  below. 

VOL.  I.  c 


XXXU  MEMOIR  OF  THOMAS  BROOKS. 

contribution  to  his  Biography  and  has  many  characteristic  touches.  It 
lies  on  the  surface  that  the  gist  of  the  entire  opposition  lay  in  the 
Puritan-Rector's  refusal — stern  and  fearless  as  that  of  Ambrose  and 
John  Calvin — to  administer  '  Baptism '  and  the  '  Lord's  Supper '  to 
those  palpably  '  unworthy/ — a  controversy  which  has  a  singular  litera- 
ture of  its  own  from  Brooks's  treatise  to  the  folio  of  William  Morice, 
Esq.,  of  Devon  (16G0),  and  the  Avell-nigh  innumerable  polemics  of  Col- 
linges,  and  Blake,  and  Drake,  and  Humphrey,  and  Saunders,  and 
'Tilenus  before  the  Triers;'  until  in  the  next  century  it  culminated  in 
the  '  dismissal '  of  Jonathan  Edwards  of  America.  Brooks's  'Cases  Con- 
sidered '  did  its  work,  and  he  kept  his  position.  The  'Parish'  of  'St 
Margaret's,  Fish-street-hill,'  was  a  populous  and  a  '  burdensome '  one. 
Full  details  will  be  found  in  Newcourt,  but  no  memorial  of  Brooks.1 
The  Church  is  memorable,  as  having  been  the  spot  'where  that  fatal 
Fire  first  began  that  turned  London  into  a  ruinous  heap.'2 

What  kind  of  'preaching'  the  Parishioners  got  from  their  Pastor,  his 
books  attest.  From  1 652  onward  these  followed  each  other  in  rapid  suc- 
cession and  with  unflagging  success.  There  was  his  '  Precious  Remedies ' 
in  1652;  his  'Epistles'  or  'Approbations'  to  Everard's  'Gospel-Treasury 
Opened/  and  to  the  '  Works  '  of  Dr  Thomas  Taylor,  1 653  ;  '  Heaven 
on  Earth'  in  1654;  his  'Unsearchable  Riches,'  'Apples  of  Gold/  and 
'String  of  Pearls,'  in  1657;  his  'Epistle'  to  John  Durant's  'Altum 
Silentium,'  in  1659;  his  'Mute  Christian'  and  'Believer's  Last  Day 
his  best  Day,'  1660.  In  the  last  year — 1660 — his  name  stands  beside 
that  of  Thomas  Goodwin  in  the  '  Renunciation  and  Declaration  of  the 
Ministers  of  Congregational  Churches,  and  Public  Preachers,  of  the 
same  judgment,  living  in  and  about  the  city  of  London :  against  the  late 
horrid  insurrection  and  rebellion  acted  in  the  said  City'  (1661,  4to). 
In  the  same  year  also — 1660 — he  preached  the  'Sermons'  that  com- 
pose his  '  Ark  for  all  God's  Noahs/  in  the  Church  of  St  Olave's,  Bread- 
street — Milton's  street — where,  as  from  the  Epistle  we  learn,  '  God 
blessed  them  then  to  those  Christians  that  attended  on  his  ministry.' 
Newcourt  makes  no  mention  of  a  St  Olave's  in  '  Bread-street/  but  pro- 
bably it  is  intended  by  '  St  Olave's,  Haii-street.'  Daniel  Mills  was  the 
1  Rector,'  who  would  cordially  welcome  Brooks  as  a  '  Lecturer '  to  his 

1  Newcourt  R.  E.  as  before  vol.  i.  pp.  405-407.  Here  under  date  '28th  Septr.  1640' 
is  entered  'Rob.  Pory  S.  T.  B.'  as  'Rector,'  'mort.  ult.  Rectoris;'  then  under  date  18th 
August  1660,  'perresig.  Pory, George  Smalwood,  A.M. ;'  and  under  17th  October  1662,  'per 
cess.  Smalwood,  Dav.  Barton,'  who,  Newcourt  add*,  '  I  suppose  continued  Rector  here  till 
his  Ohurch  was  burnt  down  in  1666.'  Pory  was  no  doubt  the  fellow-student  and  com- 
panion of  Milton,  and  Newcourt  may  be  accurate  in  regard  to  him  ;  but  Smalwood  must 
have  held  some  subordinate  post,  as  it  was  on  Brooks's  'Ejectment'  or  Resignation,  not 
Smalwood'B,  this  Barton  succeeded.  Newcourt  in  his  High-Churchliness  does  not  recog- 
nise Brooks  at  all  ;  and  here,  as  elsewhere,  supplies  from  unnamed  sources  those  whom 
he  chooses  to  regard  as  the  '  rightful '  occupants.     See  our  note  4  p.  xxxiii.         ■  Bee  B. 


MEMOIR  OF  THOMAS  BROOKS.  xxxiii 

Church.1  When,  in  1 662,  he  published  his  '  Ark  for  all  God's  Noahs  in  a 
gloomy  stormy  day,'  he  had  to  describe  himself  on  its  title-page  as  '  late 
Preacher  of  the  Gospel  at  Margaret's  near  Fish-street,  and  still  Preacher 
of  the  Word  in  London,  and  Pastor  of  a  Congregation  there.'  The  little 
word  'late,'  and  the  other  'still,1  mark  two  events:  the  former,  the 
'Ejectment' of  1662;  the  latter,  that  while,  with  the  illustrious '  two 
thousand'  he  had  resigned  'St  Margaret's'  for  'conscience'  sake,'  he 
nevertheless  did  not  and  could  not  lay  down  his  commission  as  a 
'minister  of  the  Gospel'  and  Servant  of  Christ.  It  needeth  not  that 
I  tell  the  pathetic  and  heroic  story  of  'Black'  St  Bartholomew's 
Day.  It  is  as  imperishable  as  is  the  fame  of  '  this  England.'  I  simply 
say,  that  of  the  many  noble  and  true  men  who  all  over  the  land  stood 
faithful  to  their  convictions,  none  was  nobler,  none  worthier  than  the 
'  ejected '  Rector  of  '  St  Margaret's.'  The  closing  portion  of  his  '  Fare- 
well Sermon,'  and  it  has  not  a  single  bitter  or  controversial  word, 
appears  in  all  the  'Collections'  of  the  'Ejected'  'Farewell  Sermons.' 
We  give  it  in  the  Appendix  to  this  our  Memoir.2  The  '  Epistles  '  or 
'Approbations'  also,  which  appeared  previous  to  1662,  follow  the  'Fare- 
well Sermon'  there.3  They  may  be  compared  with  those  of  Sibbes. 
They  pay  worthy  tribute  to  the  worthy. 

He  had  not  himself  alone  to  consider  when  he  went  out  from  '  St 
Margaret's.'  He  had  married,  probably  many  years  before — though  the 
date  is  not  known — a  daughter  of  the  excellent  John  Burgess.4     It 

1  [Cf.  Newcourt  R.  E.  as  before,  vol.  i.  pp.  510-512.]  2  See  B.  8  See  C. 

4  Calamy's  'Account,'  p.  27;  Continuation,  pp.  28,  283.  Calamy's  'Account'  of  Brooks 
lacks  his  usual  carefulness.  He  describes  '  St  Margaret's,  Fish-street  hill  'as  'St  Mary- 
Magdalen,  Fish-street,'  thus  misreading  'St  Mary'  for  'St  Magnus,'  and  also,  if  intending 
it,  employing  a  name  it  did  not  bear  until  after  the  Fire  in  1666,  when  being  united 
thereto,  the  one  name,  'St  Magnus,'  embraced  both  (Newcourt,  as  supra,  p.  406).  He 
has  hereby  misled  Palmer  (None.  Memorial,  vol.  i.  p.  150),  who  enters  Brooks  as  'ejected 
from  '  St  Mary,  Fish-street. '  Further,  Calamy  had  never  seen  '  Cases  Considered  and 
Resolved,'  else  he  would  not  have  made  the  following  statements:  'About  1651  [1652-3] 
he  was  chosen  by  the  majority  of  the  Parishioners  of  St  Mary  Magdalen,  Fish  Street 
[i.e.  St  Margaret's]  to  be  their  minister;  and  he  gathering  a  Church  there  in  the  con- 
gregational way,  the  rest  of  the  Parish  preferred  a  Petition  against  him  to  the  Committee 
of  ministers,  and  he  published  a  Defence  against  their  charges.'  The  'Defence'  in 
question  is  his  'Cases  Considered  and  Resolved'  (printed  in  our  Appendix,  A),  and 
thereby  it  will  be  seen  that  it  was  not  at  all  for  the  reason  alleged  he  was  opposed  ;  and 
we  have  also  shewn  above  that  he  prevailed  and  entered  on  possession  of  the  Parish.  His 
Church  in  the  '  congregational  way'  was  not  'commenced'  for  fully  ten  years  subsequent, 
viz.  on  the  '  Ejectment '  of  1662,  as  told  onward  by  us.  The  title-pages  of  Brooks's  books 
issued  from  1652  to  1662  attest  that  he  was  the  'clergyman'  of  St  Margaret's  up  to  1662, 
and  his  subsequent  title-pages  similarly  assert  him  to  have  been  '  late '  or  '  formerly 
thereof.  Thus  are  Newcourt  and  Calamy  alike,  corrected  and  disproved.  It  is  possible 
that  while  '  minister  '  of  '  Margarets,'  Brooks,  in  common  with  other  of  his  brethren,  had 
also  a  more  select  auditory  elsewhere,  to  whom  he  held  the  office  of  '  pastor :'  but  we 
have  no  lights  on  the  subject.  Be  this  as  it  may,  the  '  Defence  '  had  nothing  to  do  with 
a  church  in  the  '  congregational  way,'  as  Calamy  affirms. 


XXXIV  MEMOIR  OF  THOMAS  BROOKS. 

does  not  appear  whether  he  had  any  family ;  but  his  wife — whose  name 
was  Martha — was  indeed  a  'help-meet,' — a  woman  of  high-toned  yet 
meekly  tender  principle,  and  all  but  the  idol  of  her  husband.  She 
died  in  1676,  and  her  Funeral  Sermon  was  preached  by  (probably)  Dr 
John  Collinges,  of  Norwich.  Some  extracts  are  added  in  our  Appendix, 
from  'notes'  which  were  no  doubt  furnished  by  Brooks  himself.1 

Thus  self-placed,  because  conscience-placed,  among  the  '  Ejected '  of 
16G2,  Brooks  nevertheless  remaining  a  Christ-anointed  'Preacher  of  the 
Gospel/  quietly  continued  his  ministry  within  his  Parish.  Evidently, 
multitudes  clave  to  their  beloved  and  honoured  Pastor,  for  to  the  praise 
of  the  laity  be  it  said,  the  very  life-blood  of  the  different  '  Churches ' 
vacated  by  the  'two  thousand'  flowed  into  the  humbler  'chapels'  and 
'  conventicles '  of  the  enforced  Nonconformists.  Brooks's  '  chapel ' 
occupied  a  site  near  his  old  Church  in  Fish-street,  called  the  '  Pave- 
ment,' Moorfields.  The  only  memorial  that  remains  of  it  is  preserved 
in  certain  MSS.  in  the  custody  of  the  Williams  Library,  London — 
drawn  up  by  a  Rev.  Josiah  Thompson — but  it  consists  of  a  mere  blun- 
dering transcript  of  Calamy's  blunders.2  He  gives  Brooks  as  the 
founder  of  the  congregation,  but  dates  it  from  1GG0  or  the  Restoration, 
which  is  disproved  by  his  preaching  his  '  Farewell  Sermon '  in  St  Mar- 
garet's in  1662.3  Here  our  'Confessor/  now  growing  old,  continued 
his  pristine  unmistakeable,  intense,  powerful,  and  '  savoury '  exhibition 
of  Christ  and  '  The  Gospel ;'  and  as  in  brighter  days,  he  issued  volume 
upon  volume,  which  bore  the  same  characteristics  and  met  with  the 
same  welcome  as  '  of  old.'  .  For  proof,  in  his  address  to  the  '  Reader ' 
prefixed  to  his  'Privy  Key  of  Heaven'  (1665),  he  was  able  to  say  grate- 
fully, as  one  of  the  reasons  for  again  publishing,  '  That  favour,  that 
good  acceptance  and  fair  quarter,  that  my  other  poor  labours  have 
found,  not  only  in  this  Nation  but  in  other  countries  also,  hath  put  me 
upon  putting  pen  to  paper  once  more/4  Even  in  the  year  of  sore  trial 
— 1662 — he  could  say,  'My  former  poor  labours  and  endeavours 
have  been  acceptable  to  some  of  all  ranks  and  degrees,  and  they  have 
been  blest  to  some  of  all  ranks  and  degrees ;  and  I  have  been  encour- 
aged, whetted,  and  stirred  up  by  some  on  all  hands,  once  more  to  cast 

1  See  D.  z  See  foot-note  supra  4  p.  xxxiii. 

8  The  Thompson  MSS.  give  details  of  the  after-history  of  Brooks's  congregation.  Reeve 
continued  only  a  few  years  :  the  '  rage  '  against  Nonconformists  flung  him  into  Newgate 
with  many  others  of  the  -godly:'  he  died  in  1686,  never  having  recovered  from  the  effects 
of  his  unrighteous  imprisonment.  He  was  succeeded  in  1686  by  Richard  Taylor,  who 
died  in  1717  ;  Mr  Hall  followed  in  1718,  and  dmd  in  1762  ;  and  he  again  was  succeeded 
by  Dr  John  Conder,  grandfather,  I  believe,  of  the  amiable  poet  Josiah  Cornier.  Other 
particulars  may  be  gleaned,  but  these  must  suffice :  except  perhaps  this  small  bit  of 
fact,  viz.,  that  the  Rev.  James  Spong  of  London,  whose  congregation  claims  to  represent 
Brooks' — has  in  his  possession  the  Communion  '  flagons '  or  cups,  bearing  an  inscription 
to  the  effect  that  they  were  a  gift  to  the  church  of  Mr  Thomas  Brooks.' 

4  See  ante. 


MEMOIR  OF  THOMAS  BROOKS.  XXXV 

in  ray  net,  and  now  I  have  done  it/1  Thus  was  it  unto  the  end:  for  in 
1 675,  in  the  '  Epistle  Dedicatory '  to  the  '  Golden  Key,'  he  uses  much 
the  same  language:  'I  must  confess  that  that  general  acceptance  that 
my  former  labours  have  found,  both  in  the  Nation  and  in  foreign  parts ; 
and  that  singular  blessing  that  has  attended  them  from  on  high,  hath 
been  none  of  the  least  encouragements  to  me  once  more  to  cast  in  my 
mite  into  the  common  treasury/2  His  '  Crown  and  Glory  of  Chris- 
tianity,' a  large  massive  quarto,  appeared  also  in  1662;  his  'Privy  Key 
of  Heaven,'  and  'A  Heavenly  Cordial  for  the  Plague/  in  1665  ;  his 
'Cabinet  of  Jewels/  in  1669;  his  'London's  Lamentations,'  in  1670; 
and  his  'Golden  Key'  and  his  'Paradise  Opened,'  in  1676.  He  was 
ever  'about  his  Father's  business  \  his  life  a  consecrated  and  burning, 
almost  flaming  one.  Little  casual  references  in  '  Epistles  Dedicatory  ' 
and  otherwise,  intimate  engagements  elsewhere,  and  '  absences '  from 
'  the  press '  so  as  to  be  unable  to  correct  errata.  And  so  the  Christ- 
like man  went  'in  and  out/  a  'workman'  needing  not  'to  be  ashamed.' 
Through  all  the  terrible  'Plague'  year,  which  Defoe  has  made  immortal 
he  was  at  his  post,  winning  thereby  a  golden  word  in  the  Reliquia} 
Baxterianoe.  After  the  equally  appalling  '  Fire/  he  stood  forth  like 
anotlier  Ezekiel  in  his  terrors,  and  yet  soft  as  Jeremiah  in  his  expostu- 
lations with  the  still  careless,  rejecting,  neglecting.  As  he  grew  old  he 
mellowed  tenderly  and  winningly.  He  had  'troops  of  friends.'  The 
'  Epistles  Dedicatory '  and  incidental  notices  inform  us  of  intimate  fel- 
lowship with  the  foremost  names  of  the  period  for  worth  and  benevo- 
lence. Many  made  him  their  Almoner  of  '  monies,'  especially  during 
the  dread  '1662'  and  '1666/  His  own  circumstances  placed  him  in 
comfort  and  ease. 

Our  Story  of  this  venerable  Puritan  is  well-nigh  told.  Behind  the 
activities  of  his  more  public  life  there  was  a  second  marriage,  as  it  would 
appear,  about  1677-78.  In  his  '  Will '  he  lovingly  speaks  of  her  as  his 
'  dear  and  honoured  wife  whom  God  hath  made  all  relations  to  meet  in 
one/  Her  name  was  Cartwright.  Theirs  was  a  brief  union ;  she  spring- 
young,  he  winter-old.  He  drew  up  his  '  Last  Testament '  on  March 
20.,  1680.  It  is  a  very  characteristic  document,  repeating  before-pub- 
lished quaint  words.3  It  will  be  found  in  our  Appendix.  He  died  a 
little  afterwards,  viz.  on  September  27.,  aged  72/  John  Reeve,  his 
particular  acquaintance  and  companion  in  sufferings,  for  conscience' 
sake,  preached  his  'Funeral  Sermon.'  It  was  published  ;  and  thus  he 
sums  up  the  character  of  the  fine  old  man  and  '  faithful  minister '  of 
Jesus  Christ : — 

'  Now,  to  close  up,  in  commemoration  of  our  dear  friend  deceased, 
who  lived  so  desired,  and  died  so  lamented,  I  shall  modestly  and  truly 

1  Ep.  Dedy.  to  '  Crown  of  Glory,'  pages  6,  7. 

2  Page  2.  3  See  this  Volume,  page  455,  et  alibi.  *  See  E. 


XXXVI  MEMOIR  OF  THOMAS  BROOKS. 

offer  some  remarks  about  his  personal  and  ministerial  endowments  to 
your  view. 

'  First,  For  his  personal  endowments,  he  was  certainly, 

'  1.  A  person  of  a  very  sweet  nature  and  temper  :  so  affable,  and 
courteous,  and  cheerful,  that  he  gained  upon  all  that  conversed  with 
him  ;  and  if  any  taxed  him  with  any  pride  or  moroseness,  or  distantial- 
ness  in  his  carriage,  it  must  be  only  such  as  did  not  know  him.  He 
had  so  winning  a  way  with  him,  he  might  bid  himself  welcome  into 
whatsoever  house  he  entered.  Pride  and  moroseness  are  bad  qualities 
for  a  man  of  his  employ,  and  make  men  afraid  of  the  ways  of  God,  for 
fear  they  should  never  enjoy  a  good  day  after. 

'  2.  A  person  of  a  very  great  gravity  :  and  could  carry  a  majesty  in 
his  face  when  there  was  occasion,  and  make  the  least  guilt  tremble  in 
his  presence  with  his  very  countenance.  I  never  knew  a  man  better 
loved,  nor  more  dreaded.  God  had  given  him  such  a  spirit  with  power, 
that  his  very  frowns  were  darts,  and  his  reproofs  sharper  than  swords. 
He  would  not  contemn  familiarity,  but  hated  that  familiarity  that  bred 
contempt. 

'  3.  A  person  of  a  very  large  charity.  He  had  large  bowels,  and  a 
large  heart  ;  a  great  dexterity  in  the  opening  of  the  bowels  of  others, 
as  well  as  his  own,  to  works  of  mercy,  that  I  think  I  may  say  there  is 
not  a  Church  in  England  that  hath  more  often  and  more  liberal  con- 
tributions for  poor  ministers  and  other  poor  Christians  than  this  is, 
according  to  the  proportion  of  their  abilities. 

'  4.  A  person  of  a  wonderful  patience.  Notwithstanding  the  many 
Aveaknesses  and  infirmities,  which  for  a  long  time  have  been  continually, 
without  ceasing  as  it  were,  trying  their  skill  to  pull  down  his  frail  body 
to  the  dust,  and  at  last  effected  it,  yet  I  never  heard  an  impatient  word 
drop  from  him.  When  I  came  to  visit  him,  and  asked  him,  '  How  do 
you,  Sir  ?'  he  answered,  '  Pretty  well :  I  bless  God  I  am  well,  I  am 
contented  with  the  will  of  my  Father :  my  Father's  will  and  mine  is 
but  one  will.'  It  made  me  often  think  of  that  Isaiah  xxxiii.  24,  '  The 
inhabitant  shall  not  say,  I  am  sick  :  the  people  that  dwell  therein  shall 
be  forgiven  their  iniquity/  Sense  of  pardon  took  away  sense  of  sick- 
ness. 

'  5.  A  person  of  a  very  strong  faith  in  the  promises  of  both  worlds  : 
and  he  could  not  be  otherwise,  being  such  a  continual  student  in  the 
Covenant.  He  feared  nothing  of  himself  or  others,  knowing  the  pro- 
mise and  oath  of  God  would  stand  firm,  and  the  Head  of  the  Church 
would  see  to  the  safety  of  all  his  members,  here  and  hereafter. 
Secondly,  For  his  ministerial  endowments,  he  was 

1 1.  An  experienced  minister.  From  the  heart  to  the  heart ;  from 
the  conscience  to  the  conscience.  He  had  a  body  of  Divinity  in  his 
head,  and  the  power  of  it  upon  his  heart. 


MEMOIR  OF  THOMAS  BROOKS.  XXXvii 

'  2.  A  laborious  minister :  as  his  works  in  press  and  pulpit  are  un- 
deniable witness  of.  To  preach  so  often,  and  print  so  much,  and  yet 
not  satisfied  till  he  could  imprint  also  his  works  upon  the  hearts  of  his 
people  ;  which  is  the  best  way  of  printing  that  I  know,  and  the  greatest 
task  of  a  minister  of  Christ. 

'  3.  He  was  a  minister  who  delighted  in  his  tvork.  It  was  his  meat 
and  drink  to  labour  in  that  great  work,  insomuch  that  under  his  weak- 
ness he  would  be  often  preaching  of  little  sermons — as  he  called  them— 
to  those  that  came  to  visit  him,  even  when  by  reason  of  his  distemper 
they  were  very  hardly  able  to  understand  them. 

'  4.  He  was  a  successful  minister :  the  instrument  in  the  hand  of 
God  for  the  conversion  of  many  souls  about  this  City  and  elsewhere. 

'  5.  And  now  he  is  at  rest.  And  though  he  is  gone,  he  is  not  lost ; 
he  is  yet  useful  to  the  Church  of  God,  and  being  dead  he  yet  speaks 
by  his  example  and  writings,  which  were  very  profitable  and  spiritual.' 

This  modest,  unexaggerated,  heart-full  portraiture  is  worthy  of  the 
man  as  the  man  was,  with  emphasis,  worthy  of  it.  It  were  to  blur  the 
sharp,  nice  lines  to  add  of  our  own  fainter  and  distant  words.  We 
deem  them  fitting  close  to  our  Memoir. 

A  single  other  sentence.  There  is  no  accredited  portrait  of  Brooks. 
Granger  mentions  one  as  being  on  the  title-page  of  his  '  Unsearchable 
Riches,'  but  we  have  the  whole  of  the  editions,  and  there  is  no  portrait 
whatever.  Doubtless  the  Historian  mis-remembered  and  was  thinking 
of  the  small  unsatisfactory  miniature  prefixed,  along  with  numerous 
others,  to  some  of  the  collections  of  the  '  Farewell  Sermons.'  And  so 
we  introduce  our  Worthy  and  his  Books  :  one  who,  while  living,  as  '  ever 
under  the  great  Task-masters  eye/  wore  in  all  simpleness  and  truth, 

1  The  grand  old  name  of  gentleman, 
Defamed  by  every  charlatan, 
And  soiled  with  all  ignoble  use.' — [7ra  Memoriam,  c.  x.] 

Alexander  B.  Grosart. 

Liverpool. 


XXX Vlll  APPENDIX  TO  MEMOIR. 


APPENDIX  TO  MEMOIR. 


A. — Controversy  on  appointment  to  St  Margaret's,  Fish  Street :  See 
ante,  pages  xxxi,  xxxiv,  et  alibi. 

CASES 
CONSIDERED  and   RESOLVED. 

WHEREIN 

All  the  tender  godly  conscientious  Ministers  in  Eng- 
land (Whether  for  a  Congregationall,  or  a 
Presbyteriall  way)  are  concerned. 

OB 

Pills  to  Purge  Malignants. 

And  all  prophane,  ignorant,  and  scandalous  persons. 

(But  more  particularly  Calculated  for  the  Meridian 

of  Margarets  Fishstreet-hill)  from  those  gross  conceits 

tbat  they  have  of  their  Children's  right  to  Baptisme  ;  and  of 

their  owne  right  to  the  Supper  of  the  Lord,  $c. 

ALSO 

Good  Conncell  to  bad  men.     Or  friendly  advise  (in 
severall  particulars)  to  unfriendly  Neighbours. 

By  Thomas  Brooks,  a  willing  Servant  unto  God, 
and  the  Faith  of  his  People,  in  the  glorious  Gospel  of 
Christ,  at  Margarets  Fishstreet-hill. 

Mallem  mere  cum  Christo,  quam  regnare  cum  Cozsare.     Luther. 
Si  Veritas  est  causa  discordicc  mori possum  tacere  non  possum. 
Jerome. 

LONDON : 
Printed  by  M.  Simmons,  for  John  Hancock  and  are  to  be  sold  at 
the  first  Shop  in  Popes-Head- Alley,  next  to  Corn- 
hill     1653. 


To  the  Conscientious  Reader. 

The  world  is  full  of  books  ;  and  of  how  many  may  it  be  said,  that 
they  do  but  proclaim  the  vanity  of  the  writer,  and  procure  weariness, 
if  not  vexation,  to  the  reader,  in  this  knowing  and  censorious  age  ! 
What  I  have  written  is  out  of  faithfulness  to  Christ,  and  love  to  souls. 
If  my  pains  shall  prove  advantageous  for  the  internal  and  eternal 
good  of  any  poor  souls,  I  shall  count  it  reward  enough.  I  doubt  not 
but  those  that  are  spiritual  will  find  something  of  the  Spirit  in  what 
follows,  and  for  that  cause  will  relish  and  love  it,  though  others  may 
therefore  stand  at  the  greater  distance  from  it.  Surely,  where  truth 
comes,  the  children  of  truth  will  entertain  it,  and  ask  nobody  leave. 
In  these  days,  they  that  have  least  right  to  ordinances  do  make  the 
greatest  noise  in  crying  out  for  ordinances.  God's  ordinances  are  choice 
pearls,  and  yet  too  often  cast  before  swine,  which,  doubtless,  hath  pro- 
voked the  Lord  to  shed  the  blood  of  many  among  us  who  have  un- 


APPENDIX  TO  MEMOIR.  XXXI X 

worthily  drunk  the  blood  of  his  Son,  and  trampled  it  under  their  feet 
/  as  an  unholy  thing,  Heb.  x.  29.  Though  my  candle  be  but  little,  yet 
I  must  not  hide  it  under  a  bushel.  Though  I  have  but  one  talent,  yet 
I  must  not  hide  it  in  a  napkin.  I  hope  thou  hast  that  anointing  of 
the  Spirit  that  will  teach  thee  not  to  reject  the  fruit  for  the  tree's  sake  ; 
nor  so  much  to  mind  the  man  as  the  matter.  But,  lest  I  should  hold 
thee  too  long  in  the  porch,  I  will  briefly  acquaint  thee  with  the  reasons 
that  have  induced  me  to  present  to  the  world  what  follows  ;  and  so  draw 
to  a  close. 

The  reasons  are  these  : 

First,  That  the  honour,  truth,  and  ways  of  Christ,  which  I  hope  are 
dearer  to  me  than  my  life,  and  which  are  struck  at  through  my  sides, 
may  be  vindicated,  1  Sam.  ii.  SO. 

Secondly,  That  the  mouth  of  iniquity,  or,  which  is  all  one,  that  the 
foul  mouths  of  profane,  ignorant,  malignant,  and  scandalous  persons, 
may  be  effectually  stopped,  Ps.  cvii.  42  ;  Titus  i.  1 1  ;  Ps.  lxiii.  11. 

Thirdly,  That  the  honest,  just,  and  righteous  proceedings  of  the 
Honourable  Committee  may  be  manifested,  and  not  smothered  by  the 
false  reports  of  any  profane,  malignant  spirits  that  were  present,  who 
are  apt  and  ready  enough  to  call  good  evil,  and  evil  good,  light  dark- 
ness, and  darkness  light,  &c,  Isa.  v.  20. 

Fourthly,  That  the  importunate  desires  of  several  ministers  and 
Christians  may  be  satisfied,  especially  those  to  whom  I  preach,  &c. 

Fifthly,  That  my  ministry  and  good  name,  which  should  be  dearer 
to  me  than  my  life,  may  be  vindicated,  2  Cor.  x.  33.*-  '  A  good  name 
is  rather  to  be  chosen  than  great  riches,  and  loving  favour  rather  than 
silver  and  gold/  Prov.  xxii.  1.  'A  good,  name  is  better  than  precious 
ointment/  saith  Solomon,  Eccles.  vii.  1.  The  initial  letter  (e)  of  the 
Hebrew  word  (nitD,  tob)  that  in  this  text  is  rendered  good,  is  bigger 
than  ordinary,  to  shew  the  more  than  ordinary  excellency  of  a  good 
name  amongst  men.  The  moralists  say  of  fame,  or  of  a  man's  good 
name,  Omnia  si  yerdas,  famam  servare  memento  ;  qua  semel  amissa 
postea  nullus  eris,  i.  e.  Whatsoever  commodity  you  lose,  be  sure  yet 
to  preserve  that  jewel  of  a  good  name.1  But  if  any  shall  delight  to 
blot  and  blur  my  name,  that  their  own  may  shine  the  brighter,  I  shall 
desire  them  frequently  to  remember  a  sweet  saying  of  Austin  :  Quis- 
quis  volens  detrahit  famce  mece,  nolens  addit  mercedi  meos,  He  that 
willingly  takes  from  my  good  name,  unwillingly  adds  to  my  reward, 
Mat.  v.  11,  12.  The  remembrance  of  this,  and  the  bird  in  the  bosom 
• — conscience — singing,  makes  a  heaven  of  joy  in  my  heart,  in  the  midst 
of  all  the  trials  that  do  attend  me,  2  Cor.  i.  12. 

Sixthly,  That  others  may  be  undeceived,  who  are  apt  enough  to 
judge  that  there  are  other  things,  and  worse  things,  charged  upon  me 
than  indeed  there  is.  And  indeed,  some  say  already  that  there  were 
eighteen  things,  others  that  there  were  six-and-twenty  things,  charged 
against  me  ;  and  all  this  to  render  my  person  and  my  doctrine  con- 
temptible in  the  world,  &c,  Jer.  xx.  10,  11  ;  Ps.  xxxv.  11. 

Seventhly,  That  the  malignant  and  profane  petitioners,  and  others 
of  their  stamp,  may  be  either  satisfied,  convinced,  and  reformed,  or 

1  The  French  have  this  proverh  among  them,  That  a  good  renown  is  hetter  than  a 
golden  girdle.    [For  Omnia  si  perdas,  &c,  see  Claudian,  De  Cons.  Mall.  Theod.,  v.  3. — G.] 


xl  APPENDIX  TO  MEMOIR. 

that  they  may  be  found  speechless,  and  Avithout  excuse  in  the  day  of 
Christ. 

Eighthly,  Because  my  case  is  a  general  case,  and  reaches  all  the 
godly,  conscientious  ministers  in  England,  be  they  of  one  judgment  or 
another.  And  clearly  if,  upon  the  following  charge  against  me,  the 
profane,  ignorant,  and  malignant  party  should  out  and  rout  the  godly 
ministers  in  the  nations,  I  wonder  where  there  would  be  found  a  con- 
scientious minister  that  should  not  upon  these  grounds  be  outed  and 
routed  ! 

Reader,  I  desire  that  thou  wouldst  cast  a  mantle  of  love  over  the 
mistakes  of  the  printer,  I  having  no  opportunity  to  wait  upon  the 
press,  by  reason  of  my  many  engagements  other  ways.  I  will  not  by 
any  jirolepsis  detain  thee  at  the  door,  but  desire  that  the  God  of  all 
consolations  would  bless  thee  with  all  external,  internal,  and  eternal 
blessings,  that  thy  actions  may  be  prosperous,  thy  troubles  few,  thy 
comforts  many,  thy  life  holy,  thy  death  happy,  and  thy  soul  lodged  for 
ever  in  the  bosom  of  Christ.     So  I  remain 

Thine,  so  far  as  thou  art  Christ's, 

Thomas  Brooks. 

A  Short  Preamble 

That  I  intended  to  make  before  the  Honourable  Committee  for 

Plundered  Ministers,  that  Truth  and  myself  might  be  the 

better  vindicated  and  cleared. 

Gentlemen, — It  was  a  divine  saying  of  Seneca,  Qui  boni  viri 
famam  perdidit  ne  conscientiam  perderet,  no  man  sets  a  better  rate 
upon  virtue  than  he  that  loseth  a  good  name  to  keep  a  good  con- 
science. He  that  hath  a  good  conscience  sits,  Noah-like,  quiet  and 
still  in  the  greatest  combustions  and  distractions.  Conscientia  pura 
semper  secura,  a  good  conscience  hath  sure  confidence  ;  it  makes  a 
man  as  bold  as  a  lion,  Pro  v.  xxviii.  1. 

I  remember  Calvin,  writing  to  the  French  king,  saith  that  opposition 
is  evangelii  genius,  the  black  angel  that  dogs  the  gospel  at  the  heels. 
And  certainly,  where  Christ  is  like  to  gain  most,  and  Satan  like  to 
lose  most,  there  Satan  in  his  instruments  will  stir  and  rage  most ;  yet, 
if  every  opposer  of  the  gospel  and  the  saints  were  turned  into  a  devil, 
that  old  saying  would  be  found  true,  Veritas  stat  in  aperto  campo, 
truth  stands  in  the  open  fields,  yea,  and  it  will  make  those  stand  in 
whom  it  lives  ;  yea,  it  will  make  them  stand  cheerfully,  resolutely,  and 
unmoveably,  in  the  face  of  the  greatest,  highest,  and  hottest  oppo- 
sitions. 

Concerning  these  profane,  ignorant,  malignant,  and  scandalous 
petitioners,  I  shall  say,  as  Lactantius  saith  of  Lucian,  Nee  dlis  nee 
liominibus  pepercit,  he  spared  neither  God  nor  man.  Such  are  these 
petitioners.  It  is  said  of  Catiline,  that  he  was  monstrum  ex  variis 
diversisque,  inter  se  pugnantibus  naturis  conflcdwm,  a  compound 
and  bundle  of  warring  lusts  and  vices.  Such  are  these  petitioners. 
Historians  say  that  tigers  rage  and  are  mad  when  they  smell  the  fra- 
grancy  of  spices.     Such  are  these  petitioners,  when  they  smell  the  fra- 


APPENDIX  TO  MEMOIR.  xll 

grancy  of  the  graces  of  God's  Spirit  in  the  principles  and  practices,  in 
the  lives  and  religious  exercises,  of  the  people  of  God. 

Gentlemen,  I  am  compelled  to  tell  you  that  I  have,  by  the  gracious 
assistance  of  God,  preached  publicly  the  gospel  above  these  thirteen 
years  ;  and  the  greatest  part  of  those  years  I  have  spent  in  preaching 
the  word  in  London,  where  God  hath  given  me  many  precious  seals  of 
my  ministry,  which  are  now  my  comfort,  and  in  the  day  of  Christ  will 
be  my  crown.  They  are  my  'living  epistles/  they  are  my  walking 
certificates,  they  are  my  letters  testimonial,  as  Paul  speaks,  2  Cor.  iii. 
1,  2.  And  yet,  in  all  this  time,  none  have  shewed  themselves  so 
malicious,  impudent,  and  ignorant,  as  to  petition  against  me,  as  these 
that  stand  now  before  you  ;  yet  am  I  confident  that  this  act  of  theirs 
shall  work  for  my  external,  internal,  and  eternal  good,  Rom.  viii.  28  : 
and  out  of  this  eater,  God  will  bring  forth  meat  and  sweetness  to  others 
also,  Judges  xiv.  14. 

Gentlemen,  I  shall  now  trouble  your  patience  no  further,  but  come 
now  to  answer  to  the  things  that  these  profane,  malignant  petitioners 
have  charged  against  me  in  their  petition  to  this  Honourable  Com- 
mittee. 


To  the  Honourable  Committee  for  Plundered  Ministers, 

The  Humble  Petition  of  the  Parishioners  of  Margaret,  New  Fishstreet, 
London,  whose  Names  are  hereunto  Subscribed  ; 

Shewing, — That  one  Mr  Thomas  Brooks  was,  by  order  of  your 
honours,  dated  the  twenty-third  of  March  1651,  appointed  to  preach 
for  a  month,  next  ensuing,  as  probationer,  to  the  end  that,  upon  the 
parishioners'  and  the  said  Mr  Brooks's  mutual  trial  of  each  other,  the 
said  Mr  Brooks  might  continue,  or  your  petitioners  have  some  other 
to  officiate  amongst  them. 

Your  petitioners  are  humbly  bold  to  offer  to  your  honours'  consider- 
ation that  they  have  had  trial  of  the  said  Mr  Brooks  ever  since  your 
honours'  order,  but  cannot  find  that  comfort  to  their  souls  they  hoped ; 
nor  indeed  is  the  said  Mr  Brooks  so  qualified  to  your  petitioners'  un- 
derstandings as  to  remain  any  longer  with  them.  And  further,  your 
petitioners  say  that  the  said  Mr  Brooks  refuseth  to  afford  your  peti- 
tioners the  use  of  the  ordinances  of  baptism  and  the  Lord's  supper, 
nor  will  he  bury  their  dead. 

The  petitioners  therefore  humbly  pray  that  your  honours  will  be 
pleased  to  revoke  your  order,  and  give  liberty  to  your  peti- 
tioners for  six  months,  to  present  a  fit  person  to  your  honours 
to  be  their  minister  ;  and,  in  the  mean  time,  that  sequestra- 
tors may  be  appointed  to  provide  for  the  service  of  the  cure 
out  of  such  money  as  shall  arise  for  tithes  out  of  the  said 
parish.    And,  &c. 

Queries  upon  the  Malignants'  Petition. 

Gentlemen, — In  their  petition  they  say,  that  I  was  to  '  preach  a 
month  as  probationer,  and  after  a  mutual  trial  of  each  other,  I  might 


xlii  '  APPENDIX  TO  MEMOIR. 

continue,  or  the  petitioners  have  some  other  to  officiate  amongst  them.' 
To  this  I  say, 

(1.)  That  I  never  had  any  such  thing  by  one  or  other  propounded 
to  me,  to  preach  amongst  them  as  probationer.  It  was  only  thus  pro- 
pounded to  me  :  That  at  a  full  meeting,  I  was  chosen  by  the  honest 
and  well-affected  of  the  parish  to  come  and  preach  amongst  them. 
And  I  did  more  than  twice  or  thrice  declare  to  them  before  I  came, 
that  if  they  did  expect  anything  else  of  me,  I  would  not  come  ;  only 
1  did  declare  my  willingness  to  receive  any  among  them  into  fellow- 
ship with  us  that  the  Lord  had  taken  into  fellowship  with  himself, 
and  that  were  willing  to  walk  in  gospel  order. 

('2.)  I  say,  that  had  they  propounded  the  business  to  me  as  it  is 
presented  in  their  petition,  I  would  never  have  come  upon  such  terms, 
and  that  upon  several  reasons,  which  here  I  shall  omit. 

(3.)  I  say,  that  they  had  a  trial  of  me  all  the  winter  ;  I  preached 
above  twenty  sermons  on  the  lecture  nights  before  this  order  was 
granted  or  desired.  Therefore  I  know  not  to  what  purpose  I  should 
preach  among  them  upon  trial,  when  they  had  beforehand  so  large  a 
trial  of  me. 

(4.)  I  say,  that  these  profane,  malignant  petitioners  had  neither  a 
hand  in  choosing  of  me,  nor  yet  hearts  to  make  any  trial  of  my  ministry, 
so  far  as  I  can  understand.  And  therefore  they  may  well  have  a  black 
brand  put  upon  them,  as  men  void  of  common  honesty  and  ingenuity,1 
in  abusing  the  honourable  committee,  and  petitioning  against  me  ; 
whenas  they  were  neither  the  major  part*  of  the  parish  by  far,  nor 
yet  was  the  order  of  the  committee  granted  to  them  ;  nor  did  the 
order  of  the  committee  give  any  power  or  liberty  to  these  profane, 
malignant  petitioners  to  choose  some  other  to  officiate,  as  they  pre- 
tend. What  greater  dishonour  and  contempt  can  they  cast  upon  the 
committee,  than  to  declare  to  the  world  that  they  have  given  to  them, 
that  are  so  notoriously  known  for  their  profaneness  and  malignancy, 
an  order  to  choose  one  to  officiate  amongst  them  ! 

In  their  petition  they  further  say,  '  That  they  have  had  trial  of  me 
ever  since  your  honours'  order/  This  is  as  far  from  truth  as  the  peti- 
tioners are  from  being  real  friends  to  the  present  authority  of  the 
nation  ;  for  it  is  notoriously  known,  that  they  use  not  to  hear  me  but 
others,  whose  malignant  principles  and  practices  are  most  suitable  to 
their  oAvn. 

Further,  they  say,  '  They  cannot  find  that  comfort  to  their  souls 
they  hoped/  Here  give  me  leave  to  query  :  [1.]  How  they  could  have 
any  comfort  from  my  ministry  that  did  not  attend  it  ?  [2.]  But  grant 
they  did,  I  query,  Whether  their  want  of  comfort  did  not  spring  rather 
from  their  want  of  faith  to  close  with  the  word,  and  to  feed  upon  the 
word,  and  to  apply  the  word  to  their  own  souls,  than  from  any  defect 
in  my  preaching  ?  '  The  word  preached  did  not  profit  them,  not  being 
mixed  with  faith  in  them  that  heard  it/  Heb.  iv.  2.  *  Faith  and  the 
word  meeting  make  a  happy  mixture,  a  precious  confection.  When 
faith  and  the  word  is  mingled  together,  then  the  word  will  be  a  word 
of  power  and  life  ;  then  it  will  be  a  healing  word,  a  quickening  word, 
a  comforting  word,  a  saving  word.     Faith  makes  the  soul  fruitful  ; 

1  Ingenuousness. — G. 


APPENDIX  TO  MEMOIR.  xliii 

faith  hath  Rachel's  eye  and  Leah's  womb.  Where  faith  is  wanting, 
men's  souls  will  be  like  the  cypress  ;  the  more  it  is  watered,  the  more 
it  is  withered.  However,  that  tree  that  is  not  for  fruit,  is  for  the 
fire,  Heb.  vi.  8.  Some  say  of  king  Midas — not  true,  but  fabulous — 
that  he  had  obtained  of  the  gods,  that  whatsoever  he  touched  should 
be  turned  into  gold.  I  may  truly  say,  in  a  spiritual  sense,  whatever 
faith  touches  it  turns  it  into  gold,  into  our  good.  A  bee  can  suck 
honey  out  of  a  flower  ;  so  cannot  a  fly  do.  Faith  will  extract  abun- 
dance of  comfort  out  of  the  word,  and  gather  one  contrary  out  of 
another;  honey  out  of  the  rock,  Deut.  xxxii.  SG.1*-^.]  I  query 
whether  their  not  finding  comfort  by  my  ministry  did  not  rather 
spring  from  a  judicial  act  of  God  rather  than  from  anything  in  my 
ministry.  God  many  times  punishes  men's  neglect  of  the  means,  and 
their  despising  the  means,  and  their  barrenness  under  the  means, 
&c,  by  giving  them  up  to  a  spirit  of  slumber,  by  shutting  their  eyes, 
and  closing  up  their  hearts,  as  you  may  see  in  that  Isa.  vi.  9,  10, 
1  And  he  said,  Go  and  tell  this  people,  Hear  ye  indeed,  but  understand 
not ;  and  see  ye  indeed,  but  perceive  not.  Make  the  heart  of  this 
people  fat,  and  make  their  ears  heavy,  and  shut  their  eyes  ;  lest  they 
see  with  their  eyes,  and  hear  with  their  ears,  and  understand  with 
their  heart,  and  convert,  and  be  healed.'  A  fat  heart  is  a  fearful 
plague.  A  fat  heart  is  a  most  brutish  and  blockish  heart,  a  heart  fitted 
and  prepared  for  wrath,  Ps.  cxix.  70.  These  four  keys,  say  the  Rabbins, 
God  keeps  under  his  own  girdle :  (1 .)  the  key  of  the  womb,  (2.)  the  key* 
of  the  grave,  (3.)  the  key  of  the  rain,  (4.)  the  key  of  the  heart.  '  He 
openeth,  and  no  man  shutteth;  and  he  shutteth,  and  no  man  openeth.'2 
[4.]  I  query  whether  their  not  finding  of  comfort  did  not  spring  from 
the  wickedness  and  baseness  of  their  own  hearts,  Isa.  xxix.  13,  14  • 
Ezek.  xxxiii.  80-33  ;  Mat.  xv.  4-10.  When  men  bring  pride,  and  pre- 
judice, and  resolvedness  to  walk  after  the  ways  of  their  own  hearts,  let 
the  minister  say  what  he  will  (as  they  in  Jer.  xliv.  15,  et  seq.,  which  I 
desire  you  will  turn  to  and  read),  it  is  no  wonder  that  they  can  find  no 
comfort  in  the  word.3  This  is  just  as  if  the  patient  should  cry  out  of 
the  physician,  Oh,  he  can  find  no  comfort  in  anything  he  prescribes 
him,  when  he  is  resolved  beforehand  that  he  will  rather  die  than  follow 
his  prescriptions.  May  not  every  one  of  these  men's  hearts  say  to  him, 
as  the  heart  of  Apollodorus  in  the  kettle,  syw  soi  rovruv  dma)  it  is  I  have 
been  the  cause  of  this  ?  I  judge  they  may  ;  and  if  they  will  not  now 
acknowledge  it  to  their  humiliation,  they  will  at  last  be  forced  to 
acknowledge  it  to  their  confusion  and  destruction  in  that  day  wherein 
the  great  Searcher  of  hearts  shall  judge  the  souls  of  men.  [5.]  I  query 
whether  all  the  godly  conscientious  ministers  of  one  judgment  or 
another  in  all  England  would  not  be  outed  and  routed  if  this  plea  of 

1  As  Luther  saith  of  prayer,  so  I  may  say  of  faith  :  it  hath  a  kind  of  omnipotency  in 
it;  it  is  able  to  do  all  things.  Est  qucedam  omnipotentia  precum.  T avium  possumut 
quantum  credimus. 

2  When  she  in  Seneca  was  stricken  with  sudden  blindness,  she  cried  out  of  the  light. 
So  when  God  strikes  profane  men  with  spiritual  blindness,  then  they  cry  out  of°the 
minister. 

3  The  patient  in  Plutarch  complained  to  his  physician  of  his  finger,  when  his  liver  was 
rotten.  iSo  mauy  complain  of  the  minister  when  their  hearts  are  rotten.  They  complain 
they  can  find  no  comfurt,  when  the  fault  lies  in  the  baseness  of  their  hearts. 

■*    Jf  e/-  l»*t  9g4i/.  JJ./J.  ? 


xliv  APPENDIX  TO  MEMOIR. 

profane,  ignorant,  malignant,  and  scandalous  persons,  that  they  cannot 
find  no  profit  nor  no  comfort  by  their  ministry,  be  admitted  as  a  thing 
that  has  worth  or  weight  in  it,  1  Kings  xxii.  8-29.  Without  doubt, 
if  this  would  carry  the  day  against  a  godly  ministry,  we  should  hear  a 
cry  from  all  parts  of  the  nation  where  such  men  are,  2  Chron.  xxxvi. 
16,  Oh!  what  shall  we  do  with  such  preachers  as  these  be?  We  can 
find  no  comfort,  nor  no  profit  by  their  ministry.  We  shall  have  none 
of  these,  but  we  will  have  such  as  will  preach  pleasing  things,  Lam. 
ii.  14.  We  will  have  common-prayer-book  men,  and  such  that  will 
administer  sacraments  to  us,  as  in  former  good  days,  wherein  there  was 
no  such  difference  put  between  men  and  men,  but  all  that  would 
bring  their  twopences  might  come  and  be  as  welcome  to  the  parson,  if 
not  more,  as  any  Puritan  or  Roundhead  of  them  all,  Isa.  xxx.  8-11. 
[6.]  I  query  whether  your  not  finding  of  comfort  and  profit  by  the 
word  did  not  spring  from  Satan's  blinding  your  eyes,  and  from  his 
catching  away  the  good  seed  out  of  your  hearts.  '  If  our  gospel  be  hid,' 
saith  the  apostle,  '  it  is  hid  to  them  that  are  lost ;  in  whom  the  god  of 
this  world  hath  blinded  the  minds  of  them  which  believe  not,  lest  the 
light  of  the  glorious  gospel  of  Christ,  who  is  the  image  of  God,  should 
shine  unto  them/  2  Cor.  iv.  3,  4.  Is  it  any  wonder  that  profane,  igno- 
rant, scandalous  persons  can  find  no  comfort  by  the  word,  whenas  the 
devil  hath  shut  their  eyes  with  his  black  hand  ?l  when  he  hath  put 
a  covering  upon  their  eyes  that  they  can't  see  any  beauty,  excellency, 
►  or  glory  in  it?  Gospel  droppings  have  richly  fallen  among  many,  and 
yet,  like  Gideon's  fleece,  they  are  dry,  because  Satan  hath  blinded  them, 
and  catched  away  the  good  seed  that  was  sown  upon  them  :  '  When  any 
one  heareth  the  word  of  the  kingdom,  and  understandeth  it  not,  then 
cometh  the  wicked  one,  and  catches  away2  that  which  was  sowa  in  his 
heart'  (or  rather  upon  his  heart)  ;  'this  is  he  which  received  seed  by 
the  wayside,'  Mat.  xiii.  19.  [7.]  I  query  whether  your  want  of  profit 
and  comfort  by  the  word  did  not  spring  from  your  want  of  interest  in 
gospel  consolations.  Oh !  it  is  not  the  hearing  of  gospel  consolations 
that  comforts,  but  the  knowledge  of  a  man's  interest  in  them  that 
cheers  up  the  heart.3  Ah  !  where  is  that  word  to  be  found  in  all  the 
book  of  God  that  does  evidence  comfort, — which  is  children's  bread, — 
to  be  of  right  belonging  to  profane,  ignorant,  malignant,  and  scandalous 
persons,  as  you  can't  but  know  yourselves  to  be,  if  conscience  be  in 
the  least  measure  awakened.  God  hath  all  along  in  the  Scripture  made 
a  separation  between  sin  and  comfort ;  and  how  then,  can  you  expect 
comfort,  who  hold  on  in  sinful  ways,  though  love  and  wrath,  life  and 
death,  heaven  and  hell,  be  often  set  before  you  ?  God  is  not  prodigal 
of  gospel  consolations.  They  are  the  best  and  strongest  wines  in  God's 
cellar,  and  reserved  only  for  his  best  and  dearest  friends  :  Isa.  xl.  1,  2, 
'  Comfort  ye,  comfort  ye  my  people,  saith  your  God  :  speak  ye  com- 

1  Satan  is  like  the  picture  of  the  goddess  that  was  so  contrived  that  she  frowned  on  men 
as  they  went  into  tin:  temple,  and  smiled  us  they  came  out. 

-  u£>ra'(,ii  a  u£Tu%a>, — L'ti/>i<>,  lie  took  it  or  snatched  it  by  force  or  violence. 

8  It  is  interest  in  a  pardon,  a  crown,  an  inheritance  that  comforts,  and  not  the  talking 
of  them.  So  here.  The  very  heathen  could  not  have  comfort  nor  quiet  when  they  were 
under  the  rage  of  sinful  lusts  ;  therefore,  when  they  knew  not  how  to  bridle  them,  they 
offered  violence  to  nature,  pulling  out  their  own  eyes,  because  they  could  not  look  upon  a 
woman  without  lusting  after  her. 


APPENDIX  TO  MEMOIR.  xlv 

fortably  to  Jerusalem,  and  cry  unto  her  that  her  warfare  is  accom- 
plished, that  her  iniquity  is  pardoned/  &c.  *  The  Hebrew  word  that  is 
here  rendered  comfort  signifies  first  to  repent,  and  then  to  comfort.1    *     / 
And  certainly  the  sweetest  joy  is  from  the  sourest  tears.     Tears  are  the  <fy /***"' 
breeders  of  spiritual  joy.    When  Hannah  had  wept,  she  went  away,  and    £***■ 
was  no  more  sad.     The  bee  gathers  the  best  honey  off  the  bitterest  herbs. 
Christ  made  the  best  wine  of  water.     The  purest,  the  strongest,  and 
most  excellent  joy  is  made  of  the  waters  of  repentance.  *  Ah  !  lay  your 
hands  upon  your  hearts,  and  tell  me  whether  you  can  look  God  in  the 
face  and  say,  Lord  !  we  are  thine  ;  first,  by  purchase  ;  secondly,  we  are  -v-a**^ 
thine  by  choice ;  thirdly,  we  are  thine  by  conquest ;  fourthly,  we  are  4-u-  /tCc 
thine  by  covenant ;  fifthly,  we  are  thine  by  marriage.""  Ah!  if  you  are  £rz*6  U. 
not  the  Lord's  in  these  respects,  what  minister  on  earth  hath  commission 
to  comfort  you  ?     Their  commission  is  to  read  other  lectures  to  profane, 
ignorant,  scandalous  persons,  &c,  than  those  of  comfort  and  joy,  as  you 
may  see  in  these  scriptures,  if  you  will  but  take  the  pains  to  read 
them :  Ps.  vii.  11,  ix.  17,  xi.  5,  6,  xxxvii.  10-20,  compared  with  Ps.  lxxv. 
8,  cxlv.  20  ;  Job  xxi.  30  ?  Prov.  xi.  5,  21,  31,  compared  ;  Prov.  xii.  2, 
xiv.  9,  xv.  29,  xxi.  18,  27  ;  Eccles.  viii.  13  ;  Isa.  xi.  4,  xiii.  11  ;  Jer. 
xxv.  31  ;  Ezek.  iii.  18,  19 ;  Nah.  i.  3  ;  Mai.  iv.  3  ;  Deut.  xxviii.   15, 
et  seq.;  Lev.  xxvi.  14,  et  seq.     Ah !  did  you  but  wisely  consider  the  ex- 
cellency of  gospel-comforts  above  all  other  comforts  in  the  world,  you 
would  not  wonder  at  ministers  giving  them  forth  so  sparingly  to  pro-     y 
fane,   ignorant,  malignant,  and  scandalous  persons  f  for,  first,  gospel  yttf/^e/. 
comforts  are  unutterable  comforts,  1  Peter  i.  8,  Philip,  iv.4.*"  Secondly,  /j^v*^*^ 
they  are  real,  John  xiv.  27  ;  all  others  are  but  seeming  comforts,  but 
painted  comforts.     Thirdly,  they  are  holy  comforts,  Isa.  lxiv.  5,  Ps. 
cxxxviii.  5  ;  they  flow  from  a  Holy  Spirit,  and  nothing  can  come  from 
the  Holy  Spirit  but  that  which  is  holy.     Fourthly,  they  are  the  greatest 
and  strongest  comforts,  Eph.  vi.  17.     Few  heads  and  hearts  are  able  to 
bear  them,  as  few  heads  are  able  to  bear  strong  wines.     Fifthly,  they 
reach  to  the  inward  man,  to  the  soul,  2  Thes.  ii.  17,  the  noble  part  of 
man.     '  My  soul  rejoiceth  in  God  my  Saviour/     Our  other  comforts 
only  reach  the  face  ;  they  sink  not  so  deep  as  the  heart.     Sixthly,  they 
are  the  most  soul-filling  and  soul-satisfying  comforts,  Ps.  xvi.  11,  Cant. 
ii.  3.    Other  comforts  cannot  reach  the  soul ;  and  therefore  they  cannot 
fill  nor  satisfy  the  soul.     Seventhly,  they  comfort  in  saddest  distresses, 
in  the  darkest  night,  and  in  the  most  stormy  day,  Ps.  xciv.  19,  Hab. 
iii.  17,  18.     Eighthly,  they  are  everlasting,  2  Thes.  ii.  16.     The  joy  of 
the  wicked  is  but   as  a  glass,  bright  and  brittle,  and   evermore   in 
danger  of  breaking ;  but  the  joy  of  the  saints  is  lasting.2     JEterna  erit 
exultatio,  quae  bono  Icetatur  ceterno,  their  joy  lasts  for  ever,  whose  object 
remains  for  ever.     [8.]  I  query  whether  you,  and  men  of  your  stamp, 
remaining  under  the  power  of  your  lusts,  will  ever  say  that  you  can 

1  1DPI3  IDTO,  nahhamu,  nuhkamu,  from  DI12  nahham,  which  signifies  first  to  repent 
(1  Sa.ni.  xv.  35),  and  then  to  comfort,  because  true  comfort  belongs  only  to  the  penitent. 
Divine  comfort  is  a  delicate  thing,  and  it  is  not  given  to  him  that  admits  any  other,  saith 
Bernard.  Nulla  verior  miseria  quam  falsa  l&titia  :  There  is  no  truer  misery  than  false 
joy. — Bernard.  Nil  nisi  sanctum  a  sancto  Spiritu  prodire  potest,  Neh.  viii.  10.  There  have 
been  those  that  have  died  under  the  strength  and  power  of  their  joy. 

2  Valde protestatus  sum,  me  nolle  sic  satiari  ab  eo,  1  said  flatly  that  God  should  not  put  me 
off  with  these  low  things. — Luther. 


xlvi  APPENDIX  TO  MEMOIR. 

find  any  comfort  at  all  in  any  man's  ministry,  that  is  not  a  common- 
prayer-book  man,  or  one  that  will  give  you  and  yours  the  sacraments, 
and  lash  at  the  power  of  godliness,  and  at  the  State  in  preaching  and 
praying,  &c.  Doubtless  under  such  a  man's  ministry,  were  he  never 
BO  ignorant,  scandalous,  or  profane,  you  would  plead  that  you  found 
much  comfort  to  your  souls,  and  that  he  was  a  man  indeed  for  your 
money,  &c.  Well  !  if  you  have  found  no  comfort  under  my  ministry, 
yet  my  comfort  is,  that  my  reward  is  with  the  Lord,  and  my  work  with 
my  God.  My  comfort  is,  that  there  are  many  hundreds  in  this  city 
that  have,  and  that  do  find  comfort  by  the  blessing  and  breathings  of 
God  upon  my  weak  endeavours.1 

Further,  In  their  petition  they  say  that  '  I  am  not  so  qualified  to 
their  understandings  as  to  remain  any  longer  with  them/ 

To  this  I  say,  First,  It  is  my  joy  and  crown,  that  I  am  not  so  quali- 
fied as  to  please  and  content  ignorant,  profane,  malignant,  scandalous 
persons  in  their  formality  and  impiety  ;  remembering  that  he  is  the 
best  preacher,  non  qui  aures  tetigerit,  sed  qui  cor  pupugerit,  not  that 
tickles  the  ear,  but  that  breaks  the  heart.  It  is  a  comfort  to  me  that 
I  am  no  nearer  that  woe,  Luke  vi.  2b',  '  Woe  be  to  you  when  all  men 
speak  well  of  you.'  When  one  told  Aristides  that  he  had  every  man's 
good  word,  saith  he,  What  evil  have  I  done,  that  I  should  have  every 
man's  good  word  ?  Male  de  me  loquuntur,  sed  mail,  saith  Seneca.  It 
is  sometimes  more  a  shame  than  an  honour  to  have  the  good  word  of 
profane,  ignorant,  scandalous  persons.  Latimer,  in  his  last  sermon  be- 
fore king  Edward,  saith,  '  That  he  was  glad  when  any  objected  indis- 
cretion against  him  in  his  sermons  ;  for  by  that  he  knew  the  matter 
was  good,  else  they  would  soon  have  condemned  that.'  It  was  a  not- 
able saying  of  Salvian,  Mirum  essetsi  huminibus  loquentia  de  Deo 
verba  non  placeant,2  quibus  ipse  forsitan  Deus  non  placet  :  it  were 
very  strange,  saith  he,  if  I  should  please  a  world  of  men,  when  God 
himself  doth  not  give  every  man  content.  Luther,  writing  to  his  friend, 
hath  this  passage,  '  My  greatest  fear  is  the  praises  of  men,  but  my  joy 
is  in  their  reproaches  and  evil  speeches.'  It  is  certain  that  the  praises 
of  men,  to  many,  are  the  basilisks  that  kill,  the  poison  that  destroys 
their  immortal  souls. 

2.  I  say,  if  the  understandings  of  ignorant,  malignant,  profane,  and 
scandalous  persons,  should  be  the  rule  or  standard  by  which  the  abili- 
ties or  qualifications  of  such  ministers,  that  are  ministers,  '  not  of  the 
letter,  but  of  the  spirit/  as  the  apostle  speaks,  2  Cor.  iii.  6,  should  be 
measured  and  tried  ;  doubtless  he  that  is  no  witch  may  easily  conclude 
that  there  are  no  ministers  in  England  qualified  to  their  understand- 
ings, but  such  as  are  malignant,  ignorant,  profane,  and  scandalous  as 
themselves  ;  and  such,  without  doubt,  would  be  the  only  qualified  men, 
to  their  understandings;  as  might  be  confirmed  by  a  cloud  of  witnesses, 
Jer.  v.  30,  31. 

3.  Though  I  am  not  qualified,  as  to  their  understandings,  yet,  through 
grace,  I  am  qualified  as  to  the  understandings  of  those  that  are  eminent 
both  for  piety  and  parts,  and  who  have  made  trial  of  what  is  in  me, 

1  I  have  read  of  one  who  cried  out  with  a  loud  voice  to  Flavius  Vespnsianus,  Vulpem 
pilum  mutate,  non  mores,  that  the  wolf  might  change  his  hair,  hut  not  his  qualities.  You 
know  how  to  apply  it,  Isa.  xlix.  4,  5.  '2  Qu.  '  verba  placeant'  t — Ed. 


APPENDIX  TO  MEMOIR.  xlvii 

and  what  the  Lord  hath  done  for  me.1  And  though  I  am  not  so  quali- 
fied as  to  gratify  your  lusts,  yet  it  is  joy  and  honour  enough  to  me  that 
the  Lord  hath  so  qualified  me  with  gifts  and  graces  as  to  make  me  in- 
strumental to  bring  in  souls  to  Christ,  and  to  build  up  souls  in  Christ. 
In  the  day  of  account  it  will  be  made  manifest  that  they  have  been 
the  best,  the  wisest,  and  ablest  preachers,  who  have  brought  most  souls 
to  Christ,  and  provoked  most  souls  to  walk  with  Christ,  and  cleave  to 
Christ,  and  lift  up  Christ  in  this  world,  Pro  v.  xi.  30.  Through  grace, 
I  can  say,  with  blessed  Cooper,  '  My  witness  is  in  heaven,  that  I  have 
no  such  joy  and  pleasure  as  in  doing  the  work  of  Christ,  and  in  being 
serviceable  to  the  honour  of  Christ,  the  interest  of  Christ,  and  the 
people  of  Christ.'2 

4.  If  this  plea  of  profane,  ignorant,  malignant,  and  scandalous  per- 
sons should  be  admitted  as  authentic,  doubtless  all  the  godly,  tender, 
conscientious  ministers  in  the  nation,  that  can't  do  as  they  would  have 
them,  would  quickly  be  ejected.  All  the  profane,  ignorant,  malignant, 
scandalous  persons  in  the  nation  would  soon  cry  out,  as  one  man,  Our 
ministers  are  not  so  qualified,  to  our  understandings,  as  to  remain 
any  longer  with  us,  ergo3 — 

5.  It  is  to  be  remembered  that,  when  the  petitioners  were  several 
times  pressed  by  the  Committee  to  shew  wherein  I  was  not  qualified 
for  the  Avork  of  the  ministry,  they  all  seemed  to  be  dumb,  and  at  very 
great  loss,  as  not  knowing  what  to  answer;4  but  at  last  their  malig- 
nant champion,  after  much  pumping,  gave  this  answer  to  the  commit- 
tee, That  I  was  not  so  qualified,  to  their  understandings,  as  to  remain 
any  longer  among  them,  because  I  would  not  give  them  the  sacraments, 
nor  bury  their  dead  ;  which  put  some  rather  upon  smiling  than  upon 
answering.  But  at  last  a  worthy  member  of  that  Committee  made  this 
answer,  '  That  they  had  both  heard  me  and  seen  me  in  print,  and  so 
were  best  able  to  make  a  judgment  of  my  abilities  and  fitness  for  the 
work  of  the  ministry/  &c.5  For  a  close  of  this  branch  of  the  petition, 
I  shall  only  say  this,  being  compelled  thereunto  by  some,  that  I  do  be- 
lieve that  I  have  spent  more  money  at  the  University,  and  in  helps  to 
learning,  than  several  of  these  petitioners  are  worth,  though,  haply,  I 
have  not  been  so  good  a  proficient  as  those  that  have  spent  less.  I  am 
a  lover  of  the  tongues,  and  do,  by  daily  experience,  find  that  knowledge 
in  the  original  tongues  is  no  small  help  for  the  understanding  of  Scrip- 
ture, &c.  Yet  am  I  not  kin  to  them  that  advance  and  lift  up  acquired 
gifts  above  the  sweet  sanctifying  gifts  and  graces  of  the  Spirit  of  Christ 
in  the  souls  of  his  saints,  as  many  have  and  do  to  this  day.     But  cer- 

1  Chrysostom  studied  not  aures  titillare,  but  corda  pungere,  to  tickle  the  ears  of  his 
hearers,  but  to  prick  and  ravish  their  hearts. 

2  np^>1>  velokeakh,  which  signifies,  by  art  and  industry,  to  catch  souls,  as  fowlers  do 
to  take  birds. 

3  They  that  are  wise  cannot  but  observe  much  of  this  spirit  upon  all  the  profane,  igno- 
rant, and  malignant  persons  in  the  nation. 

4  The  petitioners  seemed  to  be  like  those  in  Mat.  xxii.  4G,  that  were  nonplussed  by 
the  question  Christ  put  to  them,  &c. 

4  My  first  sermon,  preached  before  the  Parliament,  was  on  the  26th  December  1648. 
My  second  was  preached  on  the  8th  of  October  16-50,  for  that  great  victory  the  Lord  of 
hosts  gave  our  army  over  the  Scots  army  in  battle  at  Dunbar,  Sept.  3.  1650,  and  both  are 
printed  by  their  order  ;  besides  my  book  called  '  Precious  Remedies  against  Satan's  De- 
vices,' which  came  forth  this  year,  which  some  of  them  have  seen. 

VOL.  I.  d 


xlviii  APPENDIX  TO  MEMOIR. 

tainly  Christ  will  more  and  more  cloud  those  that  labour  to  cloud  the 
shillings  forth  of  his  Spirit  in  the  souls  of  his  servants.  Nor  yet  am 
I  kin  to  Licinius,  who  held  learning  to  be  the  commonwealth's  rat's- 
bane.  Neither  am  I  kin  to  those  that  labour  might  and  main  the 
overthrow  of  learning,  in  order  to  their  lifting  up  Jack  Straw.  It  is 
sad  when  men  are  not  so  ingenuous  as  to  favour  that  in  others  Avhich 
they  can't  find  in  themselves. 

Further,  The  petitioners  say  that  I  refuse  to  baptize  their  chil- 
dren, &c. 

A  us.  1.  This  gives  me  leave  to  premise  by  the  way  that  it  is  my 
judgment,  upon  many  grounds  moving  me  to  it,  that  baptism  is  to  be 
administered  to  the  children  of  believing  parents,  who  walk  in  the 
order  of  the  gospel ;  and  my  practice  herein  doth  answer  to  my  judg- 
ment, as  is  well  known  to  many.1 

2.  But,  in  the  second  place,  I  confess  I  have  refused,  and  shall  re- 
fuse, to  baptize  the  children  of  profane,  ignorant,  malignant,  and 
scandalous  persons  ;  and  that  upon  these  following  grounds  :2 

[I.]  Because  I  cannot  find  any  warrant  in  my  commission  from 
Christ  so  to  do.*  I  do  seriously  profess  that  I  have  made  a  diligent 
search  and  strict  inquiry  into  that  commission  that  I  have  received 
from  the  Lord  for  the  dispensing  of  holy  things,  and  I  cannot  find  any- 
thing in  my  commission  that  will  bear  me  out  in  the  baptizing  the 
children  of  those  parents  that  are  profane,  ignorant,  malignant,  scan- 
dalous, &c,  and  therefore  I  cannot  do  it,  lest  I  should  hear  Christ  and 
conscience  sounding  that  sad  word  in  my  ears,  '  Who  hath  required 
this  at  your  hand?'  Isa.  i.  12. 

[2.]  Because  such  persons  that  are  profane,  ignorant,  malignant, 
scandalous,  &c,  if  they  were  now  to  be  baptized  themselves,  ought  not 
to  be  baptized,  they  having  no  right  to  baptism,  as  these  scriptures  in 
the  margin  do  evidence  ;3  therefore,  such  parents  cannot  justly,  upon 
any  Scripture  account,  challenge  baptism  for  their  children,  who  have 
no  right  to  it  themselves.  All  that  knoAV  anything  are  not  ignorant 
of  this,  that  it  is  the  parents'  interest  in  the  covenant  that  gives  the 
child  right  to  baptism.  Now,  how  profane,  ignorant,  scandalous 
parents  can  give  their  children  right  to  baptism,  when  they  have  no 
right  to  it  themselves,  is  a  thing  that  I  am  no  ways  able  to  reach,  and 
a  thing,  I  judge,  too  hard  for  any  to  prove,  Hosea  ii.  2,  3. 

[3.]  Because  the  children  of  parents,  whereof  neither  can  be  judged 
to  be  a  believer,  ought  not  to  be  baptized  till  the  child  grow  up  to 
manifest  his  own  faith,  as  these  scriptures,  among  many  others  that 
might  be  produced,  prove,  Gen.  xvii.  7-9  ;  Acts  ii.  39-41  ;  1  Cor.  vii. 
14,  &c. 

[4.j  Because  profane,  ignorant,  scandalous  persons,  &c,  are  visibly 
in  covenant  with  Satan  ;  and  therefore  to  administer  baptism,  the 
seal  of  the  covenant,  to  their  children,  upon  their  accounts  who 
are  visibly  in  covenant  with  Satan,  cannot  but  be  a  notorious  profan- 

1  Gen.  xvii. ;  Acts  ii.  38,  39  ;  1  Cor.  vii.  14,  &c. 

2  Non  parentum  aid  majorum  author  itas,  sed  Dei  docentis  imperium,  the  command  of  God 
must  outweigh  all  authority  and  example  of  men. — Jerome. 

3  Mat.  iii.  6-12;  Mark  i.  4,  5  ;  Acts  ii.  38,  41  ;  Luke  iii.  3 ;  Acts  xiii.  24 ;  viii.  12, 
31-40  ;  x.  45-48  ;  xviii.  8  ;  xxii.  Hi,  17,  &c. ;  so  Ps.  1.  1U,  17.  /   / 

*    //f^  rr/,i/,,t/srr;^    .    -c/  /.-,   A  A  'tar        ■       •    /         <--      •«''■'  ■"     *"    - 


APPENDIX  TO  MEMOIR.  xlix 

ing  of  the  ordinances  ;  therefore  I  dare  not  do  it.1  Now,  that  such 
persons  are  visibly  in  covenant  with  Satan  is  clear:  Isa.  xxviii.  15, 
'  Because  ye  have  said,  We  have  made  a  covenant  with  death,  and  with 
hell  are  we  at  agreement ;  when  the  overflowing  scourge  shall  pass 
through,  it  shall  not  come  unto  us :  for  we  have  made  lies  our  refuge, 
and  under  falsehood  have  we  hid  ourselves.'  Ver.  18,  '  And  your 
covenant  with  death  shall  be  disannulled,  and  your  agreement  with 
hell  shall  not  stand  ;  when  the  overflowing  scourge  shall  pass  through, 
then  ye  shall  be  trodden  down  by  it/  Not  that  they  had  formally 
made  a  covenant  with  Satan,  but  their  ways  and  courses  were  such  as 
did  proclaim  to  the  world  that  they  had,  as  it  were,  formally  made  a 
covenant  with  hell  and  death.  Therefore,  to  apply  this  blessed  ordi- 
nance to  their  children,  who  are  thus  invisibly  in  covenant  with  Satan, 
and  who  are  not  capable  thereof  through  want  of  divine  warrant,  can- 
not, doubtless,  but  be  esteemed  a  high  profaning  of  it. 

[5.]  Because  I  may  not  yield  blind  obedience,  nor  do  anything 
doubtingly ;  both  which  I  should  do  should  I  baptize  their  children, 
who  are  profane,  ignorant,  scandalous,  mockers  and  scoffers  at  God 
and  godliness,  &c. 

[6.]  Because,  by  administering  that  holy  ordinance  to  the  children 
of  profane,  ignorant,  scandalous  persons,  I  shall  make  myself  guilty  of 
nourishing  and  cherishing  in  such  wicked  persons  such  vain  opinions 
and  conceits  that  cannot  but  be  very  prej udicial  to  their  souls  ;  as  that 
they  have  a  right  to  that  precious  ordinance,  when  they  have  none  ; 
that  God  hath  taken  their  children  into  covenant,  as  well  as  the  chil- 
dren of  the  best  believers  in  the  world,  when  he  hath  not  ;  that  God 
is  more  favourable  and  loving  to  them  than  indeed  he  is  ;  and  that 
their  case  is  not  so  bad  as  some  would  make  it,  &c.  All  which  opi- 
nions and  conceits,  with  many  more  of  the  same  stamp  that  might  be 
named,  cannot  but  prove  many  ways  prejudicial  to  mens'  immortal 
souls. 

P  shall  forbear  the  laying  down  any  more  reasons  why  I  have  not, 
nor  shall  not,  baptize  their  children  who  are  profane,  ignorant,  malig- 
nant, scandalous,  mockers  and  scoffers  at  God  and  godliness ;  judging 
that  these  may  be  sufficient  to  satisfy  all  intelligent  men.2 

Further,  these  petitioners  say,  that  'I  will  not  give  them  the  Lord's 
supper.' 

Ans.  Though  I  do  give  the  Lord's  supper  to  those  to  whom  of  right 
it  belongs,  yet  I  cannot,  I  dare  not,  give  it  to  profane,  ignorant,  malig- 
nant, scandalous  persons.  I  had,  with  Calvin,  rather  die,  than  that 
this  hand  of  mine  should  give  the  things  of  God  to  the  condemners  of 
God.  And  with  Chrysostom,  I  had  rather  give  my  life  to  a  murderer, 
than  Christ's  body  to  an  unworthy  receiver  ;  and  had  rather  to  suffer 
my  own  blood  to  be  poured  out  like  water,  than  to  tender  Christ's 

1  Isa.  xxviii.  15,  18,  JVQ  WD,  they  cut  a  covenant  with  hell  and  death.  In  old 
time,  men  were  wont  to  kill  and  cut  asunder  sacrificed  beasts,  and  to  pass  between  the 
parts  divided,  Gen.  xv.  17  ;  Jer.  xxxiv.  18.  The  ceremony  intended  an  imprecation 
that  he  might  be  cut  in  pieces,  as  that  beast  was,  who  should  violate  the  covenant  so 
made.     The  same  rite  was  used  among  the  heathenish  Gentiles  also,  Rom.  xiv.  23. 

2  If  I  partake  in  other  men's  sins,  I  must  partake  in  their  punishments,  Rev.  xviii.  4. 
Christians  were  wont  to  be  of  that  courage  that  they  feared  nothing  but  sin.  Nil  nisi 
peccatum  timeo,  said  Chrysostom. 


1  APPENDIX  TO  MKMOIR. 

blessed  blood  to  any  base  liver;  and  that  upon  these  following 
grounds  : 

[1.]  Because  such  persons  are  excluded  by  the  word  of  God  from 
communion  Avith  believers  in  that  glorious  ordinance,  as  the  Scriptures 
in  the  margin  do  evidence.1 

[2.]  Not  only  the  Scriptures,  but  the  very  episcopal  Rubric,  for  the 
administration  of  the  communion,  do  exclude  and  shut  out  such  per- 
sons from  the  supper  of  the  Lord,  in  these  words  :  '  They  that  intended 
to  partake  of  the  holy  communion  should  signify  their  names  afore  to 
the  curate  ;  and  if  any  of  those  be  an  open  and  notorious  evil  liver,  so 
that  the  congregation  is  offended,  or  have  done  any  wrong  to  his 
neighbour  by  word  or  deed,  the  curate  having  knowledge,  shall  call 
him  and  advertise  him  in  any  wise  not  to  presume  to  the  Lord's  table 
until  he  hath  openly  declared  himself  to  have  truly  repented,  and 
amended  his  former  naughty  life,  that  the  congregation  may  thereby 
be  satisfied/  &c.  As  for  the  presbyterial  way,  you  all  know,  that  by 
their  Directory  and  laws  annexed,  they  must  not  receive  any  to  the 
communion  that  are  ignorant,  scandalous,  or  profane  in  their  conver- 
sation. So  that  the  sum  of  what  hath  been  said  is  this,  that  by  the 
laws  of  God,  and  by  the  laws  of  episcopacy,  and  by  the  laws  of  pres- 
bytery, profane,  ignorant,  and  scandalous  persons  are  to  be  excluded 
from  the  supper  of  the  Lord.     Ergo — 

[3.]  Because  the  admitting  of  such  as  are  profane,  ignorant,  scan- 
dalous, or  that  are  scoffers  and  mockers  of  all  goodness,  &c,  to  the 
supper  of  the  Lord,  is  the  ready  way  to  turn  the  house  of  God  into  a 
den  of  thieves,  and  to  bring  a  dreadful  doom  both  upon  consenters 
and  presumers,  as  the  Scriptures  in  the  margin  will  make  good.2  Not 
only  the  lack  of  the  word  and  sacraments,  saith  Bilson,  but  the  abuse 
of  either,  greatly  hazards  the  weal  of  the  whole  church,  Mat.  vii.  6. 
If  profane  ones  be  allowed  to  defile  the  mysteries  and  assemblies  of 
the  faithful,  and  holy  things  be  cast  to  dogs,  it  will  procure  a  dreadful 
doom,  as  well  to  consentaries  as  presumers.     Ergo — 

[4.]  Because  there  are  many  horrid  sins  in  their  coming  to  the 
supper  of  the  Lord. 

(i.)  There  is  horrid  pride,  else  no  man  in  his  wickedness  would 
presume  to  taste  of  the  tree  of  life.  Yet  pride  cannot  climb  so  high, 
but  justice  will  sit  above  her. 

(2.)  There  is  rebellion  and  treason  against  the  crown  and  dignity  of 
Christ.  Their  hands  and  lips  adore  him,  as  Judas  his  did;  but  their 
hearts  and  lives  abhor  him. 

(3.)  There  is  theft  and  sacrilege.  If  the  taking  away  of  the  com- 
munion cup  or  cloth,  &c,  be  such  horrible  theft  and  sacrilege,  surely 
it  is  far  greater  theft  and  sacrilege  to  take  that  bread  and  wine  that 
is  set  apart,  and  sanctified  by  the  Lord  himself,  for  a  holy  use.3 

1  2  Cor.  vi.  14,  el  seq. ;  Philip,  iii.  2  ;  Mat  xv.  26  ;  1  Cor.  v.  12,  13  ;  BeT.  xxii.  15,  21, 
27.^  It  is  worse  to  admit  a  man  openly  polluted  with  sins,  than  a  man  bodily  pus 
with  devils. —  Chrysos(om.  The  Tlnirians  had  a  law,  that  whosoever  wviit  about  to  abolish 
in  old  law,  Bhould  present  himself  with  a  rope  about  his  neck  before  the  people,  that  if 
his  invention  was  not  approved,  he  might  presently  be  strangled.  You  know  how  to 
apply  it. 

-  1  Cor.  xi.  27-30  ;  Rev.  ii.  12-16  ;  1  Cor.  x.  3-9,  21,  22,  compared  ;  Neh.  xiii.  18,  19. 

3  Possidonius  reports,  that  all  that  took  the  gold  of  Tholosso  [Colosse  ?]  perished  in 


APPENDIX  TO  MEMOIR.  li 

(4.)  There  is  murder  in  the  cruellest  manner  that  can  be  ;  for  they 
kill  two  at  once — Christ,  and  their  own  souls,  1  Cor.  xi.  27,  29,  com- 
pared. 

It  was  wickedness  in  Julian  to  throw  his  blood  in  the  face  of  Christ ; 
but  for  a  wicked  communicant  to  take  Christ's  own  blood,  as  it  were 
from  his  heart,  and  throw  it  into  the  face  of  Christ,  is  most  abominable 
and  damnable. 

[5.]  They  want  those  qualifications  that  should  fit  them  for  this 
glorious  ordinance.     As, 

(1.)  Experimental  knowledge.1 

(2.)  Faith,  without  which  they  cannot  see  Christ,  nor  receive  Christ, 
nor  feed  upon  Christ,  nor  apply  Christ,  nor  seal  to  Christ. 

(3.)  Repentance  from  dead  works. 

(4.)  New  obedience. 

(5.)  Love  to  Christ  and  his  children. 

(6.)  Holy  thankfulness. 

(7.)  A  spiritual  appetite.  All  which  are  absolutely  necessary  to  fit 
souls  for  the  Lord's  supper.     Ergo — ■ 

[b\]  Because  such  as  are  profane,  scandalous,  scoffers  and  mockers, 
&c,  are  not  fit  for  civil  society,  how  much  less  fit  are  they  then  for 
religious  societies  ?2  Men  that  love  but  their  names  and  credits  in 
the  world,  will  shun  the  society  of  such  vain  persons ;  how  much  more, 
then,  should  men  that  love  their  Christ,  and  that  love  their  precious 
souls,  shun  such  society  ?  ''Look,  as  shelves  and  sands  do  endanger  the  /3ad  fa 
seaman,  and  as  weeds  endanger  the  corn,  and  bad  humours  the  blood,^;/z /^, 
and  an  infected  house  the  neighbourhood,  so  does  the  society  of  evil 
men  endanger  good  men.  One  said,  '  As  oft  as  I  have  been  among 
wicked  men,  I  returned  home  less  a  man  than  I  was  before/  Men 
that  keep  ill  company  are  like  those  that  walk  in  the  sun,  tanned  in- 
sensibly. Eusebius  reports  of  John  the  evangelist,  that  he  would  not 
suffer  Cerinthus  the  heretic  in  the  same  bath  with  him,  lest  some 
judgment  should  abide  them  both.  You  may  easily  apply  it  to  the 
point  in  hand.     [Euseb.,  lib.  iii.  c.  25.]   * 

[7.]  Because  such  persons  as  are  profane,  scandalous,  and  wicked, 
&c,  if  they  were  in  the  church,  they  are  by  the  word  of  God  to  be 
excommunicated,  and  cut  off  from  visible  union  and  communion  with 
Christ  and  his  church  ;  therefore  they  are  not  to  be  admitted  to  the 
privileges  of  the  church.  That  wickedness  that  is  a  sufficient  ground 
for  the  casting  them  out  if  they  were  in,  is  a  sufficient  ground  to  keep 
them  out  from  polluting  the  glorious  ordinance  of  the  Lord,  1  Cor.  v. ; 
1  Tim.  i.  19,  20 ;  Mat.  xviii.  15-18  :  2  Thes.  iii.  6  ;  1  Tim.  vi.  3-5. 

[8.]  Because  the  supper  of  the  Lord  is  a  feast  instituted  by  Christ 
only  for  his  friends  and  children,  for  those  that  have  received  spiritual 
life  from  him,  and  that  have  union  and  communion  with  him,  Mat. 
xxvi.  27-29  ;  1  Cor.  x.  16,  17,  &c.  ;  Mat.  iii.  12.     But  profane,  igno- 

the  possession  of  it.    Apply  it.     They  may  say  with  Henry  the  Seventh,  The  cup  of  life 
is  made  my  death. 

1  A  gracious  soul  may  say,  not  only  Credo  vitam  ceternam  el  edo  vitam  ceternam,  I  believe 
life  eternal,  but  1  receive  life  eternal. 

2  Read  these  scriptures  :  Prov.  iv.  14—16  ;  Eph.  v.  14^1  Cor.  v.  9-11  ;  2  Tim.  iii.  1-5. 
The  heathen  could  say,  Qui  ceqtio  anirno  malis  immiscetur,  rnalus  est,  he  that  is  well  con- 
tented to  keep  company  with  those  that  are  naught,  is  himself  made  naught. 

+J  p4 1*-/-  Z/M.  v//-  ? 


Ill  APPENDIX  TO  MEMOIR. 

rant,  malignant,  scandalous  persons,  are  chaff  which  the  fan  flings  out 
./  of  the  floor.  *  They  be  as  dirt  and  dust  which  the  besom  sweeps  out  of 
z://?^„',the  house,  Luke  xv.  8.  They  be  as  leaven,  which,  if  let  alone,  sours 
the  whole  lump  ;  and  therefore  must  be  purged  out,  1  Cor.  v.  6,  7. 
They  be  as  thorns  and  briers,  which  must  not  stand  in  the  midst  of 
the  corn,  II eb.  vi.  8,  but  must  be  stubbed  up  and  burned.  Thev 
be  as  open  sepulchres,  out  of  which  proceeds  nothing  bat  noisome 
savours,  Rom.  iii.  ]  3  ;  Mat.  iii.  7.  They  be  as  vipers,  which  must  be 
shook  off,  as  Paul  shook  off  the  viper  that  fastened  upon  his  hand, 
Acts  xxviii.  3-5.  They  be  as  ravenous  wolves,  which  every  careful, 
watchful  shepherd  must  keep  out  of  his  fold,  John  x.  1  2.  They  be  as 
swine,  that  will  trample  the  choicest  pearls  under  their  feet,  if  they 
should  be  cast  before  them.  Mat.  vii.  6  ;  therefore  ministers  must  not 
hang  gospel  pearls  in  such  swine's  snouts,  nor  cast  them  under  such 
swine's  feet.  '''The  fouler  the  chest  is,  the  more  unfit  it  is  to  have  a 
fair  and  precious  garment  put  therein  ;  and  the  filthier  the  soul  is, 
the  unfitter  it  is  to  receive  in  this  holy  sacrament.  I  have  read  of  a 
jewel,  that  being  put  into  a  dead  man's  mouth,  loseth  all  its  virtue. 
Such  a  jewel  is  the  supper  of  the  Lord  ;  it  loseth  its  virtue  when  it  is 
put  in  profane,  ignorant,  scandalous  persons'  mouths  ;  who  are  dead 
t  rod-wards,  and  dead  heaven- wards,  and  dead  holiness- wards,  and  dead 
Christwards.1 

Lastly,  these  petitioners  say,  '  That  I  will  not  bury  their  dead.' 
To  this  I  shall  give  this  short  ansAver,  that  if  they  mean  that  I 
would  bury  their  dead  after  the  old  fashion,  I  confess  it ;  and  shall 
only  say,  that  it  is  most  proper  for  the  dead  to  bury  the  dead,  as 
Christ  speaks,  Mat.  viii.  22  ;  my  proper  work  being  to  preach  the 
gospel.  But  if  by  burying  their  dead  they  mean  that  I  will  not  ac- 
company their  corpse  to  the  grave,  being  the  last  office  of  love  that  can 
be  performed  to  the  deceased  person,  it  is  notoriously  false.  All  that 
know  anything  of  the  Scripture  can't  but  know  that  there  is  nothing 
in  all  the  book  of  God  that  will  bear  a  minister  out  to  bury  the  dead, 
as  profane,  ignorant,  scandalous  persons  would  have  them  buried  ;  and 
therefore  I  don't,  and  I  hope  I  shall  never  be  so  far  left  of  God,  as  to 
conform  to  the  superstitious  desires  and  customs  of  vain  men.3 

Reader,  for  a  close,  thou  mayest  take  notice,  that  though  I  was 
ready  to  give  in  the  fore-named  arguments,  in  answer  to  the  objec- 
tions made  by  the  profane  malignants  in  their  petition  against  me, 
yet  the  Committee,  in  their  wisdoms  it  seems,  did  not  judge  it  meet  so 
much  as  to  ask  me  a  reason  why  I  did  not  baptize  their  children,  give 
them  the  Lord's  supper,  and  bury  their  dead  ;3  they  well  knowing  that 
there  is  nothing  more  ordinary  than  for  those  to  be  bawling  and  cry- 

1  The  table  of  the  Lord,  saith  Chrysostoro,  is  that  whereon  the  blessed  carcase  is  laid  ; 
we  must  not  suffer  chattering  jays  to  come  thereunto,  for  only  high-flying  eagles  are  to 
feed  thereupon. 

*  Nay,  it  is  known  to  hundreds,  that  it  is  my  practice,  after  the  dead  is  buried,  to 
preach  to  the  people  that  are  met  upon  that  occasion,  if  so  desired ;  many  grounds  moving 
me  thereunto. 

:1  Greater  respect  the  honourable  committee  could  not  cast  upon  me,  nor  greater  con- 
tempt upon  the  profane,  malignant  petitioners,  than  not  to  put  me  to  answer  to  the  things 
objected  against  me.  One  of  these  profane,  malignant  petitioners  objected  to  me  Judas 
his  receiving  the  supper  of  the  Lord,  which  I  disproved ;  and  yet  this  vain  person,  as  I 
have  been  informed,  boasted  of  victory. 


APPENDIX  TO  MEMOIR. 


liii 


ing  out  for  ordinances  that  have  no  right  to  them  ;  and  that,  if  upon 
the  non-giving  of  the  ordinances  to  such  profane  persons,  they  should 
eject  ministers  out  of  their  places,  they  should  quickly  eject  all  those 
in  the  nation  that  are  most  tender  of  the  honour  of  Christ,  and  that 
have  been  some  of  their  best  friends  in  the  worst  times. 

Before  I  give  the  counsel  intended  to  the  petitioners,  I  judge  it  use- 
ful, in  several  respects,  to  batter  down  that  which  most  profane,  igno- 
rant, malignant,  scandalous  persons  do  count  their  stronghold,  or  their 
greatest  argument  to  prove  it  lawful  for  them  to  receive  the  supper  of 
the  Lord,  notwithstanding  their  profaneness  and  wickedness,  and  that 
is,  '  That  Judas  was  admitted  to  the  Lord's  supper,  and  that  they  are 
not  worse  than  Judas,  no,  nor  yet  so  bad.'     Ergo — 

Now  for  the  casting  down  of  this  their  imagined  stronghold,  for  the 
despatching  this  their  first-born,  this  their  Goliath,  consider  with  me 
these  following  things : 

[1.]  The  Holy  Ghost,  by  the  evangelist  John,  doth  punctually  and 
expressly  tell  us,  that  Judas  went  out  immediately  after  the  sop.  That 
this  sop  was  no  part  of  the  sacramental  supper,  both  fathers  and 
schoolmen  do  agree  ;  and  many  others  in  our  own  time,  who  are  men 
of  great  piety  and  parts.     Ergo1 — 

Did  I  know  anything  of  weight  that  could  be  objected  against  this 
argument,  I  would  be  so  faithful  as  to  give  an  answer  to  it,  as  the 
Lord  should  enable  me  to  do,  but  I  know  nothing  that  has  that  strength 
in  it  as  to  weaken  the  truth  asserted. 

[2.]  Those  to  whom  Christ  gave  the  sacrament,  he  saith,  without 
exception,  '  This  is  my  body  which  is  given  for  you  :  this  is  the  cup  of 
the  New  Testament  in  my  blood  which  is  shed  for  you  ;  and  I  will  not 
drink  henceforth  of  the  fruit  of  the  vine  until  that  day  I  drink  it  new 
with  you  in  my  Father's  kingdom.'  Now  I  would  willingly  know 
how  this  can  in  the  least  measure  stand  with  the  wisdom,  holiness, 
justice,  righteousness,  innocency,  and  integrity  of  Christ,  to  say  this 
and  promise  this  to  Judas,  whom  he  knew  to  be  an  hypocrite,  repro- 
bate, a  devil,  as  himself  calls  him,  John  vi.  70,  71,  xiii.  10,  11.  If  this 
be  not  to  make  Christ  a  false  witness,  a  liar,  a  deceiver,  &c,  I  know 
not  anything.2 

[3.]  It  is  as  clear  as  the  sun,  from  that  22d  of  Luke,  28,  29,  30, 
that  those  to  whom  Christ  gave  the  sacrament,  were  such  as  did  con- 
tinue with  him  in  his  temptations,  and  such  as  Christ  did  appoint  to 
them  a  kingdom,  and  such  as  should  sit  upon  thrones,  &c,  Mat.  xxvi. 
24,  Mark  xiv.  2i,  John  vi.  70,  Acts  i.  25,  1  Cor.  vi.  2,  3.  Now,  are 
there  any  so  vain  and  foolish  as  to  say  that  Judas  did  continue  with 
him  in  his  temptations  ?  or  that  Christ  did  appoint  to  him  any  other 
kingdom  than  a  kingdom  of  darkness  %  or  that  he  shall  sit  on  a  throne 
to  judge  others,  who  shall  at  last  be  judged  as  a  devil  ? 

[4.]  Judas  was  no  ways  capable  of  any  of  those  noble  ends  and 
glorioususesfor  which  the  Lord  Jesus  appointed  this  sacrament,  behaving 

1  John  xiii.  30.  Hilary,  Durand,  Piscator,  Beza,  &c.  Compare  Mat.  xxvi.  and  Mark 
xiv.  together,  and  you  shall  find  that  neither  of  them  do  affirm  that  Judas  was  at  the 
Lord's  supper ;  therefore  we  have  no  ground  to  believe  that  Judas  was  at  that  blessed 
supper,  Luke  xxii.  19,  20  ;  Mat.  xxvi.  26-29. 

a  Were  hypocrites  and  reprobates  known  to  us,  we  ought  to  shut  the  door  against  them, 
and  will  Christ  open  it  ?    Surely  no. 


liv  APPENDIX  TO  MEMOIR. 

no  real  love  to  Christ,  no  experimental  knowledge  of  Christ,  no  faith  to 
discern  Christ,  to  apply  Christ,  to  feed  upon  Christ,  to  seal  to  Christ,  &c.' 
How  could  this  ordinance  strengthen  grace  in  his  heart,  who  was  wholly 
void  of  grace?  How  could  this  ordinance  confirm  him  in  the  love  of  God, 
who  was  at  that  very  time  under  the  greatest  wrath  of  God?  How  could 
thisordinance  seal  upto  him  the  pardonof  hissins, who, notwithstanding 
all  the  hell-fire  that  Christ  cast  in  his  face,  yet  would  hold  on  in  his 
sins,  and  rather  betray  Christ  into  the  hands  of  his  enemies,  and  his 
own  soul  into  the  hand  of  Satan,  than  cease  from  doing  wickedly,  &c.2 
That  little  wisdom  that  is  in  man  will  Avork  him  to  forbear  his  work 
and  suspend  his  act  where  he  sees  his  end  will  fail ;  and  will  not  those 
treasures  of  wisdom  that  be  in  the  Lord  Jesus,  Col.  ii.  3,  much  more 
work  him  to  suspend  his  work,  where  he  sees  plainly  and  clearly  that 
his  end  will  fail  him,  as  in  the  case  of  Judas  ?     Surely  it  will. 

[5.]  Consider  seriously  whether  it  be  in  any  degree  probable  that 
Jesus  Christ  would  give  his  blood  to  Judas,  and  yet  not  so  much  as 
lift  up  a  prayer  for  Judas,  John  xvii.  9  ;  that  Christ  would  do  the 
greater  thing  for  Judas,  and  yet  not  do  the  lesser ;  that  he  should  give 
his  blood  to  Judas,  and  yet  not  spend  a  little  of  his  breath  to  save 
Judas  from  wallowing  in  his  blood  for  ever.  Among  men  it  would 
argue  the  greatest  weakness  that  could  be,  to  deny  the  least  favour 
where  they  have  shewed  the  greatest  favour,  &c.3 

Well  !  but  if,  for  argument's  sake,  we  should  grant  that  Judas  did 
receive  the  Lord's  supper,  it  will  not  from  thence  follow  that  it  is 
lawful  for  those  that  are  openly  profane,  wicked,  scandalous,  and 
malignant  to  receive  it,  and  that  upon  these  following  grounds : 

Reason  ].  For  that  Judas  was  a  close  hypocrite,  and  carried  his  sin 
so  secretly  that  nothing  appeared  openly  against  him  for  Christ  yet  to 
refuse  him.  Hypocrisy  is  spun  of  a  fine  thread,  and  not  easily  dis- 
cerned: Mat.  xxvi.  21,  22,  And  as  they  did  eat,  he  said,  'Verily  I  say 
unto  you,  that  one  ofjou  shall  betray  me.  And  they  were  exceeding 
sorrowful,  and  began  every  one  of  them  to  say  unto  him,  Lord,  is  it  I?' 
Sincere  hearts  are  more  jealous  of  themselves  than  of  others,  and  will 
rather  judge  a  thousand  hypocrites  to  be  saints,  than  one  saint  to  be  an 
hypocrite.4 

Reason  2.  Because  Judas  was  a  member  of  the  church,  and  had  done 
nothing  openly  that  could  cast  him  out ;  and  by  virtue  of  his  member- 
ship he  might  justly  claim  it  as  his  due,  he  being  called  into  fellow- 
ship by  Christ  himself.  Now,  what  advantage  is  this  to  such  open 
profane  wicked  persons  as  de  jure  ought  and  de  facto  are  excluded  from 
the  Lord's  supper ;  as  I  have  before  clearly  and  fully  proved  ? 

Reason  3.  Because  in  respect  of  wickedness  and  all  profaneness  they 
go  beyond  Judas.  Judas  was  no  drunkard,  swearer,  mocker,  scoffer  ; 
he  did  not  sin  openly,  and  glory  in  his  sin.5     He  did  not  by  any  open 

1  Quodnon  actibus  sed  finibut  pensantur  officio.,  duties  are  esteemed  not  by  their  acts,  but 
by  their  ends.  '-'  Maximilian's  motto  was,  Tene mensuram,  et  respice  finem. 

8  Sanguis  Christi,  elavis  cceli,  Christ's  blood  is  heaven's  key ;  and  so  Judas  would  have 
found  had  Christ  given  it  to  him. 

*  Secreta  mea  mecum,  my  secret  is  with  myself,  is  an  Hebrew  proverb.  We  are  not  to 
look  to  men's  hearts,  but  to  their  lives  and  conversations,  and,  according  as  they  are  good 
or  had,  so  (o  proceed- 

5  Judas,  as  Tcrtullian  thinks,  was  pretty  honest  till  he  carried  the  bag  (it  is  hard  to 


APPENDIX  TO  MEMOIR.  lv 

way  of  wickedness  sad  and  quench  Christ's,  his  Spirit  or  disciples  ;  he 
was  so  far  from  giving  any  scandal  or  offence  to  his  fellow-disciples, 
that  when  Christ  told  them,  '  One  of  you  shall  betray  me,'  they  were  all 
jealous  of  themselves,  none  of  them  were  jealous  of  Judas :  '  And  they 
began  every  one  of  them  to  say  unto  him,  Lord,  is  it  I  ?'  Judas  be- 
trayed Christ  for  thirty  pieces  of  silver,  but  open,  profane,  wicked 
persons  they  betray  Christ,  his  word,  his  people,  and  their  own  souls, 
for  a  thing  of  nought.  They  will  transgress  for  a  morsel  of  bread,  as 
Solomon  speaks,  for  a  trifle,  Isa.  1.  1,  2,  Prov.  xxviii.  24.  They  will  sell 
the  greatest  and  the  choicest  things  dog-cheap,  even  at  the  poorest  and 
the  lowest  rate  that  the  world,  or  the  god  of  this  world,  shall  bid.1 
Judas  betrayed  Christ  once  ;  and  open,  profane,  wicked  persons,  by 
their  open  treasons  and  transgressions,  do  oftentimes  in  a  day  betray 
the  crown,  sceptre,  and  dignity  of  King  Jesus.  Judas  plotted  treason 
against  Christ  when  he  was  in  a  low,  afflicted,  and  despised  condition ; 
but  such  as  are  openly  profane  and  wicked,  they  plot  and  act  treason 
against  Christ  now  he  is  exalted,  crowned,  and  set  down  at  the  right 
hand  of  God  in  that  glory  and  majesty  that  can  neither  be  conceived 
nor  expressed  by  any  mortal  creature.  Judas  betrays  Christ,  and  is 
struck  with  dreadful  horror  and  terror  ;  but  such  as  are  openly  wicked, 
they  betray  Christ,  and  yet  joy  in  their  transgressions,  which  are  so 
many  treasons  against  Christ.  Judas  betrays  Christ,  and  yet  justifies 
the  innocency  of  Christ ;  he  repents,  and  confesseth  his  sin  ;  but  such 
as  are  openly  wicked,  proceed  from  evil  to  evil,  and  yet,  with  the  harlot, 
they  wipe  their  mouths,  and  say,  What  evil  have  we  done  f 

Reason  4.  Because  Christ  gave  the  blessed  sacrament  ministerially 
as  he  was  man,  leaving  them  a  pattern  to  walk  by  that  should  come 
after  him;  and  such  was  the  carriage  of  Christ  toward  Judas  all  along.3 
Christ  did  not  act  toward  Judas  as  he  was  an  all-seeing  God,  nor  as 
he  was  the  heart-maker,  the  heart-searcher,  the  heart-observer,  the 
heart-discoverer,  but  he  acted  towards  him  ministerially.  Neither  do 
I  see  how  it  could  stand  with  the  holiness,  justice,  faithfulness,  and 
wisdom  of  Christ  to  give  that  holy  ordinance  to  Judas,  whom  he  knew 
as  he  was  God,  to  be  such  a  dog,  a  devil ;  considering  how  he  had  bound 
all  his  servants  from  casting  pearls  before  swine.  To  affirm  that  Christ 
gave  the  sacrament  to  Judas,  as  he  was  God;  what  is  this  but  to  make 
Christ's  practice  fight  against  his  own  precepts,  which  for  any  to  do  is 
doubtless  blasphemy  in  the  highest  degree. 

And  now  I  appeal  to  the  consciences  of  all  profane,  wicked,  malig- 
nant persons,  whether  they  were  not  better  a  thousand  times  to  be  shut 
out  from  this  glorious  ordinance  of  the  Lord's  supper,  till  the  Lord 
shall  in  mercy,  if  it  be  his  good  pleasure,  fit  them  for  it,  than  to  think 
to  get  in  at  this  door  by  making  Judas  the  porter. 

be  in  office,  and  not  to  put  conscience  out  of  office).     Several  other  writers  were  of  Ter- 
tullian's  opinion  concerning  Judas. 

1  Cato  hits  M.  Ccelis  in  the  teeth  with  his  baseness,  that  for  a  morsel  of  bread  he  would 
sell  either  his  tongue  or  his  silence. 

2  lsa.  liii.  2,  3  ;  Acts  v.  30,  31 ;  Rom.  viii.  34  ;  Eph.  i.  20-23  ;  Prov.  xv.  21  ;  Mat.  xxvii 
3-5  :  Prov.  xxx.  20. 

3  Had  Christ,  as  a  God  and  searcher  of  the  heart,  kept  out  Judas  from  the  passover, 
because  he  knew  his  heart  was  naught,  he  had  left  us  a  pattern  to  eject  such  as  the  church 
should  be  jealous  of,  that  their  hearts  are  not  right  before  the  Lord,  when  there  is  nothing 
detected. 


lvi  APPENDIX  TO  MEMOIR. 

I  shall  now  address  myself  to  give  some  good  counsel  to  the  peti- 
tioners; and  so  conclude. 

Good  Counsel  to  Bad  Men  ;  or,  Frtendly  Advice  to  Unfriendly 
Neighbours  and  their  Abettors. 

Your  petitioning  against  me  to  all  understanding  men  was  a  com- 
pounded evil ;  an  evil  made  up  of  pride,  envy,  malice,  discontent, 
ignorance,  &c.  My  counsel  to  you  is  to  break  off  your  sins  by  repent- 
ance, that  it  may  go  well  with  you  for  ever.  If  you  will  not,  justice 
will  be  above  you,  and  in  the  close  you  must  lie  down  in  sorrow.  Tell 
me,  can  you  dwell  with  the  devouring  fire  ?  can  you  dwell  with  ever- 
lasting burnings?  Dan.  iv.  27,  Isa.  1.  11,  xxxiii.  14.  It  was  a  good 
saying  of  Chrysostom,  speaking  of  hell,  Ne  quccramus  ubi  sit,  sed 
quomodo  Mam  fvgiamus,  let  us  not  seek  where  it  is,  but  how  we  shall 
escape  it.1  Grievous  is  the  torment  of  the  damned  for  the  bitterness 
of  the  punishments,  but  it  is  more  grievous  for  the  diversity  of  the 
punishments,  but  most  grievous  for  the  eternity  of  the  punishments. 
Ah  !  consider  before  it  be  too  late,  what  a  sad  thing  it  is  for  souls  at 
last  to  have  the  gate  of  mercy,  the  gate  of  indulgence,  the  gate  of  hope, 
the  gate  of  glory,  shut  upon  them,  Mat.  xxv.  10.  When  a  sinner  is  in 
hell,  shall  another  Christ  be  found  to  die  for  him  ?  or  will  the  same 
Christ  be  crucified  again  ?  Oh,  no!  Oh  that  you  were  so  wise  and 
merciful  to  your  own  souls  as  to  dwell  upon  these  scriptures :  John  iii. 
S,  '  Jesus  answered  and  said  unto  him,  Verily,  verily  I  say  unto  thee, 
Except  a  man  be  born  again,  he  cannot  see  the  kingdom  of  God.' 
Except  men  be  first  unmade,  and  then  made  up  again  by  the  Spirit 
and  word,  except  the  whole  frame  of  their  old  conversation  be  dissolved 
and  a  better  erected,  there  is  no  heaven  to  be  had.  Heaven  is  too 
holy  and  too  hot  to  hold  drunkards,  revilers,  mockers,  and  such  like, 
as  you  mav  plainly  see  by  comparing  these  scriptures  together,  1  Cor. 
yi.  9, 10,  Gal.  v.  19-21,  Jude  14,  15,  Rev.  xxi.  8,  and  xxii.  15.  He  that 
is  truth  itself,  and  cannot  lie,  hath  said,  '  Without  holiness  no  man 
shall  see  God/  Heb.  xii.  14.2  This  I  am  sure  of,  that  all  man's  happi- 
ness here  is  his  holiness,  and  his  holiness  shall  hereafter  be  his  happi- 
ness. You  must  in  this  life  be  holy,  or  in  the  life  to  come  you  shall 
never  be  happy.  Seneca,  a  heathen  man,  saw  so  much  excellency  that 
morality  put  upon  a  man  that  he  saith  that  ipse  aspectus  boni  viri 
delectat,  the  very  looks  of  a  good  man  delights  one.  Oh !  then,  what 
a  beauty  and  glory  doth  real  sanctity  put  upon  a  man  ;  '  it  makes  him 
more  excellent  than  his  neighbour/  as  Solomon  speaks,  Prov.  xii.  26. 
When  Agesilaus  heard  the  king  of  Persia  styled  the  great  king,  saith 
he,  '  I  acknowledge  none  more  excellent  than  myself,  unless  more 
righteous;  none  greater,  unless  better.'      Ps.  xvi.  3. 

But  to  hasten  towards  a  close,  you  may  be  very  confident  of  these 
few  things,  which  I  desire,  as  you  tender  your  own  good,  you  would 
seriously  consider. 

1  Utinam  ubique  de  gehenna  dissereretur.  I  could  wish  that  men  would  discourse  much 
and  oft  of  hell. — Chrysostom. 

-  They  were  wont  to  say  in  former  times,  Cams  Seius  bonus  vir,  sed  Christianus,  Caius 
Seins  was  a  good  man,  but  he  was  a  Christian.  You  may  easily  apply  it,  &c.  Chrysostom 
calls  some  holy  men  of  his  time  ayyiXm,  earthly  angels. 


APPENDIX  TO  MEMOIR.  lvii 

[1.]  That  those  ways  of  the  flesh  wherein  now  you  walk  will  be 
bitterness  in  the  latter  end:  Prov.  xiv.  12,  'There  is  a  way  which 
seemeth  right  unto  a  man  ;  but  the  end  thereof  are  the  ways  of  death.1 
Though  sin  doth  come  sometimes  clothed  with  a  show  of  reason  and 
religion,  yet  the  end  of  it  will  be  death.  Sin  at  last  will  betray  your 
souls  into  the  hands  of  Satan,  as  Delilah  did  Samson  into  the  hands  of 
the  Philistines.2  Sin  makes  the  soul  black  with  filth  and  red  with 
guilt ;  and  then  vengeance  follows.  The  Rabbins  were  wont  to  tell 
scholars,  to  scare  them  from  sin,  that  every  sin  made  God's  head  ache  ; 
but  without  sound  repentance  you  will  at  last  find  that  every  sin  will 
make  your  hearts  ache.  Oh  !  then,  when  you  are  tempted  to  sin,  you 
would  say,  as  Demosthenes,  the  orator,  did  of  the  beautiful  Lais,  when 
he  was  asked  an  excessive  sum  of  money  to  hehpld  her  :  I  will  not, 
said  he,  buy  repentance  so  dear.  I  am  not  so  ill  a  merchant  as  to  sell 
the  eternal  for  the  temporal. 

[2.]  You  may  be  confident  that  all  your  oppositions  one  way  or  other 
against  the  ways  of  God,  and  against  the  people  of  God,  is  a  fighting 
against  God,  who  will  be  too  hard  for  you  when  you  have  done  your 
worst ;  and  what  you  get  you  may  put  in  your  eyes,  and  weep  it  out 
again,3  Acts  v.  38,  39,  ix.  4,  5.  Those  that  strive  for  mastery  with 
God,  God  will  over-master  with  a  witness  :  Isa.  xxvii.  4,  '  Who  would 
set  the  briars  and  thorns  against  me  in  battle  ?  I  would  go  through 
them,  I  will  burn  them  together.'  God  can  nod  a  soul  to  hell  ;  he  can 
speak  a  soul  miserable  in  a  moment.  Who  ever  stood  out  against  him, 
and  prospered  ?  There  is  such  a  near  union  between  God  and  his 
people,  between  God  and  his  ways,  that  you  cannot  possibly  oppose 
them  but  you  oppose  God  himself,  who  can  presently  cause  the 
greatest  arm  of  human  power  to  shrink  up,  as  you  may  see  in  his  deal- 
ing with  Pharaoh,  Haman,  Belshazzar,  and  others,  &c.  Is  a  dry  reed 
able  to  stand  against  a  consuming  fire  ?  Is  a  worm  able  to  overcome 
a  lion  ?  Is  weakness  able  to  overcome  strength  :  '  Behold,  the  nations 
are  as  a  drop  of  a  bucket,  and  are  counted  as  the  small  dust  of  the 
balance ;'  '  Behold,  he  taketh  up  the  isles  as  a  very  little  thing,'  as  the 
prophet  Isaiah  speaks,  Isa.  xl.  15.  And  what,  then,  is  the  poor  creature, 
that  he  should  fight  against  an  almighty  Creator  ?  Cassar  told  Metellus 
he  could  as  easily  destroy  him  as  bid  it  be  done.  So  can  God.  Who 
dares  then  engage  against  him  ?4 

[3.]  You  may  be  confident,  that  though  I  hate  your  sins,  yet  I  don't 
hate  your  persons.  I  am  willing  to  live  in  love  and  peace  with  all 
men,  so  far  as  I  may  without  sin  ;  but  I  abhor  compliancy  with  any 
man,  to  the  dishonour  of  Christ,  to  the  wounding  of  my  conscience,  to 
the  profaning  of  holy  things,  or  to  the  prejudice  and  disadvantage  of 
the  truth.  It  is  below  humanity  to  hate  a  man,  whose  nature  and 
similitude  he  may  behold  in  the  humanity  of  Christ.     JDeum  odit  qui 

1  It  was  the  saying  of  an  ancient  philosopher,  Whosoever  sinneth,  doth  in  that  decline 
from  his  purposed  end,  and  is  certainly  deceived. 

2  Hark,  scholar,  eaid  the  harlot  to  Apuleius,  it  is  but  a  bitter-sweet  that  you  are  so  fond 
of.    Ah  !  your  scoffing  and  mocking  will  prove  but  a  bitter-sweet  at  last. 

3  Constantino  the  Great's  symbol  [Qu.  'saying'? — G.]  was  immedicabile  vulnus  ense 
rescindendam  est,  when  there  is  no  hope  of  curing,  men  must  fall  a-cutting ;  and  so  will 
God  deal  with  sinners'  souls.     Therefore,  look  about  you,  sinners. 

4  Said  Caligula,  speaking  to  the  consuls,  to  think  that  I  can  kill  you  with  a  nod  of  my 
head  ;  and  can't  God  do  it  with  as  much  ease  ? 


lviil  APPENDIX  TO  MEMOIR. 

hominem  odit,  he  hateth  God  that  hateth  man.  I  must  love  men,  but 
hate  their  vice.  It  is  said  of  Ephesus,  that  they  hated  the  deeds  of 
the  Nicolaitans  ;  their  errors,  not  their  persons.  So  Jacob  cursed  the 
wrath  of  his  sons,  but  blessed  their  persons.  So  Paul,  1  Cor.  iv.  15, 
and  so  do  I,  through  free  mercy.1 

|  4.  |  You  may  be  confident  that  I  don't  refuse  the  baptizing  of  your 
children,  and  the  giving  you  the  sacrament,  &c.,  out  of  pride  or  envy, 
or  upon  any  carnal  account  in  the  world,  but  only  upon  the  grounds 
that  I  have  before  laid  down.  I  take  the  Searcher  of  all  hearts  to 
witness,  that  I  should  much  rejoice  and  bless  the  Lord  if  he  would  be 
pleased  to  work  such  a  thorough  work  of  grace  upon  all  your  hearts 
as  that  I  might  without  sin  dispense  all  the  precious  things  of  Christ 
to  you.  Ah  !  it  is  not  a  joy,  but  a  real  grief  to  my  soul,  that  others 
have  not  that  right,  and  can't  come  to  those  ordinances  which  God 
hath  made  so  sweet  and  advantageous  to  me,  and  many  others  of  the 
sons  of  Zion. 

Oh  !  how  willing  should  I  be,  and  those  that  walk  with  me,  to  give 
you  the  right  hand  of  fellowship,  if  we  could  but  see  that  the  Lord 
has  taken  you  into  fellowship  with  his  blessed  self,  that  so  the  ordi- 
nance might  be  a  cordial,  and  not  poison  to  you.2 

I  do  profess  before  the  Lord,  that  I  do  from  my  soul  forgive  you  the 
wrong  and  injuries  that  you  have  done  me,  or  attempted  to  do.  God 
has  been  good  to  me,  notwithstanding  my  failing  towards  him  and  my 
sins  against  him  ;  and  the  sense  of  his  love  and  rich  goodness  makes 
my  bowels  to  yearn  towards  you. 

Oh  !  it  is  a  mercy  more  worth  than  a  world  to  me  that  God  hath 
given  me  such  a  frame  of  spirit  as  that  I  can  pray  for  your  souls,  and 
weep  over  your  sins,  and  that  I  am  ready  to  serve  you  in  all  those 
ways  wherein  I  may  further  the  eternal  welfare  of  your  souls,  &c. 
Make  use  of  me  in  anything  wherein  I  may  serve  you  without  sin  ;  and 
see  whether  I  shall  not  be  willing  to  act  for  your  good,  notwithstand- 
ing all  provocations  to  the  contrary.3 

[5.]  For  a  close, — because  I  would  not  be  over-tedious,  I  shall  draw 
many  things  within  a  narrow  compass, — you  may  be  confident  that 
my  end  in  writing  is  your  due  conviction  and  satisfaction,  that  you 
may  weigh  my  arguments,  and  clearly  see  that  it  is  not  will,  nor 
humour,  &c,  but  conscience,  reason,  and  religion  that  acts  me.  If, 
notwithstanding  what  I  have  said,  you  shall  continue  in  your  malice, 
envy,  hatred,  &c,  I  shall  have  comfort  in  this,  that  I  have  in  all  faith- 
fulness freed  myself  from  being  guilty  of  the  blood  of  your  souls  ;  and 

1  Rom.  xiv.  19  ;  Heb.  xii.  14.  Luther  said,  that  in  the  cause  of  God  he  was  content, 
totius  mundi  odium  et  impetum  sustinere,  to  undergo  the  hatred  and  violence  of  the  whole 
world.  The  heathen  orator  could  say,  A  recta  conscientia  ne  latum  quidem  unguem  disceden- 
dum,  a  man  may  not  depart  an  hair's-breadth  all  his  life  long  from  the  dictates  of  a  good 
conscience. 

'  Cant.  viii.  1 ;  Ps.  lxiii.  1-3;  Rom.  xiv.  1,  and  xv.  1  ;  1  John  i.  3,  4;  Luke  xxiii.  24  ; 
Acts  vii.  39,  GO  ;  Mat.  vi.  12-15.  Tully  said  of  Caesar,  Nihil  oblivisci  soles,  nisi  injuria*, 
that  lie  forgat  nothing  but  injuries. 

3  Lilmod  lelammed,  we  therefore  learn,  tbat  we  may  teach,  is  a  proverb  among  the 
Rabbins.  I  could  havo  dealt  with  you  in  another  way,  bad  1  not  intended  the  good  of 
your  souls.  Jer.  xliv.  16,  et  seq ;  Acts  xx.  26,  27  Ezek.  iii.  17-19  ;  1  Cor.  ix.  20-22  ; 
John  xii.  48;  2  Cor.  v.  10;  Rom.  viii.  28;  Micah  vii.  8-10;  Jer.  xx.  9-12;  Mai.  iii. 
17,  18;  Isa.  xlix.  4,  5. 


APPENDIX  TO  MEMOIR.  lix 

in  that  I  have  declared  to  all  the  world  my  willingness  to  serve  the 
interest  of  your  souls  in  all  things  wherein  I  may  without  sin.  And 
most  confident  I  am.  that  if  what  I  have  written  do  not  better  you,  it 
will  be  a  witness  against  you  when  you  and  I  shall  meet  before  Christ's 
judgment-seat.  And  confident  I  am,  that  God  will  bring  much  good 
to  me  out  of  all  the  plots,  designs,  and  actings  that  have  been,  or  that 
shall  be,  by  vain  men  against  me.  And  confident  I  am,  that  the  more 
you  stir  in  any  way  of  baseness  or  wickedness,  the  more  the  Lord  wiil 
make  you  to  stink,  and  the  more  contempt  he  will  pour  upon  you,  and 
the  more  bright  he  will  cause  my  innocency  to  shine,  and  the  more 
weighty  shall  be  my  crown  in  the  day  of  Christ. 

My  desires  for  you  before  the  Lord  are  these,  that  you  may  have 
such  a  sight  of  your  sins  as  may  work  you  to  '  kiss  the  Son,  lest  he  be 
angry,  and  you  perish  when  his  wrath  is  kindled  but  a  little  ;'  and 
that  you  may  not  trifle  away  the  day  of  grace,  and  '  the  things  that 
belong  to  your  eternal  peace/  '  lest  God  should  swear  in  his  wrath 
that  you  shall  never  enter  into  his  rest/1  Oh  !  that  in  the  lio-ht  of  the 
Spirit  you  may  see  Christ  to  be  the  greatest  good,  the  most  desirable 
good,  the  most  necessary  good,  the  most  suitable  good,  to  be  a  total 
good,  an  only  good,  and  an  eternal  good  ;  that  so  your  souls  may  in 
good  earnest  fall  in  love  with  Christ,  and  may  cry  out  with  that 
martyr,  '  None  but  Christ,  none  but  Christ/  Oh  !  none  but  Christ  to 
save  us,  and  none  but  Christ  to  rule  us  !  none  but  Christ  to  justify  us, 
and  none  but  Christ  to  command  us  I  Oh  !  that  you  may  cease  from 
doing  evil,  and  learn  to  do  well ;  that  so  you  may  be  happy  in  life, 
blessed  in  death,  and  glorious  in  the  morning  of  the  resurrection, 
Isa.  i.  16,  17. 


B. — Close  of  Farewell  Sermon  ;  see  page  ante  xxxi.  From  the 
Collection  of  1662  (4to).  The  text  is  not  given,  nor  the  body  of 
the  Sermon,  but  only  what  follows  : — 

All  that  I  shall  do  shall  be  to  answer  two  or  three  queries,  and  then 
I  shall  leave  a  few  legacies  with  you,  that  may  speak  when  I  am  not 
advantaged  to  speak  to  you. 

The  first  query  is  this,  What  should  be  the  reason  that  men  make 
such  opposition  against  the  gospel,  against  the  plain,  powerful,  con- 
scientious preaching  of  it  \  This  is  not  the  principal  thing  that  I  in- 
tend, and  therefore  I  shall  only  touch  upon  the  reason  of  it. 

1.  Men's  hatred  and  opposition  ariseth  against  the  gospel  because  it 
doth  discover  their  hidden  works  of  darkness  :  John  iii.,  '  They  hate  the 
light,  lest  their  deeds  should  be  reproved.'  The  gospel  brings  their 
deeds  of  darkness  to  light,  and  this  stirs  up  a  spirit  of  hatred  and  op- 
position against  the  gospel. 

2.  Ground  is  this  :  because  sinners  under  the  gospel,  cannot  sin  at  so 

1  Prayer  is  porta  cceli,  clavis  paradisi.  the  gate  of  heaven,  a  key  to  let  us  in  to  para- 
dise, Heb.  iii.  7-12.  Nee  Christus  nee  coelum  patitur  hypeibolem,  a  man  cannot  hyperbolize 
in  speaking  of  Christ  and  heaven.  Omne  bonum,  in  surnmo  bono,  all  good  is  in  the  chiefest 
good. 


lx  APPENDIX  TO  MEMOIR. 

cheap  a  rate  as  otherwise  they  might  do ;  the  drunkard  cannot  be  drunk 
at  so  cheap  a  rate ;  nor  can  the  opposer  and  persecutor  oppose  and 
persecute  at  so  cheap  a  rate  as  they  might  do  where  the  gospel  doth 
not  shine  in  power  and  glory. 

3.  Because  the  gospel  puts  persons  upon  very  hard  service,  upon  very 
difficult  work,  pulling  out  a  right  eye,  cutting  oft*  a  right  hand,  offering 
up  an  Isaac,  throwing  overboard  a  Jonas,  parting  with  bosom  lusts  and 
darling  sins.  Herod  heard  John  Baptist  gladly,  till  he  came  to  touch 
his  Herodias,  and  then  off  goes  his  head.  As  they  say.  John  vi.,  '  This 
is  a  hard  saying,  and  who  can  abide  it  ?'  and  from  that  time  they  walked 
no  more  with  him.  This  is  a  hard  gospel  indeed,  and  at  this  their 
blood  riseth. 

4.  Because  of  the  differing  and  distinguishing  work  that  the  gospel 
makes  among  the  sons  of  men  ;  it  softens  one,  and  hardens  another 
that  sits  next  to  him  ;  enlightens  one,  and  strikes  the  other  blind  ;  it 
wins  one  and  enrages  the  other.  The  same  sun  hath  different  effects 
on  the  objects  on  which  it  shineth.  The  gospel  puts  a  difference  be- 
tween the  precious  and  the  vile  ;  and  this  the  vile  cannot  bear.  It  was 
never  good  days,  say  they,  since  such  and  such  must  be  saints,  and  none 
else  ;  we  have  as  good  hearts  as  any,  and  this  enrageth  them. 

Lastly,  It  is  from  Satan,  Satan  knows  that  the  very  tendency  of  the 
gospel  is  to  shake  his  kingdom  about  his  ears.  Satan  and  antichrist 
know  that  their  kingdom  must  down  by  the  power  and  light  of  the 
o-ospel;  and  therefore  Satan  and  men  of  an  antichristian  spirit  do  all 
they  can  to  oppose  and  shew  their  hatred  against  the  everlasting  gos- 
pel; and  this  makes  them  to  be  in  such  a  rage  against  the  gospel. 

Query  2.  When  the  gospel  goes  from  a  people,  what  goes  ?  I  shall 
give  but  a  touch  here. 

1.  When  the  gospel  goes,  peace,  plenty,  and  trading  go,  2  Chron.  xv. 
3,  5,  6,  compared.  Now  for  a  long  season  Israel  had  been  without  the 
true  God,  and  without  a  teaching  priest.  Why  ?  They  had  priests  ; 
but  they  were  Jeroboam's  priests,  as  you  may  see,  chap.  xiii.  9,  '  Have 
you  not  cast  out  the  priests  of  the  Lord,  the  sons  of  Aaron  and  the 
Levites,  and  have  made  you  priests  after  the  manner  of  the  nations  of 
other  lands  %  so  that  whosoever  comes  to  consecrate  himself  with  a 
young  bullock  and  seven  rams,  the  same  may  be  a  priest  of  them  that 
are  no  gods.  A  little  business  will  buy  a  priesthood  ;  and  so  they  are 
said  to  be  without  the  true  God,  without  a  teaching  priest,  and  without 
law.  Mark  what  follows:  'And  in  those  times,  there  was  no  peace 
to  him  that  went  out,  nor  to  him  that  came  in ;  but  great  vexations 
were  upon  all  the  inhabitants  of  the  country,  and  nation  was  destroyed 
of  nation,  and  city  of  city,  for  God  did  vex  them  with  all  adversity.' 

2.  Safety  and  security  goes  when  the  gospel  goes ;  so  in  the  text  but 
now  cited.  The  ark  was  taken  away,  and  when  that  was  taken  away, 
their  strength  and  safety  was  gone.  When  the  Jews  rejected  the  gos- 
pel, the  Romans  came  and  took  away  both  their  place  and  nation  :  John 
xi.  48,  '  If  we  let  him  thus  alone,  the  Romans  will  come  and  take 
away  both  our  place  and  nation/  About  forty  years  after,  Titus  and 
Vespasian  took  away  their  city  ;  they  cried,  '  If  we  let  this  man  alone, 
the  Romans  will  take  away  our  nations.'  And  this  was  the  ready  way 
to  bring  the  Romans  upon  them. 


APPENDIX  TO  MEMOIR.  lxi 

3.  When  the  gospel  goes,  civil  liberty  goes.  When  the  Jews  slighted 
the  gospel,  and  turned  their  backs  upon  it,  they  quickly  became  bond- 
slaves to  the  Romans. 

4.  When  the  gospel  goes,  the  honour  and  glory,  splendour  and  beauty 
of  a  nation  goes.  It  is  the  gospel  that  is  the  honour  and  glory  of  a 
nation,  and  when  that  goes,  all  the  glory  goes.  As  old  Eli  said,  when 
the  ark  was  taken  away,  '  The  glory  is  departed  from  Israel,'  1  Sam. 
iv.  32.  Jer.  ii.  11-13,  '  Hath  a  nation  changed  their  gods,  which  are 
yet  no  gods  ?  but  my  people  have  changed  their  glory  for  that  which 
doth  net  profit,'  that  is,  the  worship  of  God  into  the  traditions  of  men. 
What  is  it  that  lifts  up  one  nation  above  another  but  the  gospel  ? 
Above  all  nations  of  the  earth,  England  hath  been  lifted  up  to  heaven. 

5.  When  the  gospel  goes,  all  soul-happiness  and  blessedness  goes. 
The  gospel,  you  know,  is  the  means  appointed  by  God  to  bring  souls  to 
an  acquaintance  with  Christ,  to  an  acceptance  of  Christ,  to  an  interest 
in  Christ,  to  an  assurance  that  he  is  theirs,  and  they  are  his.  Now, 
when  this  goes,  all  soul-happiness  and  blessedness  goes. 

Lastly,  When  the  gospel  goes,  the  special  presence  of  God  goes,  for  that 
still  goes  with  the  gospel.  There  is  a  general  presence  of  God,  as  the 
psalmist  speaks,  Ps.  cxxxix.,  'Where  shall  I  go  from  thy  Spirit?  whither 
shall  I  fly  from  thy  presence  V  This  presence  of  God  reacheth  from 
heaven  to  hell ;  in  that  sense,  God  is  included  in  no  place,  not  excluded 
out  of  any  place.  But,  alas !  what  is  this  general  presence  ?  When  the 
gospel  goes,  the  special  presence  of  God  goes.  This  leads  me  by  the 
hand  to  the  third  query. 

Query  3.  And  that  is  this,  Whether  God  will  remove  the  gospel  from 
England  or  no  ? 

It  is  the  fears  of  many;  but  I  humbly  suppose  no.  Whatsoever  dark- 
ness may  be  upon  it,  yet  that  God  will  not  remove  it ;  and,  if  you 
please,  I  will  offer  a  few  things  that  signify  something,  as  to  my  own 
satisfaction,  and  it  may  be  so  to  you. 

1.  The  rooting  that  it  hath  got  in  the  hearts  of  sinners  and  saints,  in 
the  judgments,  affections,  and  consciences,  both  of  sinners  and  saints. 
Certainly  it  hath  got  so  deep  a  root  in  the  hearts  of  manv  thousands 
of  saints  and  sinners,  that  it  shall  not  be  in  the  power  of  hell  to  raze 
it  out. 

2.  The  glorious  anointings  that  are  to  be  found  upon  many  thousands 
of  God's  servants  in  this  nation  to  preach  the  everlasting  gospel,  and 
who  would  be  glad  to  preach  upon  the  hardest  terms,  keeping  God  and 
a  good  conscience,  to  preach  it  freely,  as  the  apostles  of  old  did.  And 
certainly  God  hath  not  laid  in  this  treasure  that  it  should  be  turned 
into  a  heap  of  confusion,  but  that  it  should  serve  to  the  end  for  which 
he  laid  it  in. 

3.  The  ineffectualness  of  all  former  attempts  and  designs  to  destroy 
the  gospel.  You  know  what  endeavours  of  old  there  hath  been  to 
darken  this  sun,  to  put  out  the  light  of  heaven,  in  the  Marian  days,  and 
in  other  days  since  then ;  and  yet  it  hath  not  been  in  prisons,  racks, 
flames,  pillories,  nor  anything  else  to  extinguish  the  glory  of  it.  And 
then, 

4.  All  designs  and  attempts  to  extinguish  the  everlasting  gospel  have 
turned  to  the  advancement,  flourishing,  and  spreading  of  the  gospel. 


lxii  APPENDIX  TO  MEMOIR. 

5.  God  never  takes  away  the  gospel  from  a  people  till  the  body  of  that 
people  have  thrust  the  everlasting  gospel  from  them  ;  when,  indeed, 
they  have  been  so  bold  as  to  thrust  away  the  everlasting  gospel,  God 
hath  been  severe  unto  them  ;  but  till  the  body  of  a  people  have  thrust 
away  the  everlasting  gospel,  God  hath  not  taken  it  away  from  them. 
2  Chronicles  the  3(ith  chapter  and  the  15th  verse  to  the  end,  God  sent  his 
messengers  early  and  late;  they  abused,  and  slighted,  and  scorned  them, 
till  there  was  no  remedy.  So  in  the  35th  of  Jeremiah  from  the  1st  to 
the  12th;  it  is  a  famous  text  for  this.  So  in  the  13th  chapter  of  the 
Acts  and  the  45th,  4Gth,  and  47th  verses,  '  Because  you  have  thought 
yourselves  unworthy  of  salvation ;  lo,  we  turn  to  the  Gentiles.'  Till  the 
Jews  came  to  thrust  away  the  everlasting  gospel,  the  Lord  continued 
it  to  them. 

6.  The  spreading  of  the  everlasting  gospel  is  the  special  means  appointed 
by  God  for  the  destruction  of  antichrist.  First,  He  is  to  be  consumed  by 
the  spirit  of  his  mouth,  then  destroyed  by  the  brightness  of  his  coming; 
the  spirit  of  faith  and  prayer  in  them  that  would  be  Avilling  to  lay  down 
anything  rather  than  part  with  the  gospel.  God  will  not  put  his  blessed 
church  to  the  blush ;  he  will  not  make  them  ashamed  of  their  con- 
fidence. 

7.  Are  there  not  multitudes  of  the  children  of  believers  that  fall 
under  many  promises  ?  And  will  not  God  make  good  his  engagements 
to  them  ?  'I  will  circumcise  your  hearts,  and  the  hearts  of  your  seed; 
and  the  seed  of  the  upright  shall  be  blessed,  &c. 

8.  The  strange  and  wonderful  affections  and  tenderness  that  God 
hath  wrought  in  his  children  to  the  gospel ;  what  meltings  and  mourn- 
ings, and  what  a  spirit  of  prayer  hath  God  put  upon  his  people ! 

9.  There  are  many  young  tender  plants  and  buds  of  grace,  such  in 
whom  the  Spirit  of  God  hath  stirred  an  hungering,  thirsting,  and  long- 
ing after  the  great  concerments  of  eternity.  I  would,  upon  these 
grounds,  with  others  of  the  like  import,  hope  and  believe  that  the  Lord 
will  not  remove  his  everlasting  gospel,  however  he  may  correct  his 
people  for  their  trifling  with  and  slighting  the  glorious  gospel.  I  have 
several  times  thought  what  a  day  of  darkness  was  upon  the  world,  in 
respect  of  sin  and  superstition.  When  Christ  brought  the  everlasting 
gospel,  what  a  day  of  darkness  and  superstition  was  on  the  whole  earth  ! 
But  you  know  what  the  apostle  speaks,  2  Cor.  i.  2J,  '  For  after  that,  in 
the  wisdom  of  God,  the  world  by  wisdom  knew  not  God,  it  pleased 
God,  by  the  foolishness  of  preaching,  to  save  them  that  believe.' 

When  it  is  nearest  day,  then  it  is  darkest.  There  may  be  an  hour  of 
darkness  that  may  be  upon  the  gospel,  as  to  its  liberty,  purity,  and 
c-lory;  and  yet  there  may  be  a  sunshining  day  ready  to  tread  on  the 
heels  of  it.     And  so  much  for  the  resolution  of  those  queries. 

I  shall  proceed,  as  I  said,  and  leave  some  legacies  with  you,  which 
may,  by  the  finger  of  the  Spirit,  be  made  advantageous  to  you,  whom 
we  are  not  advantaged  to  speak  unto  you. 

Legacy  1.  The  first  legacy  I  would  leave  with  you,  shall  be  this: 
Secure  your  interest  in  Christ ;  make  it  your  great  business,  your  work, 
your  heaven,  to  secure  your  interest  in  Christ.  This  is  not  an  age,  an 
hour,  for  a  man  to  be  between  fears  and  hopes,  between  doubting  and 
believing. 


APPENDIX  TO  MEMOIR.  ixiii 

Take  not  up  in  a  name  to  live,  when  you  are  dead  God-ward  and 
Christ-ward  ;  take  not  up  in  an  outward  form,  and  outward  privilege. 
They  cried  out,  '  The  temple  of  the  Lord,  the  temple  of  the  Lord,'  that 
had  no  interest  in,  or  love  to,  the  Lord  of  the  temple.  Follow  God, 
leave  no  means  unattempted  whereby  your  blessed  interest  may  be 
cleared  up. 

Leg.  2.  Make  Christ  and  Scripture  the  only  foundation  for  your  souls 
and  faith  to  build  on  :  as  the  apostle  saith,  1  Cor.  iii.  11,  '  Other  foun- 
dations can  no  man  lay  than  that  which  is  laid,  even  Jesus  Christ.' 
Isa.  xxviii.  6,  '  Behold,  I  lay  in  Zion  for  a  foundation,  a  stone,  a  tried 
stone,  a  corner  stone,  a  precious  stone,  a  sure  foundation,'  Eph.  ii.  10. 
Since  it  is  a  very  dangerous  thing,  as  much  as  your  souls  and  eternity 
is  worth,  for  you  to  build  on  anything  beside  Jesus  Christ,  many  will 
say,  Come,  build  on  this  authority  and  that,  on  this  saying  and  that ; 
but  take  heed. 

Leg.  3.  In  all  places  and  company,  be  sure  to  carry  your  soul  pre- 
servative with  you  :  go  into  no  place  or  company,  except  you  carry  your 
soul  preservations  with  you,  that  is,  a  holy  care  and  wisdom.  You 
know,  in  infectious  times,  men  will  carry  outward  preservatives  with 
them  ;  you  had  need  to  carry  your  preservatives  about  you,  else  you 
will  be  in  danger  of  being  infected  with  the  ill  customs  and  vanities  of 
the  times  wherein  you  live,  and  that  is  a  third. 

Leg.  4.  I  would  leave  with  you  is  this  :  Look  that  all  within  you 
rises  higher  and  higher,  by  oppositions,  threatenings  and  sufferings, 
that  is,  that  your  faith,  your  love,  your  courage,  your  zeal,  your  resolu- 
tions, and  magnanimity  rises  higher  by  opposition  and  a  spirit  of  prayer. 
Thus  it  did,  Acts  iv.  18-21,  29-31  compared  ;  all  their  sufferings  did 
but  raise  up  a  more  noble  spirit  in  them,  they  did  but  raise  up  their 
faith  and  courage.  So  Acts  v.  40-42,  they  looked  on  it  as  a  grace  to 
be  disgraced  for  Christ,  and  as  an  honour  to  be  dishonoured  for  him. 
They  say,  as  David,  '  If  this  be  to  be  vile,  I  will  be  more  vile.'  If  to 
be  found  in  the  way  of  my  God,  to  act  for  my  God,  to  be  vile,  I  will  be 
more  vile. 

Leg.  5.  Take  more  pains,  and  make  more  conscience  of  keeping  your- 
selves from  sin  than  suffering  ;  from  the  pollutions  and  defilements  of 
the  day,  than  from  the  sufferings  of  the  day.  This  legacy  I  would  beg 
that  you  would  consider;  take  more  pains,  and  make  more  conscience  of 
keeping  yourselves  from  the  evil  of  sin  than  the  evil  of  punishment,  from 
the  pollutions  and  corruptions  of  the  times  than  the  sufferings  of  the 
times  :  Acts  ii.  40,  '  Save  yourselves  from  this  untoward  generation.' 
Philip,  ii.  15,  'The  children  of  God  must  be  harmless  and  blameless, 
without  rebuke  in  the  midst  of  a  crooked  and  perverse  generation.' 
Heb.  xi.  speaks  full  to  the  point  in  hand.  Rev.  iii.  4,  '  Thou  hast  a  few 
names  even  in  Sardis  that  have  not  defiled  their  garments  ;  and  they 
shall  walk  with  me  in  white :  for  they  are  worthy.'  White  was  the 
habit  of  nobles,  which  imports  the  honour  that  God  will  put  on  those 
that  keep  their  garments  pure  in  a  defiling  day.  Rev.  xviii.  4,  '  And  I 
heard  another  voice  from  heaven,  saying,  Come  out  of  her,  my  people, 
that  ye  be  not  partakers  of  her  sins,  and  that  ye  receive  not  of  her 
plagues/  If  you  will  be  tasting  and  sipping  at  Babylon's  cup,  you 
must  resolve  to  receive  more  or  less  of  Babylon's  plagues. 

VOL.  l  e 


Ixiv  APPENDIX  TO  MEMOIR. 

Leg.  6.  I  would  Leave  with  you  is  this:  Be  always  doing  or  receiving 
good.  Our  Lord  and  Master  went  up  and  down  in  this  world  doing 
good  ;  he  was  still  doing  good  to  body  and  soul ;  he  was  acted  by  an 
untired  power.  Be  still  doing  or  receiving  good.  This  will  make  your 
lives  comfortable,  your  deaths  happy,  and  your  account  glorious,  in  the 
great  day  of  our  Lord.  Oh  !  how  useless  are  many  men  in  their  gene- 
ration !  Oli  !  that  our  lips  might  be  as  so  many  honey-combs,  that  we 
might  scatter  knowledge! 

Leg.  7-  I  would  leave  with  you  is  this  :  Set  the  highest  examples  and 
patterns  before  your  face  of  grace  and  godliness  for  your  imitation.  In 
the  business  of  faith,  set  an  Abraham  before  your  eyes  ;  in  the  business 
of  courage,  set  a  Joshua  ;  in  the  business  of  uprightness,  set  a  Job  ;  of 
meekness,  a  Moses,  &c.  There  is  a  disadvantage  that  redounds  to 
Christians  by  looking  more  backwards  than  forwards.  Men  look  on 
whom  they  excel,  not  on  those  they  fall  short  of.  Of  all  examples,  set 
them  before  you  that  are  most  eminent  for  grace  and  holiness,  for  com- 
munion with  God,  and  acting  for  God.  Next  to  Christ,  set  the  pattern 
of  the  choicest  saints  before  you. 

Leg.  8.  Hold  fast  your  integrity,  and  rather  let  all  go  than  let  that 
go.  A  man  had  better  let  liberty,  estate,  relations,  and  life  go,  than  let 
his  integrity  go.  Yea,  let  ordinances  themselves  go,  when  they  cannot 
be  held  with  the  hand  of  integrity :  Job  xxvii.  5,  6,  '  God  forbid  that  I 
should  justify  you  till  I  die.  I  will  not  remove  my  integrity  from  me; 
my  righteousness  I  will  hold  fast,  and  I  will  not  let  it  go  :  my  heart  shall 
not  reproach  me  so  long  as  I  live.'  Look,  as  the  drowning  man  holds 
fast  that  which  is  cast  forth  for  to  save  him,  as  the  soldier  holds  fast  his 
sword  and  buckler  on  which  his  life  depends,  so,  saith  Job,  '  I  will  hold 
fast  my  integrity;  my  heart  shall  not  reproach  me.  I  had  rather  all  the 
world  should  reproach  me,  and  my  heart  justify  me,  than  that  my  heart 
should  reproach  me,  and  all  the  world  justify  me.'  That  man  will  make 
but  a  sad  exchange  that  shall  exchange  his  integrity  for  any  worldly 
concernment.  Integrity  maintained  in  the  soul  will  be  a  feast  of  fat 
things  in  the  worst  of  days  ;  but  let  a  man  lose  his  integrity,  and  it  is 
not  in  the  power  of  all  the  world  to  make  a  feast  of  fat  things  in  that 
soul. 

Leg.  0.  That  I  would  leave  with  you  is  this :  Let  not  a  day  pass  over 
your  head  without  calling  the  whole  man  to  an  exact  account.  Well, 
where  have  you  been  acting  to-day  ?  Hands,  what  have  you  done  for 
God  to-day  ?  Tongue,  what  have  you  spoke  for  God  to-day.  This  will 
be  an  advantage  many  ways  unto  you,  but  I  can  only  touch  on  these 
legacies. 

Leg.  10.  Labour  mightily  for  a  healing  spirit.  This  legacy  I  would 
leave  with  you  as  matter  of  great  concernment.  Labour  mightily  for 
a  healing  spirit.  Away  with  all  discriminating  names  whatever  that 
may  hinder  the  applying  of  balm  to  heal  your  wounds.  Labour  for  a 
healing  spirit.  Discord  and  division  become  no  Christian.  For  wolves 
to  worry  the  lambs,  is  no  wonder  ;  but  for  one  lamb  to  worry  another, 
this  is  unnatural  and  monstrous.  God  hath  made  his  wrath  to  smoke 
against  us  for  the  divisions  and  heart-burnings  that  have  been  amongst 
us.  Labour  for  a  oneness  in  love  and  affection  with  every  one  that  is 
one  with  Christ.     Let  their  forms  be  what  they  will,  that  which  wins 


APPENDIX  TO  MEMOIR.  ]xv 

most  upon  Christ's  heart,  should  win  most  upon  ours,  and  that  is  his 
own  grace  and  holiness.  The  question  should  be,  What  of  the  Father, 
what  of  the  Son,  what  of  the  Spirit  shines  in  this  or  that  person  ?  and 
accordingly  let  your  love  and  your  affections  run  out.  That  is  the  tenth 
legacy. 

Leg.  11.  Be  most  in  the  spiritual  exercises  of  religion.  Improve  this 
legacy,  for  much  of  the  life  and  comfort,  joy  and  peace  of  your  souls  is 
wrapped  up  in  it.  I  say,  be  most  in  the  spiritual  exercises  of  religion. 
There  are  external  exercises,  as  hearing,  preaching,  praying,  and  con- 
ference ;  and  there  are  the  more  spiritual  exercises  of  religion,  exercise 
of  grace,  meditation,  self-judging,  self-trial,  and  examination.  Bodily 
exercise  will  profit  nothing  if  abstracted  from  those  more  spiritual.  The 
glory  that  God  hath,  and  the  comfort  and  advantage  that  will  redound  to 
your  souls  is  mostly  from  the  spiritual  exercises  of  religion.  How  rare 
is  it  to  find  men  in  the  work  of  meditation,  of  trial  and  examination, 
and  of  bringing  home  of  truths  to  their  own  souls  ? 

Leg.  12.  Take  no  truths  upon  trust,  but  all  upon  trial,  1  Thes.  v.  21, 
so  1  John  iv.  1,  Acts  xvii.  11.  It  was  the  glory  of  that  church,  that  they 
would  not  trust  Paul  himself;  Paul,  that  had  the  advantage  above  all 
for  external  qualifications  ;  no,  not  Paul  himself.  Take  no  truth  upon 
trust  ;  bring  them  to  the  balance  of  the  sanctuary.  If  they  will,  not 
hold  weight  there,  reject  them. 

Iieg.  13.  The  lesser  and  fewer  opportunities  and  advantages  you  have 
in  public  to  better  and  enrich  your  souls,  the  more  abundantly  address 
your  souls  to  God  in  private  :  Mai.  iii.  16,  17,  'Then  they  that  feared 
the  Lord,  spake  often  one  to  another,'  &c. 

Leg.  14.  Walk  in  those  ways  that  are  directly  cross  and  contrary  to 
the  vain,  sinful,  and  superstitious  ways  that  men  of  a  formal,  carnal, 
lukewarm  spirit  walk  in  ;  this  is  the  great  concernment  of  Christians. 
But  more  of  that  by  and  by. 

Leg.  15.  Look  upon  all  the  things  of  this  world  as  you  will  look  upon 
them  when  you  come  to  die.  At  what  a  poor  rate  do  men  look  on  the 
things  of  this  world  when  they  come  to  die  !  What  a  low  value  do  men 
set  upon  the  pomp  and  glory  of  it,  when  there  is  but  a  step  between 
them  and  eternity  !  Men  may  now  put  a  mask  upon  them,  but  then 
they  will  appear  in  their  own  colours.  Men  would  not  venture  the  loss 
of  such  great  things  for  them  did  they  but  look  on  them  now,  as  they 
will  do  at  the  last  day. 

Leg.  16.  Never  put  off  your  conscience  with  any  plea  or  with  anv 
argument  that  you  dare  not  stand  by  in  the  great  day  of  your  account. 
It  is  dreadful  to  consider  how  many  in  these  days  put  off  their  con- 
sciences. We  did  this  and  that  for  our  families,  they  would  have  else 
perished.  I  have  complied  thus,  and  wronged  my  conscience  thus,  for 
this  and  that  concernment.  Will  a  man  stand  by  this  argument  when 
he  comes  before  Jesus  Christ  at  the  last  day  ?  Because  of  the  souls  of 
men,  many  plead  this  or  that.  Christ  doth  not  stand  in  need  of  indirect 
ways  to  save  souls  ;  he  hath  ways  enough  to  bring  in  souls  to  himself. 

Leg.  17.  Eye  more,  mind  more,  and  lay  to  heart  more,  the  spiritual 
and  eternal  workings  of  God  in  your  souls,  than  the  external  providences 
of  God  in  the  world.  Beloved,  God  looks  that  we  should  consider  the 
operations  of  his  hand  ;  and  the  despising  the  works  of  his  hands  is  so 


lxvi  APPENDIX  TO  MEMOIR. 

provoking  to  him  that  he  threatens  them  to  lead  them  into  captivity 
for  not  considering  of  them.  But  above  all  look  to  the  work  that  God 
is  carrying  on  in  your  souls.  Not  a  soul  but  he  is  carrying  on  soma 
work  or  other  in  it,  either  blinding  or  enlightening,  bettering  or 
worstening  ;  and  therefore  look  to  what  God  is  doing  in  thy  soul.  All 
the  motions  of  God  within  you  are  steps  to  eternity,  and  every  soul  shall 
be  blessed  or  cursed,  saved  or  lost  to  all  eternity,  not  according  to  out- 
ward dispensations,  but  accoixling  to  the  inward  operations  of  God  in 
your  souls.  Observe  what  humbling  work,  reforming  work,  sanctifying 
work,  he  is  about  in  thy  spirit ;  what  he  is  doing  in  that  little  world 
within  thee.  If  God  should  carry  on  never  so  glorious  a  work  in  the 
world,  as  a  conquest  of  the  nations  to  Christ,  what  would  it  advantage 
thee  if  sin,  Satan,  and  the  world  should  triumph  in  thy  soul,  and  carry 
the  day  there. 

Leg.  18.  Look  as  well  on  the  bright  side  as  on  the  dark  side  of  the 
cloud  ;  on  the  bright  side  of  providence  as  well  as  on  the  dark  side  of. 
providence.  Beloved,  there  is  a  great  weakness  amongst  Christians  ; 
they  do  so  pore  on  the  dark  side  of  the  providence  as  that  they  have  no 
heart  to  consider  of  the  bright  side.  If  you  look  on  the  dark  side  of 
the  providence  of  God  to  Joseph,  how  terrible  and  amazing  was  it !  but 
if  you  look  on  the  bright  side,  his  fourscore  years'  reign,  how  glorious 
was  it !  If  you  look  on  the  dark  side  of  the  providence  of  God  to  David, 
in  his  five  years'  banishment,  much  will  arise  to  startle  you  ;  but  if  you 
turn  to  the  bright  side,  his  forty  years'  reign  in  glory,  how  amiable  was 
it  !  Look  on  the  dark  side  of  the  providence  of  God  to  Job,  oh,  how 
terrible  was  it  in  the  first  of  Job  I  but  compare  this  with  the  last  of  Job, 
where  you  have  the  bright  side  of  the  cloud,  and  there  God  doubles  all  his 
mercies  to  him.  Consider  the  patience  of  Job,  and  the  end  that  the  Lord 
made  with  him.  Do  not  remember  the  beginning  only,  for  that  was  the 
dark  side ;  but  turn  to  the  end  of  him,  and  there  was  his  bright  side. 
Many  sins,  many  temptations,  and  much  affliction  would  be  prevented  by 
Christians  looking  on  the  bright  side  of  providence  as  well  as  on  the  dark. 

Leg.  19.  Keep  up  precious  thoughts  of  God  under  the  sourest,  sharpest, 
and  severest  dispensations  of  God  to  you  :  Ps.  xxii.  1-3,  '  My  God,  my 
God,  why  hast  thou  forsaken  me  ?  why  art  thou  so  far  from  helping  me, 
and  from  the  words  of  my  roaring  ?  O  my  God,  I  cry  in  the  daytime, 
but  thou  hearest  not ;  and  in  the  night  season,  and  am  not  silent.' 
There  was  the  psalmist  under  smart  dispensations,  but  what  precious 
thoughts  had  he  of  God  after  all :  '  But  thou  art  holy,  O  thou  that  in- 
habitest  the  praises  of  Israel :  though  I  am  thus  and  thus  afflicted,  yet 
thou  art  holy  ;'  Ps.  lxv.  5,  '  By  terrible  things  in  righteousness  wilt  thou 
answer  us,  O  God  of  our  salvation. 

Leg.  20.  Hold  on  and  hold  out  in  the  ways  of  well-doing,  in  the  want 
of  all  outward  encouragements,  and  in  the  face  of  all  outward  dis- 
couragements. It  is  nothing  to  hold  out  when  we  meet  with  nothing 
but  encouragements  ;  but  to  hold  out  in  the  face  of  all  discouragements 
is  a  Christian  duty  :  Ps.  xliv.,  '  Though  thou  hast  sore  broken  us  in  the 
place  of  dragons,  and  covered  us  with  the  shadow  of  death,  yet  have  we 
not  dealt  falsely  in  thy  covenant :  our  heart  is  not  turned  back, 
neither  have  we  declined  from  thy  ways.'  It  is  perseverance  that 
crowns  all :  '  Be  thou  faithful  to  the  death,  and  I  will  give  thee  a  crown 


APPENDIX  TO  MEMOIR.  lxvii 

of  life,'  Rev.  ii.  10  ;  'And  he  that  endureth  to  the  end  shall  be  saved,' 
Mat.  xxiv.  It  is  perseverance  in  well-doing  that  crowns  all  our  actions. 
If  you  have  begun  in  the  Spirit,  don't  end  in  the  flesh  ;  do  not  go  away 
from  the  Captain  of  your  salvation  ;  follow  the  Lamb,  though  others 
follow  the  beast  and  the  false  prophets. 

Leg.  21.  In  all  your  natural,  civil,  and  religious  actions,  let  divine 
glory  still  rest  on  your  souls,  Rom.  xiv.  7,  8,  1  Cor.  x.  31.  In  all  your 
bearings,  in  all  your  prayings,  let  the  glory  of  Christ  carry  it  ;  in  all 
your  closet  duties,  let  the  glory  of  Christ  lie  nearest  your  hearts. 

Leg.  22.  Record  all  special  favours,  mercies,  providences,  and  experi- 
ences. It  is  true,  a  man  should  do  nothing  else,  should  he  record  all  the 
favours  and  experiences  of  God  towards  him  ;  and  therefore  my  legacy 
is,  record  all  special  favours,  peculiar  experiences.  Little  do  you  know 
the  advantage  that  will  redound  to  your  soul  upon  this  account  by 
recording  all  the  experiences  of  the  shinings  of  his  face,  of  the  leadings 
of  his  Spirit.     Many  a  Christian  loseth  much  by  neglecting  this  duty. 

Leg.  23.  Never  enter  upon  the  trial  of  your  estate,  but  when  your 
hearts  are  at  the  best,  and  in  the  fittest  temper.  It  is  a  great  design  of 
Satan,  when  the  soul  is  deserted  and  strangely  afflicted,  to  put  the  soul 
on  trying  work.  Come,  see  what  thou  art  worth  for  another  world, 
what  thou  hast  to  shew  for  a  better  state,  for  an  interest  in  Christ,  a 
title  for  heaven.  This  is  not  a  time  to  be  about  this  work.  Thy  work 
is  now  to  get  off  from  this  temptation,  and  therefore  to  pray  and  believe, 
and  wait  upon  God,  and  to  be  found  in  all  those  ways  whereby  you  may 
get  off  the  temptation. 

Leg.  24.  Always  make  the  Scripture,  and  not  yourselves,  nor  your 
carnal  reason,  nor  your  bare  opinion,  the  judges  of  your  spiritual  state 
and  condition.  I-  cannot  see  my  condition  to  be  good.  I  cannot 
perceive  it.  What  !  must  your  sense  and  your  carnal  reason  be  the 
judge  of  your  spiritual  state  ?  Isa,  viii.  20,  '  To  the  law  and  to  the 
testimony,  if  they  speak  not  according  to  this  rule,  it  is  because  there 
is  no  light,  no  morning  in  them  ;'  John  xii.  48,  '  The  word  that  I  have 
spoken,  the  same  shall  judge  you  in  the  last  day.'  The  Scripture  is 
that  which  must  determine  the'case  in  the  great  day,  whether  you  have 
grace  or  no,  or  whether  it  be  true  or  no. 

Leg.  25.  Make  much  conscience  of  making  good  the  terms  on  which 
you  closed  with  Christ.  You  know  the  terms,  how  that  you  would  deny 
yourselves,  take  up  his  cross,  and  follow  the  Lamb  wheresoever  he  should 
go.  Now  you  are  put  to  take  up  the  cross,  to  deny  yourselves,  to  follow 
the  Lamb  over  hedge  and  ditch,  through  thick  and  thin.  Do  not  turn 
your  backs  on  Christ ;  the  worst  of  Christ  is  better  than  the  best  of  the 
world.  Make  conscience  of  making  good  your  terms,  to  deny  yourself, 
your  natural  self,  your  sinful  self,  your  religious  self,  to  follow  him  ; 
and  if  you  do  so,  oh  !  what  an  honour  will  it  be  to  Christ,  and  advan- 
tage to  your  souls,  and  a  joy  to  the  upright  ! 

Leg.  26.  Walk  by  no  rule  but  such  as  you  dare  die  by  and  stand  by 
in  the  great  day  of  Jesus  Christ.  You  may  have  many  ways  prescribed 
to  worship  by  ;  but  walk  by  none  but  such  as  you  dare  die  by,  and 
stand  by,  before  Jesus  Christ.  Walk  not  by  a  multitude,  for  who  dare 
stand  by  that  rule  when  he  comes  to  die  % 

Make  not  the  example  of  great  men  a  rule  to  go  by,  for  who  dare  die 


lxviii  APPENDIX  TO  MEMOIR. 

by  and  stand  by  this  in  the  great  day  of  account.  Do  not  make  any 
authority  that  stands  in  opposition  to  the  authority  of  Christ  a  rule  to 
walk  by,  for  who  dare  Btand  by  this  before  Jesus  Christ?  Ah  !  sirs,  walk 
by  no  rule  but  what  you  dare  die  by,  and  stand  by  at  the  great  day. 

Leg.  27.  And  lastly,  sit  down  and  rejoice  with  fear:  Ps.  ii.,  'Let  the 
righteous  njoicr,  hut  let  them  rejoice  with  fear.'  Rejoice,  that  God  hath 
done  your  souis  good  by  the  everlasting  gospel  ;  that  he  did  not  leave 
you  till  he  brought  you  to  an  acceptance  of,  to  a  closing  with,  and  a 
resignation  of,  your  souls  to  Christ,  and  the  clearing  up  of  your  interest 
in  him.  Rejoice,  that  you  have  had  the  everlasting  gospel  in  so  much 
light,  purity,  power,  and  glory,  as  you  have  had  for  many  years  together. 
Rejoice  in  the  riches  of  grace  that  hath  carried  it  in  such  a  way  towards 
you.  And  weep,  that  you  have  provoked  God  to  take  away  the  gospel, 
that  you  have  no  more  improved  it;  that  you  have  so  neglected  the  seasons 
and  opportunities  of  enriching  your  souls.  When  you  should  have  come 
to  church-fellowship,  anything  would  turn  you  out  of  the  way.  Oh  ! 
sit  down  and  tremble  under  your  barrenness,  under  all  your  leanness. 
Notwithstanding  all  the  cost  and  charge  that  God  hath  been  at,  that 
you  have  grown  no  more  into  communion  with  God,  and  conformity 
to  God,  and  into  the  lively  hope  of  the  everlasting  fruition  of  God. 
Here  are  your  legacies,  and  the  Lord  make  them  to  work  in  your  souls, 
and  then  they  will  be  of  singular  use  to  you,  to  preserve  you  so  that 
you  may  give  up  your  account  before  the  great  and  glorious  God  with 
joy.  Labour  to  make  conscience  of  putting  these  legacies  into  practice, 
of  sucking  at  these  breasts,  which  will  be  of  use  to  us,  till  we  shall  be 
gathered  up  into  the  fruition  of  God,  where  we  shall  need  no  more  ordi- 
nances, no  more  preaching  or  praying. 


C. — Introductory  '  Epistles.'    See  ante  page  xxxiii. 

I.  '  The  Gospel  Treasury  Opened,  or  the  holiest  of  all  unveiling  ;  discover- 
ing yet  more  the  riches  of  grace  and  glory  to  the  vessels  of  mercy.  Unto  whom 
only  it  is  given  to  know  the  mysteries  of  that  kingdom  and  the  excellency  of 
Spirit,  Power,  Truth,  above  Letters,  Forms,  Shadows.  In  several  Sermons, 
preached  at  Kensington  and  elsewhere,'  by  John  Everard,  D.D.,  deceased. 
1679.  (2d  edition,  '  very  much  enlarged').  12mo.  The  following  Epistle,  en- 
titled '  An  Approbation,'  is  by  Brooks,  though  good  Matthew  Barker  adds  his 
name  also. 

'  The  Publisher  of  this  book  is  desirous  that  it  might  pass  with  some  testi- 
monial into  the  world  ;  but  it  needs  not  testimony  from  man  ;  for  I  find  it 
impressed  with  such  a  divine  image,  and  bearing  such  clear  lineaments  of 
heaven-born  truths  as  testify  it  to  be  of  God  ;  and  therefore  strongly  bespeaks 
us  to  receive  it,  as  into  our  houses,  so  chiefly  into  our  hearts.  I  dare  assure 
thee,  Reader,  if  thou  hast  received  a  spiritual  relish,  thou  shalt  taste  much 
sweetness  in  it;  and  if  thou  canst  rejoice  to  be  "laid  low,"  and  made 
nothing,  that  God  may  be  exalted  and  made  "  all  in  all,"  then  shalt  thou  find 
here  that  which  will  help  thy  joy.  And  let  me  entreat  thee,  that  as  thou  readest 
the  book,  to  read  also  thine  own  heart ;  and  by  this  thou  mayest  come  to  find 
thine  heart  in  the  book,  and  the  book  in  thine  heart,  and  [this]  will  make  thee 
fall  upon  thy  face  with  that  idiot,  and  worship  God  and  report,  "  God 
is  in  this  word  of  a  truth,"  1  Cor.  xiv.  25.     Some  are  casting  off  the  letter  of 


APPENDIX  TO  MEMOIR.  lxix 

the  Scriptures,  others  resting  in  it ;  some  are  despising  ordinances,  others 
are  overvaluing  them.  I  find  the  author  walking  warily  betwixt  both ;  giving 
due  honour  to  the  letter  and  to  the  form,  while  he  is  exalting  the  power  and 
the  Spirit  incomparably  above  both  ;  and  thou  shalt  find  him  laying  the  axe  of 
truth  and  the  edge  of  the  Spirit  close  to  that  cursed  root  of  self-approbation  in 
man,  which  is  daily  bringing  forth  such  bitter  fruits  in  his  heart,  in  his  life,  and 
in  the  world  ;  and  yet  remains  unseen  and  untouched  in  the  hearts  of  many  that 
would  be  thought  to  be  arrived  at  the  brink  of  perfection,  while  they  scarce 
understand  wherein  the  great  imperfection  of  the  natural  man  doth  lie. 

Some  expressions  in  thy  reading  may  seem  harsh  or  obscure  to  thee,  as  they 
did  to  me  ;  but  read  it  over  and  over  with  prayer,  strongly  desirous  to  be  taught 
of  God;  and  in  reading  be  not  weary,  but  blow  and  take  breath,  and  at  it  again  : 
and  thou,  comparing  one  place  with  another,  wilt  clearly  see  what  the  author 
means,  and  shalt  find  his  whole  discourse  to  have  a  sacred  tendency  to  lay  man 
low,  and  so  to  put  him  into  a  rich  capacity  of  coming  in  to  the  nearest  fellowship 
with  God.  So  that  while  some  seek  to  build  up  themselves  upon  the  deceitful 
foundation  of  corrupted  nature,  and  struggle,  though  in  vain,  in  the  light  and 
power  of  it,  to  advance  towards  perfection ;  he  is  planting  his  spiritual  artillery 
against  it,  to  throw  it  into  the  dust,  so  that  man  may  come  to  be  surely  rooted 
and  bottomed  upon  the  righteousness,  power,  and  wisdom  of  Jesus  Christ ; 
which  is  the  only  foundation  that  God  hath  laid,  and  the  gospel  revealed. 

And  in  some  things  thou  must  give  him  a  latitude  to  his  judgment,  as  thou 
desirest  by  thine  own  in  others.  If  thou  findest  some  truths  delivered  and 
enforced  with  re-iterated  expressions;  consider  they  were  delivered  for  the  most 
part  in  several  congregations  ;  so  that  in  some  particulars  the  same  things  may 
be  reinforced,  but  yet  with  more  lustre,  to  make  truth  more  clear.  Thou  hast 
them  as  they  were  preached  and  pressed  in  sermons  to  the  capacity  and  con- 
science of  his  auditors,  and  taken  from  his  mouth  by  a  Notary ;  yet  afterwards 
owned  and  approved  by  himself,  he  desiring  to  peruse  them,  they  lying  with  him 
three  or  four  months,  and  compared  with  his  own  notes.  Read,  consider,  and 
try  «  and  hold  fast  that  which  is  good.'  Tho.  Brooks. 

March  26,  1653.  M.  Barker. 

II.  '  Altum  Silentium,  or  Silence  the  Duty  of  Saints.  By  John  Durant, 
12mo.     1659. 

To  the  Reader. — Christian  Friend, — The  book  of  Job  (saith  Augustine)  is 
the  afflicted  man's  Scripture ;  and  I  may  say  this  little  book  is  the  afflicted 
man's  duty.  A  little  pearl  may  be  of  great  price  ;  and  such  is  this  little  treatise 
that  now  is  put  into  thy  hand. 

The  waves  did  but  lift  Noah's  ark  nearer  to  heaven ;  and  the  higher  the 
waters  rose,  the  nearer  the  ark  was  lifted  up  to  heaven  :  sometimes  such  an 
operation  afflictions  have  upon  Noahs,  upon  preachers  of  righteousness  ;  and  if 
they  have  not  had  the  same  operation  upon  the  author  of  the  ensuing  discourse, 
I  am  much  mistaken.  Afflictions  to  some  are  like  the  prick  at  the  nightin- 
gale's breast,  that  awakes  her,  and  puts  her  upon  her  sweet  and  delightful  notes  ; 
and  whether  they  have  not  had  such  an  operation  upon  the  worthy  author,  I 
will  leave  the  reader  to  judge.  The  more  precious  odours  and  the  purest 
spices  are  beaten  and  bruised,  the  sweeter  scent  and  savour  they  send  abroad. 
Had  not  God  bruised  to  death  one  of  the  choicest  and  sweetest  flowers  in  the 
author's  garden,  he  had  not  sent  abroad  this  sweet  and  savoury  sermon. 

We  try  metal  by  knocking  it ;  if  it  sound  well,  then  we  like  it  well.  That  is 
a  tried  Christian,  a  thorough  Christian  indeed,  that  gives  a  pleasant  sound 
when  under  the  knocking  hand  of  God.  If  thou  layest  thine  ear,  thy  heart,  close 
to  the  following  tract,  thou  wilt  hear  such  a  sound  as  will  be  sweeter  to  thee 
than  the  honey  or  the  honey-comb. 


lxx  APPENDIX  TO  MEMOIR. 

That  Christian  is  worth  a  world  who,  under  the  sorest  and  sharpest  afflictions, 
is  like  the  stone  in  Thracia,  that  neither  burnetii  in  the  fire  nor  sinketh  in  the 
water  ;  whose  silence  and  patience  is  invincible  and  impregnable.  None  are 
such  an  honour  to  God,  such  a  glory  to  the  gospel,  such  a  shame  to  Satan,  and 
such  a  wonder  to  the  world  as  those  ;  who  can  lay  their  hands  upon  their 
mouths  when  God's  rod  lays  heavy  upon  their  backs.  That  this  is  every 
Christian's  duty  and  glory  is  fully  and  sweetly  evinced  in  the  following  dis- 
course. 

Happy  are  we  when  God's  corrections  are  our  instructions,  his  lashes  our 
lessons,  his  scourges  our  schoolmasters,  his  chastisements  our  advertisements. 
And  to  note  this,  the  Hebrews  and  Greeks  both  express  chastening  and  teach- 
ing by  one  and  the  same  word,  (">D10,  <zaihiia),  [margin,  Isa.  xxxvi.  9  ;  Ps. 
xciv.  12  ;  Prov.  iii.  12,  13  ;  chap.  vi.  23],  because  the  latter  is  the  true  end 
of  the  former,  according  to  that  in  the  proverb,  Smart  makes  wit,  and  vexa- 
tion gives  understanding.  That  this  happiness  the  reader  may  attain  to,  is  the 
thing  endeavoured  by  the  author. 

Reader,  thou  hast  much  wrapped  up  in  a  little ;  it  is  more  to  be  admired  than 
to  have  Homer's  Iliads  compressed  in  a  nutshell ;  it  is  a  mourning  sermon,  and 
mourning  should  be  plain.  The  reverend  author  knew  right  well,  that  it  was 
better  to  present  truth  in  her  native  plainness  than  to  hang  her  ears  with 
counterfeit  pearls.  He  knew  that  the  king  of  Nineveh  was  a  king  as  well  in  his 
sackcloth,  as  in  his  royal  robes.  The  author  is  known  to  be  a  master-workman, 
and  one  that  could  easily  shoot  his  arrows  over  his  hearers'  heads  [margin,  See 
his  precious  works  in  print,  and  then  judge],  but  he  had  rather  shoot  them  into 
his  hearers'  hearts.  He  dares  not  affect  sublime  notions,  obscure  expressions, 
which  are  but  mysterious  nothings.  He  dares  not  do  as  many,  who  make 
plain  truths  difficult,  and  easy  truths  hard ;  and  so  darken  counsel  by  words 
without  knowledge,  Job  xxxviii.  2.  If  thou  will  but  taste  and  try,  thou  wilt 
find  this  little  treatise  to  be  a  heavenly  honey-hive  to  thy  soul. 

If  thou  shalt  say,  Oh  !  it  is  sweet,  it  is  seasonable,  it  is  suitable  to  my  con- 
dition, and  to  God's  dispensations  abroad  in  the  world ;  but  why  have  we  no 
more  of  this  sweet  wine,  no  more  of  this  water  of  life,  no  more  of  these  clusters 
of  Canaan  ?  I  must  tell  thee,  that  the  honoured  author  buried  his  dear  and 
hopeful  daughter  on  the  Friday,  and  preached  this  sermon  on  the  Sabbath  day 
following  ;  and  therefore  there  has  been  more  cause  to  bless  the  Lord,  and 
admire  the  Lord  for  his  goodness,  assistance,  and  presence  with  the  author, 
that  has  enabled  him  to  bring  forth  a  truth  of  so  great  weight  and  concernment 
to  us,  even  then,  when  he  was  under  such  sore  and  sharp  rebukes  of  God.  It 
is  not  every  one's  happiness  to  have  such  a  presence  of  God  with  them,  when 
the  rod  of  God  is  heavy  upon  them. 

Reader,  the  point  insisted  on  is  a  point  of  special  use  to  Christians  ;  espe- 
cially to  such  as  are  under  the  afflicting  hand  of  God,  whether  in  spirituals  or 
temporals  ;  and  if  storms  should  fall  upon  us  from  abroad  or  at  home,  it  will 
be  found  (in  the  use  of  it)  more  worth  than  gold.  I  have  read  of  the  stone 
Garamantides,  that  had  drops  of  gold  in  it  :  many  a  golden  drop  wilt  thou  find 
in  the  following  lines.  As  Moses  laid  up  the  manna  in  the  golden  pot,  and  as 
Alexander  kept  Homer's  Iliad  in  a  cabinet  embroidered  with  gold,  so  do  thou 
lay  up  this  sermon  in  the  golden  cabinet  of  thy  heart.  If  troubles  at  present 
are  not  upon  thee,  yet  thou  must  remember  that  thou  art  born  to  them,  as 
the  sparks  fly  upwards  [margin,  Job  v.  7;  John  xvi.  ult.  14;  Acts  xxi.  22]. 
God  had  but  one  Son  without  sin,  he  hath  no  son  without  sorrow;  he  had  but 
one  without  corruption,  he  bath  none  without  correction ;  he  scourges  every 
son  whom  he  receives  ;  he  can  quickly  turn  thy  summer  day  into  wrinter  night, 
and  then  this  sermon  may  be  to  thee  a  suitable  and  invaluable  mercy.  I  shall 
only  take  leave  to  hint  a  few  things  to  the  author,  my  reverend  brother,  and 


APPENDIX  TO  MEMOIR.  lxxi 

to  my  dear  sister,  his  virtuous  yoke-fellow,  who  are  above  all  others  concerned 
in  this  sharp  and  sweet  dispensation,  and  so  conclude. 

First,  That  well-grounded  hope,  confidence,  and  assurance,  that  you  and 
others  had  of  the  buddings  and  blossomings  of  grace  in  her,  in  her  tender  age, 
and  of  her  being  now  at  rest  in  the  bosom  of  the  Father,  should  not  only  quiet 
and  silence  you,  but  also  joy  and  rejoice  you  [margin,  Heb.  xi.  4].  Why  may 
you  not  think  that  you  hear  her,  though  dead,  yet  speaking  thus  unto  you  ? 

Where  God  has  stamp'd  his  image  upon  a  mite, 

'Tis  meet  that  God  should  have  his  right : 

After  a  few  years  past,  a  wearied  hreath 

I  have  exchanged  for  a  happy  death. 

Short  was  my  life,  the  longer  is  my  rest ; 

God  takes  them  soonest  whom  he  loveth  best. 

She  that  is  born  to-day,  and  dies  to-morrow, 

Loses  some  hours  of  joy,  but  years  of  sorrow  ; 

Other  diseases  often  come  to  grieve  us, 

Death  strikes  but  once,  and  that  stroke  relieves  us  : 

Therefore  (my  parents  dear),  take  heed  of  weeping  cross, 

And  mind  my  happiness  more  than  your  own  great  loss. 

This  is  all  I'll  say  to  make  the  reckoning  even, 

Your  dearest  mercy  is  not  too  good  for  heaven. 

Hasten  to  me,  where  now  I  am  possess'd 

With  joys  eternal,  in  Christ  my  only  rest. 

Secondly,  The  designs  of  God  in  all  the  sharp  afflictions  he  exercises  his 
children  with,  as  (1.)  the  purging  away  of  their  sins,  Isa.  i.  25;  (2.)  the  making 
of  them  more  partakers  of  his  holiness,  Heb.  xii.  10  ;  (3.)  the  trial  of  their 
graces,  Job  xxiii.  10;  (4.)  the  communication  of  more  of  himself  and  of  his 
love  to  their  souls,  Hosea  i.  14  ;  (5.)  the  multiplying  of  their  spiritual  expe- 
riences, 2  Cor.  i.  4,  5  ;  (6.)  the  crucifying  of  their  hearts  to  the  world,  and  the 
world  to  their  hearts,  Gal.  vi.  14  [margin,  Nam  finis  dat  amabilitatem  et  facili- 
tatem  mediis]  ;  (7.)  to  draw  them  to  look  and  fix  their  souls  upon  the  great 
concernment  of  another  world,  John  xiv.  1-3 ;  (8.)  that  heaven  may  be  the 
more  sweet  and  precious  to  them  at  last,  2  Cor.  iv.  16-18,  Rom.  viii.  17,  18; 
how  sweet  is  a  calm  after  a  storm,  and  summer  days  after  long  winter  nights  ; 
(9.)  to  make  them  more  and  more  conformable  to  Christ  their  head,  Rom.  viii. 
17  ;  (10.)  that  sinners  may  at  the  last  be  found  dumb  and  speechless,  1  Peter  iv. 
17,  18.  Now,  is  there  not  enough  in  these  glorious  ends  and  designs  of  God 
to  make  his  people  sit  mute  under  the  sharpest  trials  ?  Surely  there  is.  Why 
then  don't  they  sit  silent  before  the  Lord  ? 

Thirdly,  All  the  mercies  you  enjoy,  were  first  the  Lord's  before  they  were 
yours,  and  always  the  Lord's  more  than  they  were  yours,  1  Chron.  xxix.  14. 
'  All  things  come  of  thee,  and  of  thine  own  have  we  given  thee.'  The  sweet  of 
mercy  is  yours,  but  the  sovereign  right  to  dispose  of  your  mercies  is  the  Lord's. 
Quicquid  es  debes  creanti;  quicquid  potes,  debes  redimenti  (Bern),  whatsoever  thou 
art,  thou  owest  to  him  that  made  thee ;  and  whatsoever  thou  hast,  thou  owest 
to  him  that  redeemed  thee.  Say,  as  Jerome  adviseth  a  friend  of  his  (in  the 
like  case),  Thou  hast  taken  away  whom  thou  hast  given  me :  I  grieve  not 
that  thou  hast  taken  them,  but  praise  the  Lord  that  was  pleased  to  give  them. 
You  think  it  but  just  and  reasonable  that  men  should  deal  with  their  own  as 
they  please ;  and  is  it  not  much  more  just  and  reasonable  that  God  should  do 
with  his  own  as  he  pleases  ? 

Fourthly,  That  God  that  has  taken  one,  might  have  taken  all ;  there  are 
several  left,  though  one  be  taken.  Job,  you  know,  was  a  nonsuch  in  his 
generation,  and  yet  the  sentence  of  death  was  passed  upon  all  his  children  at  a 
clap ;  and  under  this  said  clap  Job  does  not  blaspheme,  but  bless  ;  he  does 
not  murmur,  but  worships ;  he  accuses  not  God,  but  clears  God  of  injustice 


IXXll  APPENDIX  TO  MEMOIR. 

under  saddest  and  severest  strokes  of  justice,  Job  i.  Geographers  write  that 
the  city  of  Syracuse  in  Sicily  is  so  curiously  situated,  that  the  sun  is  never  out 
of  sight :  though  one  mercy  be  gone,  yet  you  have  several  that  remain,  and 
this  should  make  you  mute. 

Themistoclcs  invited  many  philosophers  to  supper ;  the  owner  sends  for  one 
half  of  those  necessaries  that  he  was  using.  Can  you  endure  this  disgrace  ? 
said  the  philosophers.  Yes,  said  he,  very  well,  for  he  might  have  sent  justly 
tor  thorn  all.  The  application  is  easy.     Oh  !  let  not  nature  do  more  than  grace. 

Fifthly  and  butty,  Under  sharp  afflictions,  we  ought  carefully  to  look  that 
natural  afflictions  don't  hinder  the  exercise  of  gracious  dispositions.  Though  we 
may  weep,  yet  we  may  not  weep  out  either  the  eye  of  faith,  or  the  eye  of  hope 
[margin,  1  Thes.  iv.  13j  :  though  you  may  water  your  flowers,  yet  you  may 
not  drown  your  flowers.  They  that  wept,  yea,  that  wept  much,  yet  said,  The 
will  of  the  Lord  be  done  [margin,  Acts  xxi.  13,  14].  Jacob  doated  too  much 
upon  his  Joseph,  and  his  affections  were  too  strong  for  his  judgment,  when,  upon 
the  sight  of  the  bloody  coat,  he  refused  to  be  comforted,  and  said,  I  will  go 
down  into  the  grave  unto  my  son,  mourning  [margin,  Gen.  xxxvii.  33-35]. 
And  David  was  too  fond  of  his  son  Absalom,  when,  like  a  puny  baby,  he  wept 
and  said,  0  my  son  Absalom  !  my  son  !  my  son  !  Absalom  !  would  God  I  had 
died  for  thee,  0  Absalom,  my  son!  my  son!  [margin,  2  Sam.  xviii.  32,  33]. 
The  Egyptians  mourned  for  Jacob  seventy  days,  but  Joseph  (though  he  had 
more  cause)  mourned  but  seven  days ;  because  he  had  more  grace,  and  better 
hopes  of  Jacob's  eternal  welfare,  than  the  infidels  had.  In  the  midst  of  all 
your  tears,  keep  up  the  exercise  of  grace,  and  then  you  shall  not  mourn  that 
you  have  mourned. 

That  your  own  is  no  sooner  in  your  hand,  is  only  from  the  remissness  and 
dilatoriness  of  him  into  whose  hands  you  had  ordered  the  copy. 

To  conclude  :  that  you  and  I,  and  all  others  (into  whose  hands  this  sermon 
may  fall)  may  live  up,  and  live  out,  the  following  discourse,  under  all  the 
changes  that  has  or  shall  pass  upon  us,  is  the  earnest  desire  and  hearty  prayer 
of  him  who  is  your  entire  friend  and  servant  in  our  dearest  Lord. 

Tho.  Brooks. 

III.  The  <  Epistle'  prefixed  to  the  '  Works'  of  Dr  Thomas  Taylor,  of  «  Alder- 
manbury,  London,'  (folio,  1653),  bears  the  name  of  Brooks,  only  in  common  with 
Gouge  and  Calamy, Jackson,  Ashe,  Caryl,  Manton,  Greenhill,  Strong,  Griffith, 
Venning,  and  Jemmat.  The  first  signature  is  that  of  Dr  William  Gouge  ;  and 
probably  the  '  Epistle'  was  drawn  up  by  him,  and  simply  signed  by  the  others. 
Yet  does  there  seem  touches  from  the  hand  of  Brooks. 

IV.  '  Gospel  Fear  ;  or  the  Heart  trembling  at  the  Word  of  God  evidenceth  a 
blessed  frame  of  spirit.  Delivered  in  several  Sermons  from  Isa.  lxvi.  2,  and  2 
Kings  xxii.  14.  By  Jeremiah  Burroughes.1  "  His  mercy  is  on  them  that  fear 
him  from  generation  to  generation,"  Luke  i.  50.  "  Work  out  your  own  salva- 
tion with  fear  and  trembling,"  Philip,  ii.  12.  London  :  Printed  by  J.  D.  for 
B.  Aylmer  at  the  three  Pigeons  in  Cornhill.     1674.'      12mo. 

To  The  Reader. — Christian  Reader, — These  following  sermons  are  the 
labours  of  that  prince  of  preachers,  Mr  Jer.  Burroughs,  who  is  now  a  shining 
sun  in  that  upper  world.  But  they  that  ai-e  taken  out  of  this  valley  of  Baca,  and 
carried  up  by  troops  of  glorious  angels  into  the  highest  heaven,  stand  in  no  need 
of  the  praises  of  men,  having  the  fruition  of  the  eternal  God.  And  therefore  I  shall 
wheel  about  to  these  choice  sermons  that  are  here  presented  to  thine  eyes.2     In 

i  Died  Nov.  14.  1646.— G. 

2  Chrysostom,  in  his  learned  oration  compiled  upon  the  death  [of]  Philogonius.  Melanch- 
ton  saitli  of  Pomerauus,  He  was  the  grammarian  ;  of  himself,  that  he  was  the  logician  ;  of 


APPENDIX  TO  MEMOIR.  lxxiii 

the  three  first  thou  wilt  find  this  great  and  glorious  truth,  viz., 'that  a  heart  trem- 
bling at  God's  word  is  very  precious  in  God's  eyes, — Heb.  vi.  10 ;  Isa.  lxii.  6  ; 
Ezek.  xxxvi.  37, — clearly  opened,  fully  proved,  and  sweetly  and  faithfully  im- 
proved, so  as  that,  by  a  blessing  from  on  high,  it  may  contribute  greatly 
to  the  internal  and  eternal  welfare  of  thy  precious  and  immortal  soul. 
Concerning  the  "Word,  premise  this  with  me,  viz.  that  in  these  six  following 
acceptations  the  word  is  taken  in  the  blessed  Scriptures,  (1.)  By  the  Word  is 
sometimes  meant  the  whole  Scriptures,  Old  and  New  Testament.  (2.)  By  the 
Word  is  meant  our  Lord  Jesus  Christ,  who  is  the  spirit,  life,  and  soul  of  the 
word,  John  i.  (3.)  By  the  Word  is  sometimes  meant  the  commands  of  the 
word,  Heb.  i.  (4.)  By  the  Word  is  sometimes  meant  the  threatenings  of  God. 
(5.)  By  the  Word  is  sometimes  meant  the  precious  promises  :  Ps.  cxix.  49, 
'  Remember  the  word  unto  thy  servant,  upon  which  thou  hast  caused  me  to 
hope.'  God  is  not  unrighteous  to  forget,  yet  we  must,  as  his  remembrancers, 
put  his  promises  in  suit.  (6.)  By  the  Word  is  sometimes  meant  those  holy 
prophecies  which  are  scattered  up  and  down  in  the  Scriptures,  Jude  14.  The 
word  thus  considered  occasioned  one  Baldusgar,  a  famous  minister  in  Germany, 
to  say,  Veniat,  venial  verbum  Domini  et  submittemus  illi  sexcenta,  si  nobis  essent, 
col  la,  let  the  word  of  the  Lord  come,  let  it  come,  saith  he  ;  we  will  submit  to 
it  if  we  had  many  hundred  necks  to  put  under  it.  The  design  of  the  worthy 
author  in  this  little  piece  is,  to  win  and  work  the  reader  to  submit  to  the  Word, 
to  be  guided  by  the  Word,  to  prize  the  Word,  to  lay  up  the  Word,  and  to  live 
out  the  Word  in  a  conversation  becoming  the  gospel.  The  Jewish  Rabbins 
were  wont  to  say,  that  upon  every  letter  of  the  law  there  hangs  mountains  of 
profitable  matter.  I  am  sure  in  the  following  discourse  thou  wilt  find  even 
mountains  of  heavenly  matter  hanging  upon  all  the  main  particulars  that  this 
blessed  author  offers  to  thy  serious  consideration  in  this  small  treatise.  Here 
you  have  Homer's  Iliads  in  a  nutshell ;  much  choice  matter  in  a  little  room.  It 
is  said  of  Cassar,  Major  fait  cura  Ccesari  libelloram  qnam  parparce,  he  had  greater 
care  of  his  books  than  of  his  royal  robes  ;  for,  swimming  through  the  waters  to 
escape  his  enemies,  he  carried  his  books  in  his  hand  above  the  waters,  but  lost 
his  robes.  But  what  are  Caesar's  books  to  God's  books  ?  or  to  this  little  book 
that  is  now  put  into  thy  hand  ?  Surely  the  word  of  the  Lord  is  very  sweet  to 
all  those  gracious  souls  who  make  conscience  of  trembling  at  it,  Ps.  xix.  10  ; 
cxix.  103  ;  Job  xxiii.  12  ;  Cant.  ii.  3.  Luther  said  he  could  not  live  in  para- 
dise, if  he  might,  without  the  Word,  at  cam  verbo  etiam  in  inferno  facile  est 
vivere,  but  with  the  Word  he  could  live  in  hell  itself.1  The  philosopher  gave 
thanks  that  he  was  born  in  the  time  of  true  philosophy.  Ah  !  how  happy  are 
we  that  are  born  in  such  a  time  wherein  the  Lord  doth  effnndere  Spiritum,  pour 
forth  his  Spirit,  not  by  drops,  as  in  the  time  of  the  Law,  but  showers  down  of 
his  gifts  and  graces,  as  was  most  evident  in  the  author  of  this  following  piece. 
Not  only  the  day-star,  but  the  Sun  of  righteousness  was  risen  upon  that  people 
that  had  once  the  happiness  to  sit  under  the  author's  ministry ;  neither  is  it  a 
small  part  of  this  world's  happiness  that  they  are  blessed  with  his  most  excellent 
labours  to  this  very  day.  One  cannot  say  of  any  divine  thing,  that  it  is  his  own 
properly  till  in  his  heart.  I  can  say  of  a  bird,  or  of  this  or  that,  it  is  my  own 
when  in  my  hand  ;  but  I  cannot  say  God  is  mine  till  in  my  heart,  or  that  Christ 
is  mine  till  in  my  heart,  or  that  the  Spirit  is  mine  till  in  my  heart,  or  that  grace 
is  mine  till  in  my  heart,  or  that  the  word  is  mine  till  in  my  heart.  '  I  have 
kept  thy  word  in  my  heart,  that  I  may  not  sin  against  thee,'  saith  David,  Ps. 
cxix.  11  ;  and  therefore,  reader,  it  highly  concerns  thee  to  get  that  word  into 

Justus   Ionius,  that  he  was  the  orator;  hut  of  Luther  he  was  omnia  in  omnibus,  all  in  all. 
Adam  in  vit   Luther,  p.  170.    The  application  is  easty. 

1  Sacrce  Scripturoe  tucB  sunt  sanctce  delicice  mece. — Augustine.       Dolphins,  they  say,  love 
music  ;  so  do  gracious  souls  love  the  music  of  the  word. 


lxxiv  APPENDIX  TO  MEMOIR. 

thy  heart  that  is  here  presented  to  thine  eye.  Ah  !  Christians,  your  hearts  are 
never  in  so  good  a  frame,  so  safe  a  frame,  so  sweet  a  frame,  so  happy  a  frame, 
so  gospel  a  frame,  as  when  they  are  in  a  tremhling  frame  ;  and  therefore  make 
this  little  piece  your  delightful  companion  till  your  hearts  are  brought  into  such 
a  blessed  frame,  &c. 

Obj.  But  may  not  reprobates  and  devils  tremble  at  the  word  ?  did  not  Bel- 
shazzar  tremble  at  the  handwriting  ?  did  not  Felix  tremble  at  the  word  preached 
by  Paul  ?  and  is  it  not  said  that  the  devils  believe  and  tremble  ?  Dan.  v.  5,  6  ; 
Acts  xxiv.  24,  25  ;  James  ii.  19. 

Am.  1.  Wicked  men  and  devils  may  tremble  at  the  judgments  denounced  in 
the  word,  but  they  tremble  not  at  the  offence  committed  against  the  holy  com- 
mandments of  God,  as  sincere  Christians  do  :  Ezra  x.  3,  Shechaniah  said,  '  We 
have  trespassed  against  our  God  ;  let  us  make  a  covenant  with  our  God  accord- 
ing to  the  counsel  of  my  Lord,  and  of  those  that  tremble  at  the  commandments 
of  God.'  The  commandments  discovering  their  sin,  they  tremble  who  before 
were  hardened  in  their  practice  of  marrying  with  the  Canaanites  ;  but  we  hear 
nothing,  we  find  nothing  of  this  in  Belshazzar,  or  Felix,  or  the  devils.     But, 

Am.  2.  Secondly,  I  answer,  the  wicked  tremble,  but  never  mend  their  ways. 
Pharaoh  trembles,  but  never  mends.  Saul  trembles,  but  never  mends.  Bel- 
shazzar trembles,  but  never  mends.  Felix  trembles,  but  never  mends ;  and 
devils  tremble,  but  never  mend.  But  Paul  trembles,  and  cries  out,  '  Lord, 
what  wilt  thou  have  me  to  do  ?'  And  the  jailor  trembles,  and  cries  out,  '  Sirs, 
what  must  I  do  to  be  saved  ?'  Acts  ix.  4-6  ;  xvi.  29,  30.     But, 

Am.  3.  Thirdly,  The  trembling  of  the  wicked  drives  them  further  and  further 
off  from  God,  and  off  from  duty  ;  as  you  see  in  Saul,  who,  under  his  tremblings, 
runs  to  a  witch  ;  but  gracious  tremblings  draw  the  soul  nearer  and  nearer  to 
God,  as  you  see  in  Jehoshaphat,  who  feared  and  set  himself  to  seek  the  Lord, 
and  proclaimed  a  fast  throughout  all  Judah,  2  Chron.  xxiii.  3.  The  saints, 
under  all  their  holy  tremblings,  they  follow  after  God  as  the  people  followed 
after  Saul's  tremblings,  1  Sam.  xiii.  7.     But, 

Ana.  4.  Fourthly,  The  godly  tremble,  and  mourn  and  tremble.  Their 
trembling  hearts  are  broken  hearts,  and  their  broken  hearts  are  trembling 
hearts  ;  they  look  upon  sin  and  tremble,  and  they  look  upon  sin  and  mourn, 
Isa.  lxvi.  2  ;  Jer.  ix.  1,  2;  Ps.  cxix.  136  :  Jer.  xxv.  13,  17,  '  But  if  ye  will 
not  hear  it,  my  soul  shall  weep  in  secret  places  for  your  pride,  and  mine  eyes 
shall  weep  sore  and  run  down  with  tears,'  &c.  The  wicked  tremble,  but,  under 
all  their  tremblings,  their  hearts  are  as  dry  and  hard  as  rocks,  yea,  harder  than 
the  very  rocks :  Jer.  v.  3,  '  They  made  their  faces  harder  than  a  rock  ;  they 
have  refused  to  return,'  Ezek.  iii.  7-9  ;  Jer.  vii.  26.  Pharaoh  trembled,  but 
yet  was  hardened  ;  the  devils  tremble,  but  yet  are  hardened.  If  one  penitent 
tear  could  purchase  heaven,  hell  could  not  afford  that  one  tear.  Repenting 
tears  are  precious  ;  the}'  are,  saith  Gregory,  '  the  fat  of  the  sacrifice  ;'  and,  as 
Basil  saith,  '  the  medicine  of  the  soul ;'  and,  as  Bernard,  '  the  wine  of  angels.' 
But  these  are  only  to  be  found  among  those  choice  souls  who  make  conscience 
of  trembling  at  God's  word,  and  who  enjoy  that  choice  tenderness  of  heart  that 
is  in  this  little  treatise  drawn  to  the  life.  Verily  we  cannot  meet  on  this  side 
hell  with  a  worse  temper  of  spirit  than  that  which  inclines  a  sinner  to  drop 
counterfeit  tears,  and  to  despise  the  forbearance  of  God,  and  to  kick  against  the 
bowels  of  his  goodness,  Rom.  ii.  4,  as  that  profane  Arian  did  who  was  executed 
at  Harwich,  concerning  whom  Mr  Greenham  acquainteth  us  with  this  strange 
and  prodigious  narration.  This  hellish  heretic,  saith  he — for  so  were  the  deniers 
of  Christ's  divinity  accounted  of  in  those  days,  whatever  thoughts  men  have  of 
them  now — a  little  before  he  was  executed,  afforded  a  few  whorish  tears,  asking 
whether  he  might  be  saved  by  Christ  or  no  ?  when  one  told  him  that  if  he  truly 
repented,  he  should  surely  not  perish,  he  breaks  out  into  this  speech,  Nay,  if 


APPENDIX  TO  MEMOIR.  lxxv 

your  Christ  be  so  easy  to  be  entreated  indeed  as  you  say,  then  I  defy  him,  and 
care  not  for  him.  Oh  horrible  blasphemy,  and  desperate  wickedness  !  for  a  man 
to  draw  himself  back  from  repentance  by  that  very  cord  of  love  whereby  he 
should  have  been  drawn  to  it.1     But, 

Ans.  5.  Fifthly  and  lastly,  The  hearts  of  wicked  men  and  devils  only  tremble 
upon  the  account  of  punishment  and  the  judgment  to  come,  Acts  xxiv.  25  * 
Mat.  viii.  28,  29.  As  a  malefactor  trembleth  before  the  judge,  and  under  the 
sense  of  his  doom  ;  but  a  child  of  God  trembles  under  the  sense  of  God's  Good- 
ness and  kindness  to  him  :  Hosea  iii.  7,  '  And  shall  fear  the  Lord  and  his  good- 
ness ; '  or,  as  some  sense  it,  '  they  shall  fear  the  Lord  because  of  his  goodness.' 
The  Hebrew  is,  ■  they  shall  fear  to  the  Lord  pavebunt  ad  Dominum,  that  is, 
trembling  they  shall  make  haste  to  him  as  frighted  doves  do  to  their  columbaries. 
See  Hosea  xi.  11.  Look'J  as  holy  tremblings  and  gladness  are  consistent  to- 
gether, Ps.  ii.  11  ;  and  as  a  holy  fear  and  joy  are  consistent  together,  as  you 
see  in  those  good  women  who  went  from  Christ's  sepulchre  with  fear  and  great 
joy,  Mat.  xxviii.  8,  a  strange  composition  of  two  contrary  passions,  but  fre- 
quently found  in  the  best  hearts  ;  so  a  holy  love  and  trembling  are  consistent 
together.2  A  child  whose  heart  is  full  of  love  to  his  father,  when  he  looks  upon 
him  as  offended  or  grieved,  he  trembles-,  like  that  poor  woman,  Mark  v.  33, 
who,  fearing  that  she  had  offended  Christ  in  her  approaching  to  him,  came 
trembling,  but  yet  with  a  heart  full  of  love  to  Christ.  So  here,  when  a  child 
of  God  fixes  one  eye  upon  the  holiness  and  justice  of  God,  he  trembles  ;  and 
when,  at  the  same  time,  he  fixes  his  other  eye  upon  the  patience,  the  goodness, 
the  graciousness,  and  readiness  of  God  to  forgive  as  a  father,  he  loves  and  joys; 
but  now  all  the  tremblings  of  the  wicked  are  from  apprehensions  of  wrath  to 
come,  and  from  a  hansel3  of  hell  in  their  consciences  on  this  side  hell.  These 
five  things  I  thought  to  hint  at,  that  the  reader  may  be  the  better  able  to  grapple 
with  the  same  objection  when  he  meets  with  it  in  this  little  piece. 

The  dew  of  heaven  hath  richly  fallen  among  many,  and  yet,  like  Gideon's 
fleece,  they  are  dry  when  all  the  regions  about  them  are  wet,  Judges  vi.  37-40* 
and  is  it  not  so  with  many  in  these  days,  who  sit  under  gospel  droppings,  and 
who  have  the  labours  of  many  famous  men  put  every  day  into  their  hands  ?  and 
yet  how  are  their  souls  like  the  mountains  of  Gilboa,  upon  which  there  fell 
neither  dew  nor  rain !  This  is  and  this  must  be  for  a  lamentation,  2  Sam.  i.  21. 
If  the  books  of  the  law  chance  to  fall  upon  the  ground,  the  Jews'  custom  is 
presently  to  proclaim  a  fast.  Ah,  friends  !  what  cause  have  we  to  fast  and 
mourn,  when  we  see  the  word  preached,  printed,  offered,  to  fall  upon  the  oround, 
and  to  be  trampled  upon,  as  it  is  this  day  by  atheists,  papists,  Socinians,  and 
other  vain  persons  !  &c.  The  Jews  have  a  law  which  enjoins  them  to  take  up 
any  paper  which  they  see  lying  on  the  ground  ;  and  the  reason  is,  lest  haply 
the  word  of  God  be  written  in  the  paper  and  ignorantly  trodden  under  foot. 
Though  Christians  ought  to  be  free  from  such  superstitious  curiosities,  yet  they 
ought  to  be  very  careful  that  the  least  tittle  of  the  word,  the  least  truth  revealed 
in  the  word,  be  not  trodden  under  foot  either  by  themselves  or  others  ■  con- 
sidering its  excellency  and  usefulness  as  a  guide,  a  light,  to  lead  us  through  the 
wilderness  of  this  world  to  the  heavenly  Canaan  :  Prov.  vi.  22,  ■  When  thou 
goest,  it  shall  lead  thee  ;  when  thou  sleepest,  it  shall  keep  thee ;  when  thou 
awakest,  it  shall  talk  with  thee.'  That  is,  according  to  the  gloss  of  the  Kab- 
binical  interpreters,  when  thou  goest,  it  shall  lead  thee,  viz.  in  thy  passage 
through  this  world  ;  when  thou  sleepest,  it  shall  keep  thee,  viz.  when  thou 
liest  down  in  the  grave ;  and  when  thou  awakest,  it  shall  talk  with  thee,  viz. 
when  thou  art  awakened  at  the  glorious  resurrection.     But,  that  I  may  not 

1  Mr  Greenham  in  his  treatise,  entitled  A  sweet  Comfort  for  an  afflicted  Conscience,  on 
Prov.  xviii.  14.        2  God  loves  at  once  familiarity  and  fear.        3  Earnest,  foretaste. G. 


lxxvi  APPENDIX  TO  MEMOIR. 

make  the  porch  too  large,  I  shall  hasten  to  a  close.     There  are  three  sorts  of 
persorjs,  above  all  others,  that  I  would  seriously  recommend  this  treatise  to. 

(1.)  First,  Those  that  do  tremble  at  the  word,  and  those  that  have  soft  and 
tender  hearts  ;  for  these  will  find  choice  comforts,  special  encouragements,  and 
singular  supports  to  cheer  and  bear  up  their  hearts  in  their  greatest  trials,  in- 
ward or  outward,  or  in  the  worst  of  times. 

(2.)  Secondly,  Those  that  are  bold  sinners,  secure  sinners,  stupid  sinners, 
insensible  sinners  ;  for  these  will  find  variety  of  arguments  to  awaken  them,  to 
startle  them,  to  soften  them,  and  to  work  them  into  a  trembling  frame  and  a 
tender  frame,  with  singular  directions  and  counsel  how  to  obtain  those  spiritual 
frames  which  are  infinitely  more  worth  than  all  those  crowns  and  kingdoms  that 
men  are  this  day  contending  for  in  blood. 

(3.)  Thirdly,  Those  that  are  under  many  fears,  and  doubts,  and  disputes  in 
their  own  hearts,  whether  they  do  tremble  at  this  word  or  no,  and  whether  they 
have  a  tender  heart  or  no ;  for  I  dare  venture  to  say  that  such  persons  will 
find  in  this  treatise  those  blessed  truths  that  will,  by  a  blessing  from  on  high, 
scatter  their  fears,  resolve  their  doubts,  and  put  a  happy  issue  to  all  their 
disputes. 

Reader,  When  thou  hast  once  seriously  read  over  this  little  treatise,  I  cannot 
but  judge  that  thou  wilt  readily  conclude  with  me,  viz.  That  the  two  special 
points  here  handled,  viz.  our  trembling  at  God's  word,  and  a  tender  heart,  are, 
(1.)  Two  great  and  weighty  points.  (2.)  Two  very  noble  and  necessary  points, 
which  all  should  labour  to  know  and  understand  who  would  be  blessed  here  and 
happy  hereafter.  (3.)  Two  seasonable  and  suitable  points  to  the  days  and 
times  wherein  we  live,  which  abound  with  all  sorts  of  sins,  and  which  are 
attended  with  the  sorest  of  spiritual  judgments,  such  as  blindness,  hardness,  in- 
sensibleness.  (4.)  Two  important  points  that  have  singular  other  points  wrapped 
up  in  the  womb  of  them,  and  that  are  dependent  upon  them.  (5.)  Two  points 
that  are  not  every  day  handled  in  the  pulpit,  nor  sent  unto  the  press. 

Reader,  The  importunity  of  a  worthy  friend  hath  prevailed  with  me  to  give 
thee  the  trouble  of  reading  this  epistle.  And  now  I  shall  conclude  with  a  few 
words  of  counsel  :  (1.)  Let  him  that  casts  his  eye  on  this  book  not  borrow  it, 
but  buy  it ;  (2.)  seriously  read  it ;  (3.)  highly  prize  it ;  (4.)  earnestly  pray 
over  it ;  (5.)  endeavour  to  have  his  heart  and  life  made  conformable  to  the 
matter  contained  in  it ;  (6.)  to  lay  it  up  among  his  choicest  treasures  ;  and 
(7.)  when  he  is  in  the  mount,  to  remember  him  who  unfeignedly  and  earnestly 
desires  that  this  little  piece  may  be  highly  blessed  to  the  writer,  reader,  and 
hearer  :  and  so  I  shall  take  leave  and  rest, 

Thy  real  friend  and  soul's  servant, 

Thomas  Brooks. 


APPENDIX  TO  MEMOIR.  lxxvii 

D. — Mrs  Brooks.     (See  ante,  p.  xxxiv). 

The  following  is  the  title-page  of  the  Funeral  Sermon  of  the  first  Mrs 
Brooks : — 

STRENGTH 

IN 

Weakness. 

A 

SERMON 

Preached  at  the  FUNERAL  of 

Mrs.    MARTHA    BROOKS, 

Late  WIFE  to 

Mr.  THO.  BROOKS  Minister  of  the  Gospel  in  London  ; 

Who  Departed  this  Life  June  20.  1676. 

To  which  are  Added 

Some  EXPERIENCES  of  the  Grace  and  Dealings  of 

GOD,  Observed  and  Gathered  by  a  near  Relation  of 

the  said  Mrs.  Brooks. 

By  J.  C.  a  Friend  of  the  Deceased,  and  her  Surviving  Husband. 
2  COR.  12.  10. 

HEB.  II.  34. 

Ei/idvva&cui0-/i<ruv  affo  air^ivita,;, — 

LONDON, 

Printed  for  John  Hancock  at  the  Three  Bibles  in  Popes-Head 

Alley,  Cornhill.     1676.     [4to.] 

We  give  the  '  Notes'  that  were  furnished  by,  no  doubt,  Brooks. 

A  short  account  of  some  of  the  choice  experiences,  blessed  discoveries,  and 
gracious  evidences,  of  Mrs  Martha  Brooks,  who  fell  asleep  in  Jesus, 
June  20.  1676.  Drawn  up  by  a  near  relation,  that  best  understood  her 
spiritual  estate  and  condition. 

It  is  long  since  that  the  Lord  made  it  the  day  of  his  power — Ps.  ex.  3 — upon 
her  soul.  Many  years  ago,  the  great  and  glorious  God,  by  his  Spirit  and  power, 
by  his  word  and  rod,  brought  her  from  under  the  power,  use,  and  dominion  of 
sin  and  Satan,  1  Thes.  i.  5  ;  Prov.  xxix.  15,  and  brought  her  off  from  resting 
or  stayings  upon  her  own  righteousness — which  she  daily  looked  upon  to  be  but 
filthy  rags,  and  as  a  menstruous  cloth — and  brought  her  into  fellowship  and  com- 
munion with  himself,  his  Son,  and  his  blessed  Spirit,  &c,  Rom.  vi.  14  •  Acts 
xxvi.  18  ;  Isa.  lxiv.  6  ;  John  i.  3,  4  ;  2  Cor.  xiii.  14. 

To  make  a  full  narration  of  these  great  things,  would  make  this  little  piece  to 
swell  beyond  its  due  proportion ;  and  though  it  might  please  some,  yet  it  might 
dissatisfy  others  ;  and  therefore  I  shall  do  little  more  than  hint  at  things,  that 
so  I  may  bring  all  I  intend  to  say  into  a  narrow  compass. 

Should  I  say  all  I  could, 

First,  About  her  knowledge  and  acquaintance  with  Christ,  when  and  where 
should  I  make  an  end  ?  Only  this  I  may  say  :  1,  her  knowledge  was  inward  ; 
2,  it  was  affectionate  ;  3,  experimental  ;  4,  humbling ;  5,  growing  ;  6,  com- 
municative ;  7,  practical,  Job  xxii.  21  ;  John  xvii.  3,  vii.  17,  xiii.  1. 

Secondly,  Should  I  say  all  I  could  about  her  high  approbation  of  Christ, — 


lxxviii  APPENDIX  TO  MKMOIR. 

Acts  iv.  12;  1  Tim.  i.  15;  Col.  i.  19,  i.  2,  3;  Acts  v.  31;  Col.  ii.  6;  Horn.  vii.  12; 
Ps.  cxix.  72;  Rev.  iii.  19;  Dan.  ix.  14  ;  Neh.  ix.  33 — when  and  where  should  I 
make  an  end?  Only  this  I  may  hint:  1,  that  she  highly  approved  of  the  person 
of  Christ  as  the  most  suitable  good  in  heaven  or  earth  to  her  soul  ;  2,  she 
highly  approved  of  the  personal  excellencies  of  Christ  as  the  most  transcendent 
excellencies  ;  3,  she  highly  approved  of  Christ  in  all  his  offices,  both  kingly, 
prophetical,  and  priestly  ;  4,  she  highly  approved  of  all  the  precious  things  of 
Christ,  as  his  day,  his  laws,  his  worship,  his  ordinances,  his  ways,  his  saints  ; 
5,  she  highly  approved  of  the  rebukes,  of  the  severe  rebukes,  of  Christ,  knowing 
that  they  were  the  fruits  of  his  love,  and  that  he  was  holy  and  wise,  just  and 
righteous,  in  all  his  rebukes,  &c. 

Thirdly,  About  her  choice  and  election  of  Christ  to  be  her  Head  and  Husband, 
Cant.  ii.  16  ;  Deut.  xxvi.  17,  her  Sovereign  and  Saviour;  upon  choice  she  would 
have  none  but  Christ  to  save  her,  nor  none  but  Christ  to  rule  her. 

Fourthly,  About  her  reception  of  Christ,  Job  i.  12 ;  Ps.  xxiv.  7-10  :  1,  in 
all  his  offices  ;  2,  into  every  room  of  her  soul ;  3,  once  for  all ;  4,  upon  his  own 
gospel  terms,  Mat.  xvi.  24. 

Fifthly,  About  her  high,  her  very  high,  estimation  of  Christ,  1  Peter  ii.  7,  she 
prized  above  all  her  duties,  above  all  her  privileges,  above  all  her  graces,  above 
all  her  outward  contentments,  and  above  all  her  spiritual  enjoyments  ;  he  was 
to  her  the  chiefest  of  ten  thousand,  Cant.  v.  10  ;  Ps.  xlv.  2  ;  Mat.  xiii.  26  ;  Prov. 
viii.  11;  Philip,  iii.  8  ;  he  was  fairer  than  the  children  of  men  ;  he  was  the  pearl 
of  price  in  her  eye  ;  he  was  more  precious  than  rubies  to  her  soul.  She  looked 
upon  all  things  as  nothing  in  comparison  of  Christ ;  she  had  rather  have  one 
Christ  than  a  thousand  worlds. 

Sixthly,  About  her  marriage  union  and  communion  with  Christ,  of  which 
freely  and  frequently  she  discoursed  both  with  ministers  and  Christians  through- 
out her  sickness.  Her  marriage  union  with  Christ  was  breasts  of  consolation  and 
•wells  of  salvation  to  her,  Cant.  iii.  11  ;  Hoseaii.  18-20  ;  2  Cor.  xi.  2  ;  Ps.  lxvi. 
11,  xii.  3.  Throughout  her  nine  months'  sickness  by  these  she  did  live,  and 
in  these  things  were  the  life  of  her  spirit,  Isa.  xxxviii.  16. 

Seventhly,  About  her  trustings  and  cleavings  to  Christ  as  the  ivy  cleaves  to 
the  oak,  the  child  to  the  mother,  or  as  the  wife  cleaves  to  the  husband.  In  all 
her  ups  and  downs,  she  would  be  still  hanging  upon  Christ,  and  cleaving  to 
Christ,  John  xiii.  15  ;  Acts  xi.  23 ;  Ruth  i.  14 ;   Gen.  ii.  24. 

Eighthly,  About  her  thirstiugs,  breathings,  and  longings,  after  higher,  clearer, 
and  fuller  enjoyments  of  Christ,  she  could  never  have  enough  of  Christ,  Ps.  xiii. 
1,  2,  lxiii.  ;  Mai.  i.  2,  3  ;  Ps.  lxxxiv.,  xxvii.  4,  8,  nor  enough  of  his  presence, 
nor  enough  of  his  Spirit,  nor  enough  of  his  grace,  nor  enough  of  his  manifesta- 
tions, nor  enough  of  his  consolations ;  the  constant  cry  of  her  soul  was,  More  of 
Christ !  more  of  Christ !  0  more  of  Christ ! 

Ninthly,  About  her  sad  lamenting  and  bewailing  the  withdrawings  of  Christ, 
Cant.  v.  6  ;  Isa.  viii.  17,  7  ;  Micah  vii.  8,  9,  2.  There  were  no  days  so  sad,  so 
dark,  so  gloomy,  so  grievous,  so  afflictive  to  her,  as  those  days  wherein  he  that 
should  comfort  her  soul  stood  afar  off,  Lam.  xvi.  The  shinings  of  Christ's  face 
made  a  heaven  in  her  heart ;  and  the  hidings  of  his  face  was  her  only  hell.  Let 
whoso  would  frown,  if  Christ  did  but  smile,  all  was  well. 

Tenthly,  About  her  sympathising  with  Christ  in  all  the  dishonours  that  were 
done  to  his  name,  his  person,  his  day,  bis  offices,  his  ordinances,  his  ways,  his 
saints  ;  and  it  was  a  grief  to  her  to  see  others  grieving  of  Christ,  Ps.  cxix.  53, 
cxxxvi. ;  Jer.  ix.  1,  2  ;  Ezek.  ix.  4,  6  ;  1  Peter  ii.  4,  7,  8.  Other  men's  sins  were 
matter  of  her  sorrow  ;  the  sins  of  others  hath  cost  her  many  a  prayer,  many  a 
si"h,  many  a  tear,  and  many  a  groan.  Now,  should  I  say  all  I  could  upon  these 
ten  particulars,  when  should  I  make  an  end  ?  and  therefore  I  must  satisfy 
myself  and  the  reader  with  a-hinting  at  things. 


APPENDIX  TO  MEMOIR.  lxxix 

Her  whole  life  (human  frailties  excepted)  since  God  made  it  the  day  of  his 
power  upon  her  soul,  was  a  daily  walking  with  God ;  and  all  the  days  that  ever 
passed  over  her  head,  there  was  none  for  delight,  pleasure,  profit,  comfort, 
content,  boldness,  and  satisfaction,  to  those  wherein  she  walked  most  evenly, 
most  closely,  and  most  exactly  with  God,  Gen.  v.  22,  vi.  9,  xvii.  1;  Ps.  cxix., 
cxii.  44,  45  ;  Acts  xxiv.  16  ;  Heb.  xiii.  18. 

Concerning  Sin.  1.  Sin  of  all  burdens  was  her  greatest,  Ps.  xxxviii.  4,  xl.  12. 
2.  Her  hatred  and  indignation  against  sin  was  universal,  Ps.  cxix.  104,  128  ; 
Isa.  ii.  20,  xxx.  22  ;  Hosea  xiv.  8  ;  Ps.  cxix.  176.  3.  Her  whole  life  was  a  daily 
conflicting  with  sin,  Rom.  vii.  23,  24  ;  Ps.  xvii.  4.  She  had  rather  be  rid  of  all 
her  sins,  than  be  rid  of  all  her  troubles,  sorrows,  trials,  bodily  ailments,  Job  vii. 
20,  21,  xxxiv.  31,  32;  Hosea  xiv.  2.  Others  are  all  for  the  removing  of  the  judg- 
ments and  afflictions  they  are  under,  Exod.  viii.  8;  Num.  xxi.  6,  7  ;  Jer.  xxx.  15. 
5.  She  durst  not  allow  herself  in  any  known  sin,  much  less  in  a  course  or  way 
of  sin,  Ps.  cxix.  1,3;  Rom.  vii.  15  ;  1  John  iii.  9;  Prov.  xvi.  17.  6.  Her  greatest 
conflict  was  with  heart  sins,  secret  sins,  spiritual  sins,  invisible  sins  ;  sins  that 
lie  most  hid  and  remote  from  the  eyes  of  the  world,  Ps.  xix.  12,  cxix.,  cxiii.  'I 
hate  vain  thoughts :'  secret  self-love,  secret  pride,  secret  unbelief,  secret  hypo- 
crisy, secret  murmurings,  secret  carnal  confidence,  &c,  2  Chron.  xxxii.  25  ; 
2  Cor.  vii.  1,  did  sit  saddest  upon  her  spirit.  7.  There  was  an  irreconcilable 
opposition  in  her  soul  against  sin  ;  she  could  not,  she  would  not,  she  durst  not 
upon  anv  terms  in  the  world,  admit  of  any  truce  or  reconciliation  with  sin, 
1  Kings  xiv.  30  ;  Rom.  vii.  23  ;  Gal.  v.  17 ;  Rom.  vi.  6  ;  Ps.  Ii.  2,  7,  &c.  8.  Her 
daily  slips  and  falls  did  daily  produce  more  soul- loathings,  soul-humiliation, 
self-judging,  self-abasement,  self-abhorrency,  Ezek.  xvi.  61,  63  ;  2  Cor.  vii.  11  ; 
Ps.  xviii.  9.  Her  constant  desires  and  earnest  endeavours  were  to  avoid  and 
shun  all  known  appearances  of  sin,  Gen.  xxxix.  12 ;  2  Cor.  viii.  20,  21  ;  1  Cor. 
ix.  11-15  ;  1  Thes.  v.  22  ;  Jude  23  ;  Exod.  xxiii.  7  ;  Deut.  xii.  30 ;  Prov.  v.  8. 
10.  And,  lastly,  she  set  herself,  her  soul,  her  greatest  strength  against  her  bosom 
sins,  her  constitution  sins,  her  most  powerful  and  most  prevalent  sins  ;  she  set 
herself  most  against  right-e}re  sins,  and  right-hand  sins. 

Concerning  closet-prayer.  I  never  knew  any  woman  spend  more  time  in  her 
closet,  nor  keep  more  private  days  to  God  than  she  did.  The  duties  of  her 
closet  were  her  meat  and  drink,  and  she  was  always  best  when  she  was  most 
with  God  in  a  corner.  She  has  many  a  whole  day  been  pouring  out  her  soul 
before  God  in  her  closet,  for  the  nation,  for  Sion,  and  the  great  concerns  of  her 
own  soul,  when  them  about  her  did  judge  it  more  expedient  that  she  had  been 
in  her  bed,  by  reason  of  some  bodily  infirmity  that  did  hang  upon  her ;  but  the 
divine  pleasures  that  she  took  in  her  closet  did  drown  the  sense  of  pain.  Secret 
enjoyments  of  God  makes  heavy  afflictions  light,  long  afflictions  short,  and  bitter 
afflictions  sweet,  Isa.  xxxiii.  24,  2  Cor.  iv.  16-18.  She  found  by  frequent 
experience  that  closet-duties  were  mighty  enriching,  soul-fattening,  soul-strength- 
ening, soul-nourishing  ;  and  this  endeared  her  to  her  closet. 

Concerning  ordinances.  All  that  did  thoroughly  know  her  did  know,  1,  that 
she  greatly  loved  the  ordinances  in  the  power  and  purity  ;  2,  that  she  highly 
prized  them  ;  3,  that  she  made  improvements  of  them,  &c,  endeavouring, 
according  to  her  measure  received,  so  to  live  as  that  she  might  reflect  honour 
and  glory  upon  the  ordinances  ;  4,  she  made  conscience  of  one  ordinance  as 
well  as  another,  Luke  i.  5,  6  ;  she  did  not  as  some,  cry  up  some  ordinances 
and  cry  down  others,  nor  keep  close  to  some,  and  live  in  the  neglect  of  others  ; 
5,  she  ran  all  hazards  in  times  of  dangers  to  enjoy  the  ordinances,  and  chose 
rather  with  Moses  to  suffer  afflictions  with  the  people  of  God,  than  to  enjoy  the 
pleasures  of  sin,  which  were  but  for  a  season,  Heb.  xi.  24-27.  6.  I  never  knew 
any  Christian  under  such  a  load  of  weaknesses  strive  and  labour  to  enjoy  the 
ordinances  as  she  did  the  three  last  years  before  her  death. 

VOL.  I.  / 


IXXX  APPENDIX  TO  MEMOIR. 

Concerning  her  lore  to  the  saints.  First,  It  was  sincere  for  the  image  of  God, 
of  Christ,  of  grace,  and  holiness,  1  John  Hi.  14,  18  ;  1  John  v.  1.  The  image 
of  God  was  the  loadstone  that  drew  out  her  love  to  the  saints. 

2.  It  was  universal,  to  one  Christian  as  well  as  another,  to  all  as  well  as  any, 
to  poor  Lazarus  as  well  as  rich  Abraham,  to  an  afflicted  and  despised.  Job  as 
well  as  to  an  admired  David,  to  an  o  "flic-ted  Jacob  as  well  as  to  a  raised  Joseph, 
Neb.  i.  15  ;  Col.  i.  4  ;  Philip,  iv.  21 ;  1  Peter  ii.  17. 

3.  It  was  an  extensive  love  ;  it  extended  to  those  that  were  remote  in  respect 
of  place,  as  well  as  to  those  that  were  near,  to  those  saints  wbose  faces  she 
never  saw,  a°  well  as  to  those  whose  faces  she  daily  beheld  ;  and  all  upon  the 
serious  reports  of  the  grace  of  God  that  has  been  sparkling  and  shining  in  them, 
Rom.  v.  26. 

4.  It  was  a  fervent  love,  an  active  love,  a  love  that  put  her  upon  doing,  upon 
acting  for  them,  and  distributing  to  them  according  to  her  ability  and  their 
necessity,  1  Peter  i.  22  ;  Acts  xi.  28-30 ;  1  Peter  iv.  11.  Her  love  was  not  a 
cold,  idle,  1  izy  love,  like  theirs  in  James  ii.  14-17. 

5.  It  was  a  constant  love,  a  permanent  love,  1  Cor.  xiii.  8,  Heb.  xiii.  1 : 
'  Let  brotherly  love  continue,'  1  John  iv.  16,  Prov.  xvii.  17.  It  was  a  love  like 
that  of  Christ,  who  loved  his  to  the  end,  John  xiii.  1,  xv.  12.  Look,  as  our 
love  must  be  sincere  without  hypocrisy,  so  it  must  be  constant  without  deficiency. 
That  love  was  never  true  that  is  not  constant.  True  love,  like  the  pulse,  will 
still  be  beating,  it  will  still  be  working,  and  turning  out  to  the  person  beloved. 

6.  She  loved,  honoured,  and  prized  them  most  and  best  in  whom  the  spiritual 
and  supernatural  causes  of  love  did  most  shine  and  sparkle,  Ps.  xv.  4,  xvi.  3, 
xlv.  13,  cxix.  119.  Such  saints  as  were  magnificent  in  grace,  noble  in  grace, 
idorious  in  grace,  wonderful  in  grace,  had  most  of  her  heart,  and  were  most 
honoured  and  prized  by  her  ;  she  loved  them  best  that  were  best. 

Concerning  the  signal  and  blessed  ])resence  of  God  with  her  throughout  her  nine 
months'  sickness.  This  divine  presence  with  his  sick  and  weak  handmaid  did 
manifest  itself  several  ways  ;  at  first  by  preserving  her  eminently  from  sinning 
under  her  sufferings,  as  she  would  often  say,  Though  I  groan,  yet  I  bless  God 
I  do  not  grumble.  I  remember  what  Job,  Jeremiah,  and  Jonah  said  and  did 
in  the  days  of  their  sore  sufferings ;  but  God  stood  by  his  poor  handmaid,  and 
greatly  armed  her  against  those  particular  sins  that  an  afflicted  state  lays  the 
afflicted  open  to.  Secondly,  this  glorious  presence  of  God  was  manifested  by 
keeping  up  in  her  daily  exercise  of  those  particular  graces  that  was  to  be  acted 
in  an  offiicted  condition,  as  faith,  hope,  patience,  self-denial,  contentation  and 
submission.  Thirdly,  this  gracious  presence  of  God  did  manifest  itself  by 
enabling  his  weak  and  sick  handmaid  in  all  her  continued  weakness  to  be  still 
•i-justifying  of  God,  and  crying  out,  The  Lord  is  righteous,  the  Lord  is  righteous  ; 
he  is  holy  and  just,  he  can  do  me  no  wrong,  he  will  do  me  no  wrong.  Though 
the  cup  be  bitter  to  the  flesh,  yet  it  is  a  cup  that  my  Father  hath  put  into  my 
band,  and  therefore  I  will  drink  it,  and  lay  my  hand  upon  my  mouth,  and  be 
silent  at  my  Father's  foot,  Lam.  i.  18  ;  Ps.  cxix.  75  ;  Gen.  xviii.  25  ;  John 
xviii.  11  ;  Lam.  iii.  26-28  ;  Rev.  xx.  2. 

Fourthly,  This  gracious  presence  of  God  was  signally  manifested  in  the 
:ning  up  of  Satan  ;  for  the  greatest  part  of  her  sickness,  her  body  being 
very  low,  her  spirits  low,  and  her  strength  low,  and  by  reason  of  her  great  and 
many  weaknesses,  she  was  cast  unavoidably  under  great  indispositions,  both  as 
to  civil  and  sacred  things  ;  the  greater  was  the  mercy  in  God's  chaining  up  of 
Satan  ;  and  if  now  and  then  Satan  began  to  be  busy,  the  Lord  quickly  rebuked 
him,  and  laid  a  law  of  restraint  upon  him.  Fifthly,  this  gracious  presence  of 
God  was  signally  manifested  in  keeping  down  and  in  keeping  off  the  fears  and 
terrors  of  death.  She  could  all  along  cast  the  gauntlet  to  death,  and  say  with 
the  apostle,  «  0  death,  where  is  thy  sting?  0  grave,  where  is  thy  victory?'  &c, 


APPENDIX  TO  MEMOIR.  lxxxi 

1  Cor.  xv.  55-57.  Death  is  the  king  of  terrors,  as  Job  speaks,  Job  xviii.  14, 
Heb.  ii.  14, 15,  and  the  terror  of  kings,  as  the  philosopher  speaks ;  and  yet  the 
great  and  blessed  God  took  away  the  dread  and  terror  of  death  rrom  her.  If 
vqu  ask  those  that  lie  under  the  fears  and  terrors  of  death,  they  will  tell  you 
that  deliverance  from  those  fears  and  terrors  would  be  a  heaven  on  this  side 
heaven  unto  them.  I  could  greatly  enlarge,  but  that  both  the  press  and  the 
bookseller  calls  aloud  upon  me  to  conclude. 

The  design  of  these  few  hints  is  to  comfort  and  encourage  relations  and 
friends  to  write  after  this  blessed  copy  and  example  of  that  dear  servant  of 
Christ  who  hath  now  exchanged  earth  for  heaven,  a  wilderness  for  a  paradise, 
a  sick-bed  for  a  royal  throne,  pains,  strong  and  long  pains,  for  everlasting 
pleasures,  and  the  presence  of  poor,  frail,  sinful  mortals  for  the  presence  of  God, 
Christ,  angels,  and  the  spirits  of  just  men  made  perfect,  Ps.  xvi.  11,  Heb.  xii. 
22,  23. 


E. — WILL.     See  ante  page  xxxv. 

Extbacted  from  the  Principal  Registry  of  Her  Majesty's  Court  of 

Probate. 

(In  the  Prerogative  Court  of  Canterbury.) 

Death  is  a  fall  that  came  in  by  a  Fall :  that  statute  Law  of  Heaven  '  Dust 
thou  art  and  to  dust  thou  shalt  returne'  will  first  or  last  take  hold  of  all  mortalls ; 
the  core  of  that  apple  that  Adam  eat  in  Paradise  will  choke  us  all  round  one 
by  one  ;  there  is  not  one  man  living  that  shall  not  see  death  ;  though  all  men 
shall  not  meete  in  Heaven,  nor  in  Hell,  yet  all  men  shall  meete  in  the  grave 
whether  wee  and  all  a  [re]  going.  To  prevent  ill  consequences  and  the  mis- 
chiefes  that  follow  without  making  a  Will  and  to  sett  my  house  in  order  I  doo 
make  this  short  following  Will.  First  I  bequeath  unto  my  loveing  Couson 
Mistress  Elenor  Crith,  fifty  pounds  which  1  will  that  my  Executrix  pay  within 
a  twelve  moneths  after  my  death.  I  give  to  Vice  Admirall  Goodsons  eldest 
daughters  sonne  that  shee  had  by  her  husband,  Captain  Magger1  twenty  five 
pounds  but  in  case  of  his  Mortallity  to  what  child  shee  pleaseth.  I  will  and 
bequeath  unto  her  sister  Maryes  eldest  child  twenty  five  pounds  both  of  which 
summes  my  Executrix  is  to  pay  within  a  yeare  after  my  death.  Item  I  give 
my  studdy  of  bookes  to  be  sold  by  my  Couson  Ford  and  my  couson  Henry 
Goodman  and  Master  Crouch ;  and  the  money  thence  ariseing  to  be  equally 
divided  into  foure  proportions,  one  for  my  couson  Martha  Wright,  another  for 
Mary  Wright,  the  other  two  for  Roger  Timborland's  two  children  which  he  had 
by  my  couson  Joan,  as  soon  as  the  sale  is  made2  my  Will  is  that  my  Executrix 
pay  it  into  my  couson  Martha  and  Mary  Wright,  and  to  Master  Collins  of  New- 
bury I  give  for  the  use  of  the  other  two  ;  And  should  it  soo  happen  that 
either  of  the  Girls  should  dye  before  age  or  marriage,  that  then  the  surviving 
sister  should  have  her  sisters  loss,  and  in  case  of  both  their  Mortalities  before 
age  or  Marriage  that  then  Master  Collins  gives  the  money  to  Ministers  and 
Ministers  Widows  that  hee  and  Master  Woodbridge  the  minister  is  acquainted 
with3  Item  that  one  hundred  pounds  that  I  have  upon  Master  John  Juxon  and 

1  Query — the  shipwright  and  purveyor  of  wood  to  the  Navy  frequently  mentioned  in 
the  '  Calendar'  of  Charles  II.  [1660-1667],  who  was  termed  Robert  Magore'?— G. 

2  Mr  Mayor  of  the  University  Library,  Cambridge,  informs  me  that  there  was  a  '  printed 
catalogue'  of  Brooks's  Library  issued  for  the  sale.  I  have  not  been  so  fortunate  as  to 
trace  it. — G. 

3  Benjamin  Woodbridge,  M.A.,  was  the  venerable  'Ejected'  of  Newbury  in  1662. 
See  Palmer's  •  Nonconformist's  Memorial,'  vol.  i.  pp.  290,  291. — G. 


lxxxii  APPENDIX  TO  MEMOIR 

that  is  now  in  the  hand  of  Master  Shepheard  he  delivered  into  the  hands  of  my 
honoured  Father '  Master  Thomas  Cartwright  And  that  the  money  upon 
that  Bond  to  pave  in  as  he  is  able  into  the  hands  of  my  Father  Master  Thomas 
Cartwright  And  my  Will  is  that  this  Money  so  paid  in  be  by  my  Father  Cart- 
wright  and  my  Couson  Ford  and  my  Couson  Henry  Goodman  distributed 
amongst  such  ministers  and  ministers  Widows  as  they  think  meete  Item  I  give 
to  my  deare  and  honoured  Mother  Mistress  Patience  Cartwright  my  Sedan  : 
And  all  the  rest  my  real  and  personal  Estate  I  give  unto  my  deare  and  honoured 
Wife  |  in]  whom  God  hath  made  all  relations  to  meet  in  one.2  I  doo  ordaine  my 
said  Wife  to  be  solo  Executrix  of  this  my  last  Will  and  Testament  and  my 
honoured  Father  Master  Thomas  Cartwright  the  only  Overseer  and  Assistant 
to  my  Executrix  In  witnesses  hereof  I  putt  my  hand  and  seale  the  day  and  year 
under  written — Thomas  Brooks — March  the  twenty  seventh  one  thousand  six 
hundred  and  Eighty — Witness  Edward  Wylde — Henry  Chandler — Tho.  Cart- 
wright.— 

Probatum  apud  London  fuit  hujusmodi  Testamentum  coram  Venerabili 
viro  Domino  Thoma  Lyton  Milite,  Legum  Doctore,  Surrogato  Venerabilis  et 
egregij  viri  Domini  Leolini  Jenkins  Militis,  Legum  etiam  Doctoris,  Curirc 
Praerogativae  Cantuariensis  Magistri  Custodis  sive  Commissary  legitime  con- 
stitute decimo  quinto  die  mensis  Octobris  Anno  Domini  Millesimo  sexcentesimo 
Octogesimo  ;  Juramento  Patienciae  Brooks  Relictae  dicti  defuncti  et  Executricis 
in  hujusmodi  Testamento  nominat;  Cui  commissa  fuit  Administratio  omnium  et 
singulorum  bonorum,  jurium  et  creditorum  dicti  defuncti,  de  bene  et  fideliter 
Administrando  eadem  ad  sancta  Dei  Evangelia  in  debita  Juris  forma  Jurat. 

1  Father-in-law. — G. 

2  Mrs  Brooks.  In  accord  with  this  loving  mention  of  his  second  as  before  of  his  first 
wife,  1  .add  here  the  second  '  Dedication'  of  Brooks's  funeral  sermon  by  John  Reeve,  M.A. 
[See  ante  page  xxxv.]     It  is  as  follows  :— 

*  To  my  honoured  and  worthy  friend,  Mrs  Patience  Brooks,  the  relict  of  that  faithful 
pastor  deceased,  J.  R.  wisheth  external,  internal,  and  eternal  happiness.  The  loss  of  a 
Christian  friend  is  a  great  loss,  much  more  of  a  Christian  relation,  and  yet  more  of  such  a 
near  relation,  most  of  all  of  such  a  relation  as  was  both  a  loving  husband  and  a  spiritual 
guide.  These  twisted  sorrows,  like  a  four-fold  cord,  are  not  easily  broken  loose  from.  1 
cannot  hut  condole  with  you  in  your  affliction,  and  pray  for  great  supports  for  you  under 
so  great  a  trial.  You  have  need  of  patience,  and  that  patience  itself  should  be  more 
patient.  It  is  a  Father's  rod  in  a  Father's  hand,  and,  though  smarting,  yet  instructive 
and  medicinal.  Let  not  time  but  grace  overcome  your  sorrow.  Then  will  you  approve 
yourself  a  Christian  indeed,  and  do  more  than  others.  I  need  not  use  arguments  to  you 
that  are  so  well  skilled  in  your  duty  through  grace.  The  indefatigable  pains  you  have 
taken  to  write  from  your  husband's  mouth  such  large  and  frequent  meditations  and  divine 
truths  which  were  continually  dropping  from  his  lips  under  his  weakness,  they  cannot 
but  make  an  extraordinary  deep  impression  of  themselves  upon  your  heart.  You  are  much 
admired — I  don't  flatter  you,  but  commend  you — for  your  excessive  love  and  tenderness 
to  him  under  all  those  infirmities  he  so  quietly  submitted  himself  to,  your  cheerfulness 
under  the  hardest  services,  that  none  but  yourself  could  have  gone  through  with  so  much 
content  to  him  ;  and  your  perseverance  in  it  to  the  last,  speaks  a  rejoicing  to  your  con- 
science, and  may  be  an  alleviation  of  your  grief.  And  it  is  to  be  observed  that  God  fore- 
said what  must  be  provided  him,  a  loving  wife,  and  a  skilful  and  careful  nurse,  to  be  his 
consort  and  comfort.  And  now  he  is  at  rest,  be  you  at  rest ;  and  let  the  love  you  bear 
him  rejoice  in  his  present  discharge  from  sin  and  sorrow.  We  must  not  dispute  Provi- 
dence, but  submit.  I  have  been  bold,  without  your  leave,  to  affix  your  name  to  your 
husband's  memorials.  Accept  the  service  as  from  one  that  honours  you,  and  shall  upon 
all  occasions  approve  himself  your  very  entire  friend  and  servant  in  the  Lord,  John  Reeve.' 


PRECIOUS  REMEDIES. 


VOL.  I. 


NOTE. 

The  editions  of  '  Precious  Remedies,'  from  its  original  publication  in  1G52,  have 
been  very  numerous.  The  '2d '  was  issued  in  1653,  'corrected  and  enlarged.'  For 
many  years  reprints  followed  in  rapid  succession,  more  numerous  indeed  than  at 
first  sight  appears,  e.g.  those  of  1661  and  1669,  though  distinct  impressions,  being 
without  designation  as  new  editions.  The  '7th'  appeared  in  1671,  the  '  8th '  in 
1676,  and  the  '9th'  in  1682.  Our  text  is  that  of  the  '  8th,*  collated  with  the  l*t 
and  2d.  The  '  8th  '  was  chosen,  as  having  been  the  last  during  the  author's  own 
lifetime :  but  the  collation  was  found  necessary,  inasmuch  as  Brooks,  after  a  '  2d  ' 
and  usually  'corrected'  and  'enlarged'  edition,  seems  to  have  allowed  his  books  to 
be  reprinted  without  further  oversight.  Thus  in  our  text  (page  11)  for  'Dan's  adder' 
it  misprints  '  Pan's  adder,'  and  so  on  in  a  multitude  of  like  cases  in  all  the  after- 
editions  of  all  his  writings.  Hence  the  later  editions  prove  much  more  incorrect 
than  the  earlier,  especially  in  the  textual  and  marginal  references,  &c,  and  a  recur- 
rence to  the  original  or  early  'corrected'  edition  often  enables  us  to  see  the  source 
of  the  error.     The  title-page  of  the  '  8th  '  edition  is  given  below.  G. 


PRECIOUS 

REMEDIES 

AGAINST 

Satan's  Devices : 

OR, 

(    Believers    ") 

1 
(Unbelievers  J 

Being  a  Companion  for  those  that  are  in  Christ, 
or  out  of  Christ;  that  slight  or  neglect  Ordinances, 
under  a  pretence  of  living  above  them  ;  that  are 
growing  (in  Spirituals)  or  decaying ;  that  are 
Tempted,  or  Deserted  ;  Afflicted  or  opposed;  that 
have  Assurance,  or  that  want  Assurance,  $c. 

By  Thomas  Brooks,  formerly  a  willing  Servant 
unto  God,  and  the  Faith  of  his  People,  in  the  glo- 
rious Gospel  of  Christ  at  St.  Margarets Fishstreet-hill. 

The  Eighth  Edition. 

Ephes.  6.  11. 

Put  on  the  whole  Armour  of  God,  that  ye  may  be 

able  to  stand  against  the  wiles  of  the  Devil. 

LONDON 

Printed  for  John  Ilancock,  and  are  to  be  sold  at  the 

three  Bibles,  the  first  shop  in  Popes-head 

Alley,  next  to  Cornhill.     1676. 


THE  EPISTLE  DEDICATORY. 


To  his  most  dear  and  precious  ones,  the  sons  and  daughters  of  the 
Most  High  God,  over  whom  the  Holy  Ghost  hath  made  him  a  Watch- 
man. 

Beloved  in  our  dearest  Lord,  Christ,  the  Scripture,  your  own  hearts, 
and  Satan's  devices,  are  the  four  prime  things  that  should  be  first  and 
most  studied  and  searched.  If  any  cast  off  the  study  of  these,  they 
cannot  be  safe  here,  nor  happy  hereafter.  It  is  my  work  as  a  Chris- 
tian, but  much  more  as  I  am  a  Watchman,  to  do  my  best  to  discover 
the  fulness  of  Christ,  the  emptiness  of  the  creature,  and  the  snares  of 
the  great  deceiver;1  which  I  have  endeavoured  to  do,  in  the  following 
Discourse,  according  to  that  measure  of  grace  which  I  have  received 
from  the  Lord.  God  once  accepted  a  handful  of  meal  for  a  sacrifice 
[Lev.  ii.  2,  v.  12],  and  a  gripe  of  goat's  hair  for  an  oblation  ;2  and  I 
know  that  you  have  not  so  'learned  the  Father,'  as  to  despise  'the  day 
of  small  things '  [Zech.  iv.  1  ()]. 

Beloved,  Satan  being  fallen  from  light  to  darkness,  from  felicity  to 
misery,  from  heaven  to  hell,  from  an  angel  to  a  devil,  is  so  full  of 
malice  and  envy  that  he  will  leave  no  means  unattempted,  whereby 
he  may  make  all  others  eternally  miserable  with  himself;  he  being- 
shut  out  of  heaven,  and  shut  up  '  under  the  chains  of  darkness  till  the 
judgment  of  the  great  day'  [Jude  6],  makes  use  of  all  his  power  and 
skill  to  bring  all  the  sons  of  men  into  the  same  condition  and  con- 
demnation, with  himself.  Satan  hath  cast  such  sinful  seed  into  our 
souls,  that  now  he  can  no  sooner  tempt,  but  we  are  ready  to  assent ; 
he  can  no  sooner  have  a  plot  upon  us,  but  he  makes  a  conquest  of  us. 
If  he  doth  but  shew  men  a  little  of  the  beauty  and  bravery3  of  the 
world,  how  ready  are  they  to  fall  down  and  worship  him  ! 

Whatever  sin  the  heart  of  man  is  most  prone  to,  that  the  devil  will 
help  forward.  If  David  be  proud  of  his  people,  Satan  will  provoke 
him  to  number  them,  that  he  may  be  yet  prouder,  2  Samuel  xxiv. 

If  Peter  be  slavishly  fearful,  Satan  will  put  him  upon  rebuking  and 

1  If  a  minister  had  as  many  eyes  as  Argus,  to  watch,  and  as  many  heads  as  Typheus, 
to  dispose,  and  as  many  hands  as  Briareus,  to  labour,  he  might  find  employment 
enough  for  them  all.  [(1.)  Argus,  surnamed  Panoptes,  all-seeing.  Cf.  iEschylus,  Prom. 
Apollod.  Ov.  II.  cc.  (X.)  Tvpheus,  i.e.  Typhoeus.  Cf.  Pindar,  Pyth.  i.  31  ;  viii.  21 ;  01. 
iv.  12.    (3.)  Briareus,  i.e.  iEgseon.    Cf  Apollod.  i.  9,  \  1  ;  Hesiod,  Theog.  957.— G.] 

2  Gripe  or  '  handful.'     Cf.  Exod.  xxv.  4  ;  xxxv.  26. — G.  s  Finery. — G. 


4  THE  EPISTLE  DEDICATORY. 

denying  of  Christ,  to  save  his  own  skin,  Mat.  xvi.  22,  chap.  xxvi.  69-75. 
If  Ahab's  prophets  be  given  to  flatter,  the  devil  will  straightway  be- 
come  a  lying  spirit  in  the  mouths  of  four  hundred  of  them,  and  they 
shall  flatter  Ahab  to  his  ruin,  1  Kings  xxii.  If  Judas  will  be  a  traitor, 
Satan  will  quickly  enter  into  his  heart,  and  make  him  sell  his  master 
for  money,  which  some  heathens  would  never  have  done,  John  xiii.  2. 
If  Ananias  will  lie  for  advantage,  Satan  will  fill  his  heart  that  he  may 
lie,  with  a  witness,  to  the  Holy  Ghost,  Acts  v.  3.  Satan  loves  to  sail 
with  the  wind,  and  to  suit  men's  temptations  to  their  conditions  and 
inclinations.  If  they  be  in  prosperity,  he  will  tempt  them  to  deny 
God,  Prov.  xxx.  9  ;  if  they  be  in  adversity,  he  will  tempt  them  to  dis- 
trust God  ;  if  their  knowledge  be  weak,  he  will  tempt  them  to  have 
low  thoughts  of  God  ;  if  their  conscience  be  tender,  he  will  tempt  to 
scrupulosity  ;  if  large,  to  carnal  security  ;  if  bold-spirited,  he  will 
tempt  to  presumption  ;  if  timorous,  to  desperation  ;  if  flexible,  to  in- 
constancy ;  if  stiff,  to  impenitency,  &c. 

From  the  power,  malice,  and  skill  of  Satan,  doth  proceed  all  the 
soul-killing  plots,  devices,  stratagems,  and  machinations,  that  be  in 
the  world.  Several  devices  he  hath  to  draw  souls  to  sin,  and  several 
plots  he  hath  to  keep  souls  from  all  holy  and  heavenly  services,  and 
several  stratagems  he  hath  to  keep  souls  in  a  mourning,  staggering, 
doubting,  and  questioning  condition. 

He  hath  several  devices  to  destroy  the  great  and  honourable,  the 
wise  and  learned,  the  blind  and  ignorant,  the  rich  and  the  poor,  the 
real  and  the  nominal  saints. 

One  while  he  will  restrain  from  tempting,  that  we  may  think  our- 
selves secure,  and  neglect  our  watch  ;  another  while  he  will  seem  to 
fly,  that  he  may  make  us  proud  of  the  victory  ;  one  while  he  will  fix 
men's  eyes  more  on  others'  sins  than  their  own,  that  he  may  puff  them 
up  ;  another  while  he  may  fix  their  eyes  more  on  others'  graces  than 
their  own,  that  he  may  overwhelm  them,  &c. 

A  man  may  as  well  tell  the  stars,  and  number  the  sands  of  the  sea, 
as  reckon  up  all  the  Devices  of  Satan ;  yet  those  which  are  most  con- 
siderable, and  by  which  he  doth  most  mischief  to  the  precious  souls  of 
men,  are  in  the  following  Treatise  discovered,  and  the  Remedies  against 
them  prescribed. 

Beloved,  I  think  it  necessary  to  give  you  and  the  world  a  faithful 
account  of  the  reasons  moving  me  to  appear  in  print,  in  these  days, 
wherein  we  may  say,  there  was  never  more  writing  and  yet  never  less 
practising,  and  they  are  these  that  follow,  &c. 

Reason  1.  First,  Because  Satan  hath  a  greater  influence  upon  men, 
and  higher  advantages  over  them  (having  the  wind  and  the  hill,  as  it 
were),  than  they  think  he  hath,  and  the  knowledge  of  his  high  advan- 
tage, is  the  highway  to  disappoint  him,  and  to  render  the  soul  strong 
in  resisting,  and  happy  in  conquering,  &c. 

Reason  2.  Your  importunity,  and  the  importunity  of  many  other 
'  precious  sons  of  Sion,'  Lam.  iv.  2,  hath  after  much  striving  with  God, 
my  own  heart,  and  others,  made  a  conquest  of  me,  and  forced  me  to 
do  that  at  last,  which  at  first  was  not  a  little  contrary  to  my  inclina- 
tion and  resolution,  &c. 


THE  EPISTLE  DEDICATORY.  5 

Reason  3.  The  strange  opposition  that  I  met  with  from  Satan,  in 
the  study  of  this  following  discourse,  hath  put  an  edge  upon  my  spirit, 
knowing  that  Satan  strives  mightily  to  keep  those  things  from  seeing 
the  light,  that  tend  eminently  to  shake  and  break  his  kingdom  of 
darkness,  and  to  lift  up  the  kingdom  and  glory  of  the  Lord  Jesus 
Christ,  in  the  souls  and  lives  of  the  children  of  men,  &C.1 

Reason  4.  Its  exceeding  usefulness  to  all  sorts,  ranks,  and  conditions 
of  men  in  the  world.  Here  you  have  salve  for  every  sore,  and  a  plas- 
ter for  every  wound,  and  a  remedy  against  every  disease,  especially 
against  those  that  tend  most  to  the  undoing  of  souls,  and  the  ruin  of 
the  State,  &c. 

Reason  5.  1  know  not  of  any  one  or  other  that  have  writ  of  this 
subject ;  all  that  ever  I  have  seen  have  only  touched  upon  this  string, 
which  hath  been  no  small  provocation  to  me,  to  attempt  to  do  some- 
thing this  way,  that  others,  that  have  better  heads  and  hearts,  may  be 
the  more  stirred  to  improve  their  talents  in  a  further  discovery  of 
Satan's  Devices,  and  in  making  known  of  such  choice  Remedies,  as 
may  enable  the  souls  of  men  to  triumph  over  all  his  plots  and  strata- 
gems,2 «Sic. 

Reason  6.  I  have  many  precious  friends  in  several  countries,  who 
are  not  a  little  desirous  that  my  pen  may  reach  them,  now  my  voice 
cannot.  I  have  formerly  been,  by  the  help  of  the  mighty  God  of 
Jacob,  a  weak  instrument  of  good  to  them,  and  cannot  but  hope  and 
believe  that  the  Lord  will  also  bless  these  labours  to  them  ;  they 
being,  in  part,  the  fruit  of  their  desires  and  prayers,  &c. 

Reason  7.  Lastly,  Not  knowing  how  soon  my  glass  may  be  out, 
and  how  soon  I  may  be  cut  off  by  a  hand  of  death,  from  all  oppor- 
tunities of  doing  further  service  for  Christ  or  your  souls  in  this  woiid, 
I  was  willing  to  sow  a  little  handful  of  spiritual  seed  among  you ;  that 
so,  when  I  put  off  this  earthly  tabernacle,  my  love  to  you,  and  that 
dear  remembrance  of  you,  which  I  have  in  my  soul,  may  strongly 
engage  your  minds  and  spirits  to  make  this  book  your  companion,  and 
under  all  external  or  internal  changes,  to  make  use  of  this  heavenly 
salve,  which  I  hope  will,  by  the  blessing  of  the  Lord,  be  as  effectual 
for  the  healing  of  all  your  wounds,  as  their  looking  up  to  the  brazen 
serpent  was  effectual  to  heal  theirs  that  were  bit  and  stung  with 
fiery  serpents.  I  shall  leave  this  book  with  you  as  a  legacy  of  my 
dearest  love,  desiring  the  Lord  to  make  it  a  far  greater  and  sweeter 
legacy  than  all  those  carnal  legacies  are  that  are  left  by  the  high  and 
mighty  ones  of  the  earth  to  their  nearest  and  dearest  relations,  &c. 

Beloved,  I  would  not  have  affection  carry  my  pen  too  much  beyond 
my  intention.  Therefore,  only  give  me  leave  to  signify  my  desires  for 
you,  and  my  desires  to  you,  and  I  shall  draw  to  a  close. 

My  desires  for  you  are,  '  That  he  would  grant  you,  according  to  the 
riches  of  his  glory,  to  be  strengthened  with  might  by  his  Spirit  in  the 

1  Pirates  make  the  strongest  and  the  hottest  opposition  against  those  vessels  that  are 
most  richly  laden.  So  doth  Satan,  that  arch-pirate,  against  those  truths  that  have 
most  of  God,  Christ,  and  heaven  in  them. 

2  Brooks  overlooked  the  remarkable  '  Stratagema1  of  Acontius,  which,  previous  to 
1  Precious  Remedies,'  had  been  translated  by  no  less  a  man  than  John  Goodwin  into 
English,  and  by  others  into  almost  every  European  language G. 


6  TI1E  KPISTLE  DEDICATORY. 

inner  man  ;  that  Christ  may  dwell  in  your  hearts  by  faith,  that  ye, 
being  rooted  and  grounded  in  love,  may  be  able  to  comprehend  with 
all  saints  what  is  the  breadth,  and  length,  and  depth,  and  height;  and 
to  know  the  love  of  Christ  that  passeth  knowledge,  that  ye  might  be 
filled  with  all  the  fulness  of  God,'  Eph.  iii.  1G-19;  and  'That  ye  might 
walk  worthy  of  the  Lord  unto  all  pleasing,  being  fruitful  in  every 
good  work,  and  increased  in  the  knowledge  of  God,  strengthened  with 
all  might  according  to  his  glorious  power,  unto  all  patience  and  long- 
suffering,  with  joyfulness,'  Col.  i.  10,  11 ;  'That  ye  do  no  evil,'  2  Cor. 
xiii.  7 ;  '  That  your  love  may  abound  yet  more  and  more  in  know- 
ledge, and  in  all  judgment ;'  '  That  ye  may  approve  things  that  are 
excellent,  that  ye  may  be  sincere,  and  without  offence  till  the  day  of 
Christ/  Philip,  i.  27,  iv.  1  ;  and  that  '  our  God  would  count  you 
worthy  of  this  calling,  and  fulfil  all  the  good  pleasure  of  his  goodness, 
and  the  work  of  faith  with  power;'  '  That  the  name  of  our  Lord  Jesus 
Christ  may  be  glorified  in  you,  and  ye  in  him,  according  to  the  grace 
of  our  God  and  the  Lord  Jesus  Christ,'  2  Thes.  i.  11,  12.  And  that 
you  may  be  eminent  in  sanctity,  sanctity  being  Zion's  glory,  Ps.  xciii.  5 ; 
that  your  hearts  may  be  kept  upright,  your  judgments  sound,  and 
your  lives  unblameable.  That  as  ye  are  now  '  my  joy,'  so  in  the  day 
of  Christ  you  may  be  '  my  crown  ;'  that  I  may  see  my  labours  in 
your  lives  ;  that  your  conversation  may  not  be  earthly,  wheu  the 
things  you  hear  are  heavenly  ;  but  that  it  may  be  '  as  becomes  the 
gospel,'  Philip,  i.  9,  10.  That  as  the  fishes  which  live  in  the  salt  sea 
yet  are  fresh,  so  you,  though  you  live  in  an  uncharitable  world,  may 
yet  be  charitable  and  loving  ;  That  ye  may,  like  the  bee,  suck  honey 
out  of  every  flower ;  that  ye  may  shine  in  a  sea  of  troubles,  as  the 
pearl  shines  in  the  sky,  though  it  grows  in  the  sea  ;  that  in  all  your 
trials  you  may  be  like  the  stone  in  Thracia,  that  neither  burnetii  in 
the  fire  nor  sinketh  in  the  water ;  That  ye  may  be  like  the  heavens, 
excellent  in  substance  and  beautiful  in  appearance  ;  that  so  you  may 
meet  me  with  joy  in  that  day  wherein  Christ  shall  say  to  his  Father, 
'Lo,  here  am  I,  and  the  children  that  thou  hast  given  me,'  Isa.  viii.  18. 
My  desires  to  you  are,  That  you  would  make  it  your  business  to 
study  Christ,  his  word,  your  own  hearts,  Satan's  plots,  and  eternity, 
more  than  ever ;  That  ye  would  endeavour  more  to  be  inwardly  sin- 
cere than  outwardly  glorious  ;  to  live,  than  to  have  a  name  to  live  ; 
That  ye  would  labour  with  all  your  might  to  be  thankful  under  mer- 
cies, and  faithful  in  your  places,  and  humble  under  divine  appear- 
ances, and  fruitful  under  precious  ordinances ;  That  as  your  means 
and  mercies  are  greater  than  others',  so  your  account  before  God  may 
not  prove  a  worse  than  others' ;  That  ye  would  pray  for  me,  who  am 
not  worthy  to  be  named  among  the  saints,  that  1  may  be  a  precious 
instrument  in  the  hand  of  Christ  to  bring  in  many  souls  unto  him, 
and  to  build  up  those  that  are  brought  in  in  their  most  holy  faith  ; 
and  '-that  utterance  may  be  given  to  me,  that  I  may  make  known  all 
the  will  of  God,'  Eph.  vi.  19;  That  I  may  be  sincere,  faithful,  frequent, 
fervent,  and  constant  in  the  work  of  the  Lord,  and  that  my  labour  be 
not  in  vain  in  the  Lord;  that  my  labours  may  be  accepted  in  the  Lord 
and  his  saints,  and  I  may  daily  see  the  travail  of  my  soul,  S:c. 


THE  EPISTLE  DEDICATORY.  7 

But,  above  all,  pray  for  me,  that  I  may  more  and  more  find  the 
power  and  sweet  of  those  things  upon  my  own  heart,  that  I  give  out 
to  you  and  others  ;  that  my  soul  be  so  visited  with  strength  from  on 
high,  that  I  may  live  up  fully  and  constantly  to  those  truths  that  I 
hold  forth  to  the  world  ;  and  that  I  may  be  both  in  life  and  doctrine 
'  a  burning  and  a  shining  light/  that  so,  when  the  Lord  Jesus  shall 
appear,  '  I  may  receive  a  crown  of  glory  which  he  shall  give  to  me  in 
that  day,  and  not  only  to  me,  but  to  all  that  love  his  appearance/  &c, 
John  v.  35  and  2  Tim.  i.  8. 

For  a  close,  remember  this,  that  your  life  is  short,  your  duties  many, 
your  assistance  great,  and  your  reward  sure  ;  therefore  faint  not,  hold 
on  and  hold  up,  in  ways  of  well-doing,  and  heaven  shall  make  amends 
for  all. 

I  shall  now  take  leave  of  you,  when  my  heart  hath  by  my  hand 
subscribed,  that  I  am, 

Your  loving  pastor  under  Christ,  according  to  all  pastoral  affections 
and  engagements  in  our  dearest  Lord, 

Thomas  Brooks. 


A  WORD  TO  THE  READER. 


Dear  Friend  ! — Solomon  bids  us  buy  the  truth  (Prov.  xxiii.  23),  but 
doth  not  tell  us  what  it  must  cost,  because  we  must  get  it  though  it 
be  never  so  dear.  We  must  love  it  both  shining  and  scorching.1 
Every  parcel  of  truth  is  precious,  as  the  filings  of  gold  ;  we  must  either 
live  with  it,  or  die  for  it.  As  Ruth  said  to  Naomi,  '  Whither  thou 
goest  I  will  go,  and  where  thou  lodgest  I  will  lodge,  and  nothing  but 
death  shall  part  thee  and  me/  Ruth  i.  16,  17;  so  must  gracious  spirits 
say,  Where  truth  goes  I  will  go,  and  where  truth  lodges  I  will  lodge, 
and  nothing  but  death  shall  part  me  and  truth.2  A  man  may  lawfully 
sell  his  house,  land,  and  jewels,  but  truth  is  a  jewel  that  exceeds  all 
price,  and  must  not  be  sold  ;  it  is  our  heritage :  '  Thy  testimonies 
have  I  taken  as  an  heritage  for  ever,'  Ps.  cxix.  111.  It  is  a  legacy 
that  our  forefathers  have  bought  with  their  bloods,  which  should  make 
us  willing  to  lay  down  anything,  and  to  lay  out  anything,  that  we 
may,  with  the  wise  merchant  in  the  Gospel  (Mat.  xiii.  45),  purchase 
this  precious  pearl,  which  is  more  worth  than  heaven  and  earth,  and 
which  will  make  a  man  live  happily,  die  comfortably,  and  reign 
eternally.3 

And  now,  if  thou  pleasest,  read  the  work,  and  receive  this  counsel 
from  me. 

First,  Thou  must  know  that  every  man  cannot  be  excellent,  that 
yet  may  be  useful.  An  iron  key  may  unlock  the  door  of  a  golden 
treasure,  yea  (ferrum  potest  quod  aurwm  -non  potest),  iron  can  do 
some  things  that  gold  cannot,  &c. 

Secondly,  Remember,  it  is  not  hasty  reading,  but  serious  meditating 
upon  holy  and  heavenly  truths,  that  makes  them  prove  sweet  and 
profitable  to  the  soul.4  It  is  not  the  bee's  touching  of  the  flower 
that  gathers  honey,  but  her  abiding  for  a  time  upon  the  flower  that 
draws  out  the  sweet.  It  is  not  he  that  reads  most,  but  he  that  medi- 
tates most,  that  will  prove  the  choicest,  sweetest,  wisest,  and  strongest 
( !hristian,  &c. 

Thirdly,  Know  that  it  is  not  the  knowing,  nor  the  talking,  nor  the 

1  Multi  amant  veritatem  hicentem,  oderunt  redarguentem. 

a  Si  Veritas  est  causa  discordio\  mori  possum,  lacere  non  possum. — St  Jerome, 

3  Veritas  vincit.     Truth  at  last  triumphs. 

4  It  is  a  law  among  the  Persees  [Parsees]  in  India,  to  use  premeditation  in  what 
they  are  to  do,  that  if  it  he  bad,  to  reject  it,  if  good,  to  act  it. 


A  WORD  TO  THE  READER.  ^ 

reading  man,  but  the  doing  man,  that  at  last  will  be  found  the  happiest 
man.1  "  If  you  know  these  things,  blessed  and  happy  are  you  if  you 
do  them."  "  Not  every  one  that  saith,  Lord,  Lord,  shall  enter  into 
the  kingdom  of  heaven,  but  he  that  doth  the  will  of  my  Father  that 
is  in  heaven/'  John  xvi.  14,  Mat.  vii.  21.  Judas  called  Christ  Lord, 
Lord,  and  yet  betrayed  him,  and  is  gone  to  his  place.  Ah !  how  many 
Judases  have  we  in  these  days,  that  kiss  Christ,  and  yet  betray  Christ ; 
that  in  their  words  profess  him,  but  in  their  works  deny  him  ;  that 
bow  their  knee  to  him,  and  yet  in  their  hearts  despise  him  ;  that  call 
him  Jesus,  and  yet  will  not  obey  him  for  their  Lord. 

Reader,  If  it  be  not  strong  upon  thy  heart  to  practise  what  thou 
readest,  to  what  end  dost  thou  read  ?  To  increase  thy  own  condem- 
nation?2 If  thy  light  and  knowledge  be  not  turned  into  practice,  the 
more  knowing  man  thou  art,  the  more  miserable  man  thou  wilt  be  in 
the  day  of  recompense  ;  thy  light  and  knowledge  will  more  torment 
thee  than  all  the  devils  in  hell.  Thy  knowledge  will  be  that  rod 
that  will  eternally  lash  thee,  and  that  scorpion  that  will  for  ever  bite 
thee,  and  that  worm  that  will  everlastingly  gnaw  thee  ;  therefore  read, 
and  labour  to  know,  that  thou  mayest  do,  or  else  thou  art  undone  for 
ever.3  When  Demosthenes  was  asked,  what  was  the  first  part  of  an 
orator,  what  the  second,  what  the  third  ?  he  answered,  Action  ;  the 
same  may  I  say.  If  any  should  ask  me,  what  is  the  first,  the  second, 
the  third  part  of  a  Christian  ?  I  must  answer,  Action  ;  as  that  man 
that  reads  that  he  may  know,  and  that  labours  to  know  that  he  may 
do,  will  have  two  heavens — a  heaven  of  joy,  peace,  and  comfort  on 
earth,  and  a  heaven  of  glory  and  happiness  after  death. 

Fourthly  and  lastly,  If  in  thy  reading  thou  wilt  cast  a  serious  eye 
upon  the  margent,4  thou  wilt  find  many  sweet  and  precious  notes,  that 
will  oftentimes  give  light  to  the  things  thou  readest,  and  pay  thee  for 
thy  pains  with  much  comfort  and  profit.  So  desiring  that  thou  mayest 
find  as  much  sweetness  and  advantage  in  reading  this  Treatise  as  I 
have  found,  by  the  over-shadowings  of  heaven,  in  the  studying  and 
writing  of  it,  I  recommend  thee  'to  God,  and  to  the  word  of  his  grace, 
which  is  able  to  build  thee  up,  and  to  give  thee  an  inheritance  among 
them  which  are  sanctified,'  Acts  xx.  32.     And  rest,  reader, 

Thy  soul's  servant  in  every  office  of  the  gospel, 

Thomas  Brooks. 

1  It  was  a  good  saying  of  Justin  Martyr,  Non  in  verbis,  sed  in  factis  res  nostrce  reli- 
gionis  consistent. — [Apolog.  22. — G.] 

2  The  heathen  philosopher,  Seneca,  liked  not  such  as  are  semper  victuri,  always 
about  to  live,  but  never  begin. — [De  vita  beata,  et  alibi.  —  G.] 

3  God  loves,  saith  Luther,  curistas,  not  qito?ristas,  the  runner,  not  the  questioner.  .  .  . 
Pacunius  hath  an  elegant  saying :  I  hate,  saith  he,  the  men  that  are  idle  in  deed,  and 
philosophical  in  word,  &c. 

*  Margin  ;  transferred  here  and  throughout  in  our  edition  to  the  foot  of  page. — G. 


PRECIOUS  REMEDIES  AGAINST  SATAN'S 
DEVICES. 


Lest  Satan  should  get  an  advantage  of  us:  for  we  are  not  ignorant 
of  his  devices. — 2  Cor.  II.  11, 

In  this  fifth  verse,  the  apostle  shews,  that  the  incestuous  person  had 
by  his  incest  sadded  those  precious  souls  that  God  would  not  have 
sadded.1  Souls  that  walk  sinfully  are  Hazaels  to  the  godly,  2  Kings 
viii.  12,  et  seq.,  and  draw  many  sighs  and  tears  from  them.  Jeremiah 
weeps  in  secret  for  Judah's  sins,  Jer.  ix.  1  ;  and  Paul  cannot  speak  of 
the  belly-gods  with  dry  eyes,  Philip,  iii.  18,  19.  And  Lot's  righteous 
soul  was  burdened,  vexed,  and  racked  by  the  filthy  Sodomites,  2  Peter 
ii.  7,  S.2  Every  sinful  Sodomite  was  a  Hazael  to  his  eyes,  a  Hadad- 
rimmon  to  his  heart,  Zech.  xii.  11.  Gracious  souls  use  to  mourn  for 
other  men's  sins  as  well  as  their  own,  and  for  their  souls  and  sins  who 
make  a  mock  of  sin,  and  a  jest  of  damning  their  own  souls.  Guilt  or 
grief  is  all  that  gracious  souls  get  by  communion  with  vain  souls,  Ps. 
cxix.  136,  158. 

In  the  6th  verse,  he  shews  that  the  punishment  that  was  inflicted 
upon  the  incestuous  person  was  sufficient,  and  therefore  they  should 
not  refuse  to  receive  him  who  had  repented  and  sorrowed  for  his 
former  faults  and  follies.  It  is  not  for  the  honour  of  Christ,  the  credit 
of  the  gospel,  nor  the  good  of  souls,  for  professors  to  be  like  those 
bloody  wretches,  that  burnt  some  that  recanted  at  the  stake,  saying, 
'  That  they  would  send  them  into  another  world  whiles  they  were  in  a 
good  mind/3 

In  the  7th,  8th,  9th,  and  10th  verses,  the  apostle  stirs  up  the  church 
to  forgive  him,  to  comfort  him,  and  to  confirm  their  love  towards  him, 
lest  he  should  be  'swallowed  up  with  over  much  sorrow,'  Satan  going 
about  to  mix  the  detestable  darnel,  Mat.  xiii.  25,  of  desperation  with 
the  godly  sorrow  of  a  pure  penitent  heart.  It  was  a  sweet  saying  of 
one,  '  Let  a  man  grieve  for  his  sin,  and  then  joy  for  his  grief.'4  That 
sorrow  for  sin  that  keeps  the  soul  from  looking  towards  the  mercy - 

1    '  Saddened.' — G.  *    xarafovovptvov,  s/Sairax^v. 

3  [Foxe.]  Acts  and  Mon.  fol.  1392  [Cf.  Under  Cranmer  and  Recantation,  ed.  1G31. 
Vol.  iii.  007,  6G8. — I*.]  4  Doleat  et  de  dolore  gaudeat. — Jerome. 


2  Cor.  II.  11.]  precious  remedies.  11 

seat,  and  that  keeps  Christ  and  the  soul  asunder,  or  that  shall  render 
the  soul  unfit  for  the  communion  of  saints,  is  a  sinful  sorrow. 

In  the  11th  verse,  he  lays  down  another  reason  to  work  them  to 
shew  pity  and  mercy  to  the  penitent  sinner,  that  was  mourning  and 
groaning  under  his  sin  and  misery ;  i.  e.  lest  Satan  should  get  an 
advantage  of  us  :  for  we  are  not  ignorant  of  his  devices.  A  little  for 
the  opening  of  the  words 

Lest  Satan  should  get  an  advantage  of  us  ;  lest  Satan  over-reach 
us.  The  Greek  word  irXionxr-ndai^v,  signifieth  to  have  more  than  be- 
longs to  one.  The  comparison  is  taken  from  the  greedy  merchant, 
that  seeketh  and  taketh  all  opportunities  to  beguile  and  deceive 
others.  Satan  is  that  wily  merchant,  that  devoureth,  not  widows' 
houses,  but  most  men's  souls. 

'  We  are  not  ignorant  of  Satan's  devices,'  or  plots,  or  machinations, 
or  stratagems,  Nojj^ara.  He  is  but  a  titular  Christian  that  hath  not 
personal  experience  of  Satan's  stratagems,  his  set  and  composed 
machinations,  his  artificially  moulded  methods,  his  plots,  darts,  depths, 
whereby  he  outwitted  our  first  parents,  and  fits  us  a  pennyworth  still, 
as  he  sees  reason. 

The  main  observation  that  I  shall  draw  from  these  words  is  this: 

Doct,  That  Satan  hath  his  several  devices  to  deceive,  entangle,  and 
undo  the  souls  of  men. 

I  shall,  1.  Prove  the  point. 

2.  Shew  you  his  several  devices  ;  and, 

3.  The  remedies  against  his  devices. 

4.  How  it  comes  to  pass  that  he  hath  so  many  several  devices  to 
deceive,  entangle,  and  undo  the  souls  of  men. 

5.  I  shall  lay  down  some  propositions  concerning  Satan's  devices. 

I.  For  the  proof  of  the  point,  take  these  few  Scriptures:  Eph.  vi.  11, 
'Put  on  the  whole  armour  of  God,  that  ye  may  be  able  to  stand  against 
the  wiles  of  the  devil/  The  Greek  word  that  is  here  rendered  'wiles,' 
is  a  notable  emphatical  word. 

(1.)  It  signifies  such  snares  as  are  laid  behind  one,  such  treacheries 
as  come  upon  one's  back  at  unawares.  It  notes  the  methods  or  way- 
layings  of  that  old  subtle  serpent,  who,  like  Dan's  adder  'in  the  path,' 
biteth  the  heels  of  passengers,  and  thereby  transfuseth  his  venom  to 
the  head  and  heart.1  The  word  Mi6o8tia$  signifies  an  ambushment  or 
stratagem  of  war,  whereby  the  enemy  sets  upon  a  man  ex  insidiis,  at 
unawares.2 

(2.)  It  signifies  such  snares  as  are  set  to  catch  one  in  one's  road. 
A  man  walks  in  his  road,  and  thinks  not  of  it ;  on  the  sudden  he  is 
catched  by  thieves,  or  falls  into  a  pit,  &c. 

(3.)  It  signifies  such  as  are  purposely,  artificially,  and  craftily  set 
for  the  taking  the  prey  at  the  greatest  advantage  that  can  be.  The 
Greek  /leSoBtiag,  being  derived  from  fitrd  and  odbg,  signifies  properly  a 
waylaying,  circumvention,  or  going  about,  as  they  do  which  seek  after 

1  Cf.  Genesis  xlix.  17.  Misprinted  originally  '  Pan's,'  and  so  has  been  usually 
transmitted. — G. 

2  Spelled  '  anawares,'  which  is  to  be  noted  alcng  with  the  earlier  form  'anonywar.' 
Cf.  Richardson  sub  voce. — G. 


12  PRECIOUS  REMEDIES  [2  COR.  II.  11. 

their  prey.  Julian,  by  his  craft,  drew  more  from  the  faith  than  all 
his  persecuting  predecessors  could  do  by  their  cruelty.  So  doth  Satan 
more  hurt  in  his  sheep's  skin  than  by  roaring  like  a  lion. 

Take  one  scripture  more  for  the  proof  of  the  point,  and  that  is  in 
2  Tim.  ii.  26,  '  And  that  they  might  recover  themselves  out  of  the 
snare  of  the  devil,  who  are  taken  captive  by  him  at  his  will.'  The 
Greek  word  that  is  here  rendered  recover  themselves,  ' Avavr^uaiv, 
signifies  to  awaken  themselves.  The  apostle  alludeth  to  one  that  is 
asleep  or  drunk,  who  is  to  be  awakened  and  restored  to  his  senses;  and 
the  Greek  word  that  is  here  rendered  '  taken  captive,'  signifies  to  be 
taken  alive,  e^uy^fiivoi.  The  word  is  properly  a  warlike  word,  and 
signifies  to  be  taken  alive,  as  soldiers  are  taken  alive  in  the  wars,  or 
as  birds  are  taken  alive  and  ensnared  in  the  fowler's  net.  Satan  hath 
snares  for  the  wise  and  snares  for  the  simple  ;  snares  for  hypocrites, 
and  snares  for  the  upright  ;  snares  for  generous  souls,  and  snares  for 
timorous  souls ;  snares  for  the  rich,  and  snares  for  the  poor ;  snares 
for  the  aged,  and  snares  for  youth,  &c.  Happy  are  those  souls  that 
are  not  taken  aud  held  in  the  snares  that  he  hath  laid  l1 

Take  one  proof  more,  and  then  I  will  proceed  to  the  opening  of  the 
point,  and  that  is  in  Rev.  ii.  24,  '  But  unto  you  I  say,  and  unto  the 
rest  in  Thyatira,  as  many  as  have  not  this  doctrine,  and  which  have 
not  known  the  depths  of  Satan,  as  they  speak,  I  will  put  upon  you  no 
other  burden  but  to  hold  fast  till  I  come.'  Those  poor  souls  called 
their  opinions  the  depths  of  God,  when  indeed  they  were  the  depths 
of  Satan.  You  call  your  opinions  depths,  and  so  they  are,  but  they 
are  such  depths  as  Satan  hath  brought  out  of  hell.  They  are  the 
whisperings  and  hissings  of  that  serpent,  not  the  inspirations  of 
God. 

II.  Now,  the  second  thing  that  I  am  to  shew  you  is,  his  several 
devices ;  and  herein  I  shall  first  shew  you  the  several  devices  that  he. 
hath  to  draw  the  soul  to  sin.     I  shall  instance  in  these  twelve,  which 
may  bespeak  our  most  serious  consideration. 

His  first  device  to  draw  the  soul  to  sin  is, 

Device  (1).  To  'present  the  bait  and  hide  the  hook;  to  present  the 
golden  cup,  and  hide  the  poison  ;  to  present  the  sweet,  the  pleasure, 
and  the  profit  that  may  flow  in  upon  the  soul  by  yielding  to  sin,  and 
by  hiding  from  the  soul  the  wrath  and  misery  that  will  certainly  follow 
the  committing  of  sin.  By  this  device  he  took  our  first  parents:  Gen. 
iii.  4,  5,  '  And  the  serpent  said  unto  the  woman,  Ye  shall  not  surely 
die  :  for  God  doth  know,  that  in  the  day  ye  eat  thereof,  then  your 
eyes  shall  be  opened;  and  ye  shall  be  as  gods,  knowing  good  and  evil.' 
Your  eyes  shall  be  opened,  and  you  shall  be  as  gods  !  Here  is  the 
bait,  the  sweet,  the  pleasure,  the  profit.  Oh,  but  he  hides  the  hook, 
— the  shame,  the  wrath,  and  the  loss  that  would  certainly  follow  !2 

There  is  an  opening  of  the  eyes  of  the  mind  to  contemplation  and 
joy,  and  there  is  an  opening  of  the  eyes  of  the  body  to  shame  and 

1  Cf.  [Daniel]  Pareus  in  loc.  1  Tim.  iv.  1.     [Works,  3  vols,  folio,  1647.— G.] 
*  So  to  reduce  Dr  [Rowland]  Taylor,  martyr,  they  promised  him  not  only  his  par- 
don, but,  a  bishopric.     Acts  &  Mon.  fol.  i.  86.     [Foxe.  ed.  1631.     Vol.  iii.  p.  176.— G.] 
....  lnest  peccatum  cum  delectaris  :  regnat  si  consentis.     [Augustine  in  Ps.  1. — G.] 


2  Cor.  II.  11.]  against  satan's  devices.  13 

confusion.  He  promiseth  them  the  former,  but  intends  the  latter, 
and  so  cheats  them — giving  them  an  apple  in  exchange  for  a  paradise, 
as  he  deals  by  thousands  now-a-days.  Satan  with  ease  puts  fallacies 
upon  us  by  his  golden  baits,  and  then  he  leads  us  and  leaves  us  in  a  fool's 
paradise.  He  promises  the  soul  honour,  pleasure,  profit,  &c,  but  pays 
the  soul  with  the  greatest  contempt,  shame,  and  loss  that  can  be.  By 
a  golden  bait  he  laboured  to  catch  Christ,  Mat.  iv.  8,  9.  He  shews 
him  the  beauty  and  the  bravery  of  a  bewitching  world,  which  doubt- 
less would  have  taken  many  a  carnal  heart ;  but  here  the  devil's  fire 
fell  upon  wet  tinder,  and  therefore  took  not.  These  tempting  objects 
did  not  at  all  win  upon  his  affections,  nor  dazzle  his  eyes,  though 
many  have  eternally  died  of  the  wound  of  the  eye,  and  fallen  for  ever 
by  this  vile  strumpet  the  world,  who,  by  laying  forth  her  two  fair 
breasts  of  profit  and  pleasure,  hath  wounded  their  souls,  and  cast 
them  down  into  utter  perdition.  She  hath,  by  the  glistering  of  her 
pomp  and  preferment,  slain  millions  ;  as  the  serpent  Scytale,1  which, 
when  she  cannot  overtake  the  fleeing  passengers,  doth,  with  her 
beautiful  colours,  astonish  and  amaze  them,  so  that  they  have  no 
power  to  pass  away  till  she  have  stung  them  to  death.  Adversity 
hath  slain  her  thousand,  but  prosperity  her  ten  thousand.2 
Now,  the  remedies  against  this  device  of  the  devil  are  these  : 
Remedy  (1).  First,  Keep  at  the  greatest  distance  from  sin,  and 
from  playing  with  the  golden  bait  that  Satan  holds  forth  to  catch 
you  ;  for  this  you  have  Rom.  xii.  9,  '  Abhor  that  which  is  evil,  cleave 
to  that  which  is  good.'  When  we  meet  with  anything  extremely  evil 
and  contrary  to  us,  nature  abhors  it,  and  retires  as  far  as  it  can  from 
it.  The  Greek  word  that  is  there  rendered  '  abhor,'  is  very  signifi- 
cant ;  it  signifies  to  hate  it  as  hell  itself,  to  hate  it  with  horror.3 

Anselm  used  to  say,  '  That  if  he  should  see  the  shame  of  sin  on  the 
one  hand,  and  the  pains  of  hell  on  the  other,  and  must  of  necessity 
choose  one,  he  would  rather  be  thrust  into  hell  without  sin,  than  to  go 
into  heaven  with  sin,'  so  great  was  his  hatred  and  detestation  of  sin. 
It  is  our  wisest  and  our  safest  course  to  stand  at  the  farthest  distance 
from  sin ;  not  to  go  near  the  house  of  the  harlot,  but  to  fly  from  all 
appearance  of  evil,  Prov.  v.  8,  1  Thes.  v.  22.  The  best  course  to  pre- 
vent falling  into  the  pit,  is  to  keep  at  the  greatest  distance  ;  he  that 
will  be  so  bold  as  to  attempt  to  dance  upon  the  brink  of  the  pit,  may 
find  by  woful  experience  that  it  is"  a  righteous  thing  with  God  that  he 
should  fall  into  the  pit.  Joseph  keeps  at  a  distance  from  sin,  and 
from  playing  with  Satan's  golden  baits,  and  stands.  David  draws 
near,  and  plays  with  the  bait,  and  falls,  and  swallows  bait  and  hook 
with  a  witness.      David  comes  near  the  snare,  and  is  taken  in  it,  to 

1  Scytale  :  Solinus,  c.  xxvii.  and  xl G. 

This  world  at  last  shall  be  burnt  for  a  witch,  saith  one.  .  .  .  Multi  amando  res 
noxias  sunt  miseri,  habendo  miseriores. — Aug\ustine\  in  Ps  xvi.  Many  are  miserable 
by  loving  hurtful  things,  but  they  are  more  miserable  by  having  them.  .  .  .  Men  had 
need  pray  with  Bernard,  Da  Domine  ut  sic  possideamus  temporalia,  ut  non  perdamus 
seterna.  Grant  us,  Lord,  that  we  may  so  partake  of  temporal  felicity,  that  we  may  not 
lose  eternal. 

3  a^otrruyovi/ri;.      The  simple  verb  imports  extreme  detestation,  which  is  aggravated 
by  the  composition. — Chrys\ostom~\. 


14  PRECIOUS  REMEDIES  [2  COR.  II.  11. 

the  breaking  of  his  bones,  the  wounding  of  his  conscience,  and  the 
loss  of  his  God.1 

Sin  is  a  plague,  yea,  the  greatest  and  most  infectious  plague  in 
the  world  ;  and  yet,  ah  !  how  few  are  there  that  tremble  at  it,  that 
keep  at  a  distance  from  it  !  1  Cor.  v.  6,  '  Know  ye  not  that  a  little 
leaven  leavencth  the  whole  lump  ?'  As  soon  as  one  sin  had  seized 
upon  Adam's  heart,  all  sin  entered  into  his  soul  and  overspread  it. 
How  hath  Adam's  one  sin  spread  over  all  mankind  !  Horn.  v.  12, 
'  Wherefore  as  by  one  man  sin  entered  into  the  world,  and  death  by 
sin,  and  so  death  passed  upon  all  men,  for  that  all  have  sinned.' 
Ah,  how  doth  the  father's  sin  infect  the  child,  the  husband's  infect 
the  wife,  the  master's  the  servant !  The  sin  that  is  in  one  man's 
heart  is  able  to  infect  a  whole  world,  it  is  of  such  a  spreading  and 
infectious  nature.2 

The  story  of  the  Italian,  who  first  made  his  enemy  deny  God,  and 
then  stabbed  him,  and  so  at  once  murdered  both  body  and  soul,3 
declares  the  perfect  malignity  of  sin  ;  and  oh !  that  what  hath  been 
spoken  upon  this  head  may  prevail  with  you,  to  stand  at  a  distance 
from  sin ! 

The  second  remedy  is, 

Remedy  (2).  To  consider,  That  sin  is  but  a  bitter  sweet.  That 
seeming  sweet  that  is  in  sin  will  quickly  vanish,  and  lasting  shame, 
sorrow,  horror,  and  terror  will  come  in  the  room  thereof :  Job  xx. 
12-14,  'Though  wickedness  be  sweet  in  his  mouth,  though  he  hide 
it  under  his  tongue,  though  he  spare  it,  and  forsake  it  not,  but  keep  it 
still  within  his  mouth,  yet  his  meat  in  his  bowels  is  turned,  it  is  the 
gall  of  asps  within  him.'  Forbidden  profits  and  pleasures  are  most 
pleasing  to  vain  men,  who  count  madness  mirth,  &c.  Many  long  to  be 
meddling  with  the  murdering  morsels  of  sin,  which  nourish  not,  but 
rent  and  consume  the  belly,  the  soul,  that  receives  them.  Many  eat 
that  on  earth  that  they  digest  in  hell.  Sin's  murdering  morsels  will 
deceive  those  that  devour  them.  Adam's  apple  was  a  bitter  sweet ; 
Esau's  mess  was  a  bitter  sweet  ;  the  Israelites'  quails  a  bitter  sweet ; 
Jonathan's  honey  a  bitter  sweet ;  and  Adonijah's  dainties  a  bitter 
sweet.  After  the  meal  is  ended,  then  comes  the  reckoning.  Men 
must  not  think  to  dance  and  dine  with  the  devil,  and  then  to  sup 
with  Abraham,  Isaac,  and  Jacob  in  the  kingdom  of  heaven  ;  to  feed 
upon  the  poison  of  asps,  and  yet  that  the  viper's  tongue  should  not 
slay  them.4 

When  the  asp  stings  a  man,  it  doth  first  tickle  him  so  as  it  makes 
him  laugh,  till  the  poison,  by  little  and  little,  gets  to  the  heart,  and 

1  It  was  a  divine  saying  of  a  heathen,  '  That  if  there  were  no  God  to  punish  him,  no 
devil  to  torment  him,  no  hell  to  burn  him,  no  man  to  see  him,  yet  would  he  not  sin  for 
the  ugliness  and  filthiuess  of  sin,  and  the  grief  of  his  own  conscience.' — Seneca.  [De 
Beneficiis.  1.  iv.  23,  and  often  in  his  '  Letters.'    Cf.  sub  Conscientia. — G.] 

2  Sin  is  like  those  diseases  that  are  called  by  physicians,  cormptio  totius  substantia. 

3  Told  in  Wanley's  Wonders,  with  authorities,  b.  iv.  c  xii. — G. 

4  When  the  golden  bait  is  set  forth  to  catch  us,  we  must  6ay  as  Demosthenes  the 
orator  did  of  the  beautiful  Lais,  when  he  was  asked  an  excessivo  sum  of  money  to 
behold  her,  '  I  will  not  buy  repentance  so  dear;'  I  am  not  so  ill  a  merchant  as  to  sill 
eternals  fur  temporals.     If  intemperance  could  afford  more  pleasure  than  temperance 
lleliogubalus  should  have  been  more  happy  than  Adam  in  paradise. — 1'lutarch. 


2  Cor.  II.  11]  against  satan's  devices.  15 

then  it  pains  him  more  than  ever  it  delighted  him.  So  doth  sin  ; 
it  may  please  a  little  at  first,  but  it  will  pain  the  soul  with  a  witness 
at  last ;  yea,  if  there  were  the  least  real  delight  in  sin,  there  could 
be  no  perfect  hell,  where  men  shall  most  perfectly  be  tormented  with 
their  sin. 

The  third  remedy  against  this  device  of  Satan  is, 

Remedy  (3).  Solemnly  to  consider,  That  sin  will  usher  in  the 
greatest  and  the  saddest  losses  that  can  be  upon  our  souls.  It  will 
usher  in  the  loss  of  that  divine  favour  that  is  better  than  life,  and  the 
loss  of  that  joy  that  is  unspeakable  and  full  of  glory,  and  the  loss  of 
that  peace  that  passeth  understanding,  and  the  loss  of  those  divine 
influences  by  which  the  soul  hath  been  refreshed,  quickened,  raised, 
strengthened,  and  gladded,  and  the  loss  of  many  outward  desirable 
mercies,  which  otherwise  the  soul  might  have  enjoyed.1 

It  was  a  sound  and  savoury  reply  of  an  English  captain  at  the  loss 
of  Calais,  when  a  proud  Frenchman  scornfully  demanded,  When  will 
you  fetch  Calais  again,  replied,  When  your  sins  shall  weigh  down 
ours.2  Ah,  England  !  my  constant  prayer  for  thee  is,  that  thou 
mayest  not  sin  away  thy  mercies  into  their  hands  that  cannot  call 
mercy  mercy,  and  that  would  joy  in  nothing  more  than  to  see  thy 
sorrow  and  misery,  and  to  see  that  hand  to  make  thee  naked,  that 
hath  clothed  thee  with  much  mercy  and  glory. 

The  fourth  remedy  against  this  device  of  Satan  is, 

Remedy  (4).  Seriously  to  consider,  That  sin  is  of  a  very  deceitful 
and  bewitching  nature.3  Sin  is  from  the  greatest  deceiver,  it  is  a 
child  of  his  own  begetting,  it  is  the  ground  of  all  the  deceit  in  the 
world,  and  it  is  in  its  own  nature  exceeding  deceitful.  Heb.  iii.  13, 
'  But  exhort  one  another  daily,  while  it  is  called  To-day,  lest  any 
of  you  be  hardened  through  the  deceitfulness  of  sin.'  It  will  kiss 
the  soul,  and  pretend  fair  to  the  soul,  and  yet  betray  the  soul  for 
ever.  It  will  with  Delilah  smile  upon  us,  that  it  may  betray  us  into 
the  hands  of  the  devil,  as  she  did  Samson  into  the  hauds  of  the 
Philistines.  Sin  gives  Satan  a  power  over  us,  and  an  advantage  to 
accuse  us  and  to  lay  claim  to  us,  as  those  that  wear  his  badge;  it  is 
of  a  very  bewitching  nature,  it  bewitches  the  soul,  where  it  is  upon 
the  throne,  that  the  soul  cannot  leave  it,  though  it  perish  eternally 
by  it.*  Sin  so  bewitches  the  soul,  that  it  makes  the  soul  call  evil  good, 
and  good  evil ;  bitter  sweet  and  sweet  bitter,  light  darkness  and  dark- 
ness light ;  and  a  soul  thus  bewitched  with  sin  will  stand  it  out  to  the 
death,  at  the  sword's  point  with  God  ;  let  God  strike  and  wound, 
and  cut  to  the  very  bone,  yet  the  bewitched  soul  cares  not,  fears  not, 
but  will  still  hold  on  in  a  course  of  wickedness,  as  you  may  see  in 
Pharaoh,  Balaam,  and  Judas.  Tell  the  bewitched  soul  that  sin  is  a 
viper  that  will  certainly  kill  when  it  is  not  killed,  that  sin  often  kills 

1  Isa.  lix.2,  Ps.  H.  12,  Isa,  lix.  8,  2  Chron.  xv.  3,  4,  Jer.  xvii.  18.  Jer.  v.  2. 

2  Quando  peccata  vestra  erunt  nostris  graviora. 

3  In  Sardis  there  grew  an  herb,  called  Appium  Sardis,  that  would  make  a  man  lie 
laughing  when  lie  was  deadly  sick  ;  such  is  the  operation  of  sin. 

4  Which  occasioned  Chrysostom  to  say,  when  Eudoxia  the  empress  threatened  him, 
Go  tell  her,  '  Nil  nisi  peccatum  timeo,'  1  fear  nothing  but  sin. 


1G  PRECIOUS  REMEDIES  [2  COR.  II.  11. 

secretly,  insensibly,  eternally,  yet  the  bewitched  soul  cannot,  nor  will 
not,  cease  from  sin. 

When  the  physicians  told  Theotimus  that  except  he  did  abstain 
from  drunkenness  and  uncleauness,  &c,  he  would  lose  his  eyes,  his 
heart  was  so  bewitched  to  his  sins,  that  he  answers,  '  Then  farewell 
Bweet  light  -,'1  he  had  rather  lose  his  eyes  than  leave  his  sin.  So  a 
man  bewitched  with  sin  had  rather  lose  God,  Christ,  heaven,  and  his 
own  soul  than  part  with  his  sin.  Oh,  therefore,  for  ever  take  heed 
of  playing  or  nibbling  at  Satan's  golden  baits. 

The  second  device  of  Satan  to  draw  the  soul  to  sin  is, 
Device  (2).  By  'painting  sin  ivith  virtue's  colours.  Satan  knows 
that  if  he  should  present  sin  in  its  own  nature  and  dress,  the  soul 
would  rather  fly  from  it  than  yield  to  it ;  and  therefore  he  presents 
it  unto  us,  not  in  its  own  proper  colours,  but  painted  and  gilded 
over  with  the  name  and  show  of  virtue,  that  we  may  the  more  easily 
be  overcome  by  it,  and  take  the  more  pleasure  in  committing  of  it. 
Pride,  he  presents  to  the  soul  under  the  name  and  notion  of  neatness 
and  cleanliness,  and  covetousness  (which  the  apostle  condemns  for 
idolatry)  to  be  but  good  husbandry;2  and  drunkenness  to  be  good 
fellowship,  and  riotousness  under  the  name  and  notion  of  liberality, 
and  wantonness  as  a  trick  of  youth,  &c. 

Now,  the  remedies  against  this  device  of  Satan  are  these, 
Remedy  (1).  First,  consider,  That  sin  is  never  a  whit  the  less 
filthy,  vile,  and  abominable,  by  its  being  coloured  and  painted 
ivith  virtue's  colours.  A  poisonous  pill  is  never  a  whit  the  less 
poisonous  because  it  is  gilded  over  with  gold  ;  nor  a  wolf  is  never 
a  whit  the  less  a  wolf  because  he  hath  put  on  a  sheep's  skin  ;  nor  the 
devil  is  never  a  whit  the  less  a  devil  because  he  appears  sometimes  like 
an  angel  of  light.  So  neither  is  sin  any  whit  the  less  filthy  and 
abominable  by  its  being  painted  over  with  virtue's  colours. 
The  second  remedy  against  this  device  of  Satan  is, 
Remedy  (2).  That  the  more  sin  is  painted  forth  under  the  colour 
of  virtue,  the  more  dangerous  it  is  to  the  soids  of  men.  This  we 
see  evident  in  these  days,  by  those  very  many  souls  that  are  turned 
out  of  the  way  that  is  holy — and  in  which  their  souls  have  had  sweet 
and  glorious  communion  with  God — into  ways  of  highest  vanity  and 
folly,  by  Satan's  neat3  colouring  over  of  sin,  and  painting  forth  vice 
under  the  name  and  colour  of  virtue.  This  is  so  notoriously  known 
that  I  need  but  name  it.  The  most  dangerous  vermin  is  too  often 
to  be  found  under  the  fairest  and  sweetest  flowers,  and  the  fairest 
glove  is  often  drawn  upon  the  foulest  hand,  and  the  richest  robes  are 
often  put  upon  the  filthiest  bodies.  So  are  the  fairest  and  sweetest 
names  upon  the  greatest  and  the  most  horrible  vices  and  errors  that 
be  in  the  world.  Ah  !  that  we  had  not  too  many  sad  proofs  of  this 
amongst  us.4 

1  Vale  lumen  amicum.  —Ambrose.  '  '  Thrift,'  '  economy.' — G. 

3  Careful,  clever.— G. 

4  Turpiora  sunt  vitia  quaj  virtutum  specie  celantur. — Jer[ome.']  ....  Thus  the 
Illuminates  (as  they  called  themselves)  a  pestilent  sect  in  Arragon,  professing  and 
affecting  in  themselves  a  kind  of  angelic  purity,  fell  suddenly  to  the  justifying  of 
bestiality,  as  many  have  done  in  these  days. 


2  Cor.  II.  11.]  against  satan's  devices.  17 

The  third  remedy  against  this  device  of  Satan  is, 

Remedy  (3).  To  look  on  sin  with  that  eye  [with]  which  ivithin  a 
few  hours  we  shall  see  it.  Ah,  souls  !  when  you  shall  lie  upon  a  dying 
bed,  and  stand  before  a  judgment-seat,  sin  shall  be  unmasked,  and 
its  dress  and  robes  shall  then  be  taken  off,  and  then  it  shall  appear 
more  vile,  filthy,  and  terrible  than  hell  itself ;  then,  that  which  for- 
merly appeared  most  sweet  will  appear  most  bitter,  and  that  which 
appeared  most  beautiful  will  appear  most  ugly,  and  that  which  ap- 
peared most  delightful  will  then  appear  most  dreadful  to  the  soul.1 
Ah,  the  shame,  the  pain,  the  gall,  the  bitterness,  the  horror,  the  hell 
that  the  sight  of  sin,  when  its  dress  is  taken  off,  will  raise  in  poor 
souls  !  Sin  will  surely  prove  evil  and  bitter  to  the  soul  when  its  robes 
are  taken  off.  A  man  may  have  the  stone  who  feels  no  fit  of  it. 
Conscience  will  work  at  last,  though  for  the  present  one  may  feel  no 
fit  of  accusation.  Laban  shewed  himself  at  parting.  Sin  will  be 
bitterness  in  the  latter  end,  when  it  shall  appear  to  the  soul  in  its 
own  filthy  nature.  The  devil  deals  with  men  as  the  panther  doth 
with  beasts  ;  he  hides  his  deformed  head  till  his  sweet  scent  hath  drawn 
them  into  his  danger.  Till  we  have  sinned,  Satan  is  a  parasite  ;  when 
we  have  sinned,  he  is  a  tyrant.2  O  souls  !  the  day  is  at  hand  when 
the  devil  will  pull  off  the  paint  and  garnish  that  he  hath  put  upon 
sin,  and  present  that  monster,  sin,  in  such  a  monstrous  shape  to  your 
souls,  that  will  cause  your  thoughts  to  be  troubled,  your  countenance 
to  be  changed,  the  joints  of  your  loins  to  be  loosed,  and  your  knees 
to  be  dashed  one  against  another,  and  your  hearts  to  be  so  terrified, 
that  you  will  be  ready,  with  Ahithophel  and  Judas,3  to  strangle  and 
hang  your  bodies  on  earth,  and  your  souls  in  hell,  if  the  Lord  hath 
not  more  mercy  on  you  than  he  had  on  them.  Oh  !  therefore,  look 
upon  sin  now  as  you  must  look  upon  it  to  all  eternity,  and  as  God, 
conscience,  and  Satan  will  present  it  to  you  another  day  ! 

The  fourth  remedy  against  this  device  of  Satan  is, 

Remedy  (4.)  Seriously  to  consider,  That  even  those  very  sins  that 
Satan  paints,  and  puts  new  names  and  colours  upon,  cost  the  best 
blood,  the  noblest  blood,  the  life-blood,  the  heart-blood  of  the  Lord 
Jesus.*  That  Christ  should  come  from  the  eternal  bosom  of  his  Father 
to  a  region  of  sorrow  and  death  ;  that  God  should  be  manifested  in 
the  flesh,  the  Creator  made  a  creature  ;  that  he  that  was  clothed  witli 
glory  should  be  wrapped  with  rags  of  flesh  ;  he  that  filled  heaven 
and  earth  with  his  glory  should  be  cradled  in  a  manger  ;  that  the 
power  of  God  should  fly  from  weak  man,  the  God  of  Israel  into 
Egypt ;  that  the  God  of  the  law  should  be  subject  to  the  law,  the 
God  of  the  circumcision  circumcised,  the  God  that  made  the  heavens 

1  Tacitus  speaks  of  Tiberius,  that  when  his  sins  did  appear  in  their  own  colours,  they 
did  so  terrify  and  torment  him  that  he  protested  to  the  Senate  that  he  suffered  daily. 
[Ann.  vi.  51.— G.] 

8  Satan,  that  now  allures  thee  to  sin,  will  ere  long  make  thee  to  see  that  peccatum.  est 
deicidium,  sin  is  a  murdering  of  God  ;  and  this  will  make  thee  murder  two  at  once, 
thy  soul  and  thy  body,  unless  the  Lord  in  mercy  holds  thy  hands. 

a  2  Sam.  xvii.  23,  and  Mat.  xxvii.  5.— G. 

4  Una  guttula  plus  valet  quam  ccelum  et  terra. — Luther;  i.e.  one  little  drop  (speak- 
ing of  the  blood  of  Christ)  is  more  worth  than  heaven  and  earth. 

VOL.  I.  B 


18  PRECIOUS  REMEDIES  [2  COR.  II.  11. 

■working  at  Joseph's  homely  trade ;  that  he  that  binds  the  devils  in 
chains  should  be  tempted  ;  that  he,  whose  is  the  world,  and  the  fulness 
thereof,  should  hunger  and  thirst;  that  the  God  of  strength  should 
be  weary,  the  Judge  of  all  flesh  condemned,  the  God  of  life  put  to 
death  ;  that  he  that  is  one  with  his  Father  should  cry  out  of  misery, 
'  My  God,  my  God,  why  hast  thou  forsaken  me?'  Mat.  xxvii.  46  ;  that 
he  that  had  the  keys  of  hell  and  death  at  his  girdle  should  lie  im- 
prisoned in  the  sepulchre  of  another,  having  in  his  lifetime  nowhere 
to  lay  his  head,  nor  after  death  to  lay  his  body  ;  that  that  head, 
before  which  the  angels  do  cast  down  their  crowns,  should  be  crowned 
with  thorns,  and  those  eyes,  purer  than  the  sun,  put  out  by  the  dark- 
ness of  death  ;  those  ears,  which  hear  nothing  but  hallelujahs  of  saints 
and  angels,  to  hear  the  blasphemies  of  the  multitude  ;  that  face,  that 
was  fairer  than  the  sons  of  men,  to  be  spit  on  by  those  beastly  wretched 
Jews;  that  mouth  and  tongue,  that  spake  as  ueverman  spake,  accused 
for  blasphemy  ;  those  hands,  that  freely  swayed  the  sceptre  of  heaven, 
nailed  to  the  cross  ;  those  feet,  '  like  unto  fine  brass,'  nailed  to  the 
cross  for  man's  sins  ;  each  sense  annoyed:  his  feeling  or  touching,  with 
a  spear  and  nails  ;  his  smell,  with  stinking  flavour,  being  crucified 
about  Golgotha,  the  place  of  skulls  ;  his  taste,  with  vinegar  and  gall ; 
his  hearing,  with  reproaches,  and  sight  of  his  mother  and  disciples 
bemoaning  him ;  his  soul,  comfortless  and  forsaken  ;  and  all  this  for 
those  very  sins  that  Satan  paints  and  puts  fine  colours  upon !  Oh  ! 
how  should  the  consideration  of  this  stir  up  the  soul  against  it,  and 
work  the  soul  to  fly  from  it,  and  to  use  all  holy  means  whereby  sin 
may  be  subdued  and  destroyed  I1 

After  Julius  Caesar  was  murdered,  Antonius  brought  forth  his 
coat,  all  bloody  and  cut,  and  laid  it  before  the  people,  saying,  '  Look, 
here  you  have  the  emperor's  coat  thus  bloody  and  torn :'  whereupon 
the  people  were  presently  in  an  uproar,  and  cried  out  to  slay  those 
murderers  ;  and  they  took  their  tables  and  stools  that  were  in  the 
place,  and  set  them  on  fire,  and  run  to  the  houses  of  them  that  had 
slain  Cassar,  and  burnt  them.  So  that  when  we  consider  that  sin 
hath  slain  our  Lord  Jesus,  ah,  how  should  it  provoke  our  hearts  to  be 
revenged  on  sin,  that  hath  murdered  the  Lord  of  glory,  and  hath  done 
that  mischief  that  all  the  devils  in  hell  could  never  have  done  ?2 

It  was  good  counsel  one  gave,  'Never  let  go  out  of  your  minds  the 
thoughts  of  a  crucified  Christ.'3  Let  these  be  meat  and  drink  unto 
you  ;  let  them  be  your  sweetness  and  consolation,  your  honey  and 
your  desire,  your  reading  and  your  meditation,  your  life,  death,  and 
resurrection. 

The  third  device  that  Satan  hath  to  draw  the  soul  to  sin  is, 

1  One  of  the  Rabbins,  when  be  read  what  bitter  torments  the  Messias  should  suffer 
when  lie  came  into  the  world,  cried  out,  Yeniat  Messias  et  ego  non  videam,  i.e.  Let  the 
Messias  come,  but  let  not  me  see  him!  Dionysius  being  in  Egypt  at  the  time  of 
Christ's  suffering,  and  seeing  an  eclipse  of  the  sun,  and  knowing  it  to  be  contrary  to 
nature,  cried  out,  Aul  Deus  naturae  palitur,  ant  mundi  machina.  dissolvilur,  Either  the 
Cod  of  nature  suffers,  or  the  frame  of  the  world  will  be  dissolved. 

■  It  is  an  excellent  saying  of  Bernard,  Quanlo  pro  nobis  vilior,  tanto  nobis  charior. 
The  more  vile  Christ  made  himself  for  us,  the  more  dear  he  ought  to  be  to  us. 

3  Nolo  vivere  sine  vulnere  cum  te  video  vulneratum.  0  my  Cod !  as  long  as  I  see  thy 
wounds,  1  will  never  live  without  wounds,  said  L'onaventura. 


2  Cor.  II.  11.]  against  satan's  devices.  19 

Device  (3).  By  extenuating  and  lessening  of  sin.  Ah  !  saith  Satan, 
it  is  but  a  little  pride,  a  little  worldliness,  a  little  uncleanness,  a  little 
drunkenness,  &c.  As  Lot  said  of  Zoar,  '  It  is  but  a  little  one,  and  my 
soul  shall  live,'  Gen.  xix.  20.  Alas  I1  saith  Satan,  it  is  but  a  very  little 
sin  that  you  stick  so  at.  You  may  commit  it  without  any  danger  to 
your  soul.  It  is  but  a  little  one  ;  you  may  commit  it,  and  yet  your 
soul  shall  live. 

Now  the  remedies  against  this  device  of  Satan  are  these  : 
Remedy  (1).  First,  Solemnly  consider,  That  those  sins  which  we 
are  apt  to  account  small,  have  brought  upon  men  the  greatest  wrath 
of  God,  as  the  eating  of  an  apple,  gathering  a  few  sticks  on  the 
Sabbath  day,  and  touching  of  the  ark.  Oh  !  the  dreadful  wrath  that 
these  sins  brought  down  upon  the  heads  and  hearts  of  men!2  The 
least  sin  is  contrary  to  the  law  of  God,  the  nature  of  God,  the  being  of 
God,  and  the  glory  of  God  ;  and  therefore  it  is  often  punished  severely 
by  God ;  and  do  not  we  see  daily  the  vengeance  of  the  Almighty 
falling  upon  the  bodies,  names,  states,  families,  and  souls  of  men, 
for  those  sins  that  are  but  little  ones  in  their  eyes  ?  Surely  if  we 
are  not  utterly  left  of  God,  and  blinded  by  Satan,  we  cannot  but  see  it. 
Oh  !  therefore,  when  Satan  says  it  is  but  a  little  one,  do  thou  say,  Oh  ! 
but  those  sins  that  thou  callest  little,  are  such  as  will  cause  God  to 
rain  hell  out  of  heaven  upon  sinners  as  he  did  upon  the  Sodomites. 
The  second  remedy  against  this  device  of  Satan  is, 
Remedy  (2).  Seriously  to  consider,  That  the  giving  way  to  a  less 
sin  makes  way  for  the  committing  of  a  greater.  He  that,  to  avoid  a 
greater  sin,  will  yield  to  a  lesser,  ten  thousand  to  one  but  God  in  jus- 
tice will  leave  that  soul  to  fall  into  a  greater.  If  we  commit  one  sin  to 
avoid  another,  it  is  just  we  should  avoid  neither,  we  having  not  law 
nor  power  in  our  own  hands  to  keep  off  sin  as  we  please  ;  and  we,  by 
yielding  to  the  lesser,  do  tempt  the  tempter  to  tempt  us  to  the  greater. 
Sin  is  of  an  encroaching  nature  ;  it  creeps  on  the  soul  bj7  degrees, 
step  by  step,  till  it  hath  the  soul  to  the  very  height  of  sin.3  David 
gives  way  to  his  wandering  eye,  and  this  led  him  to  those  foul  sins  that 
caused  God  to  break  his  bones,  and  to  turn  his  day  into  night,  and  to 
leave  his  soul  in  great  darkness.  Jacob  and  Peter,  and  other  saints, 
have  found  this  true  by  woful  experience,  that  the  yielding  to  a  lesser 
sin  hath  been  the  ushering  in  of  a  greater.  The  little  thief  will  open 
the  door,  and  make  way  for  the  greater,  and  the  little  wedge  knocked 
in  will  make  way  for  the  greater.  Satan  will  first  draw  thee  to  sit 
with  the  drunkard,  and  then  to  sip  with  the  drunkard,  and  then  at  last 
to  be  drunk  with  the  drunkard.  He  will  first  draw  thee  to  be  unclean 
in  thy  thoughts,  and  then  to  be  unclean  in  thy  looks,  and  then  to 

1  Brooks  uses  '  alas'  much  as  Sibbes  does.     Cf.  glossary  to  each,  sub  voce. — G. 

2  Draco,  the  rigid  lawgiver,  being  asked  why,  when  sins  were  not  equal,  he  appointed 
death  to  all,  answered,  he  knew  that  all  sins  were  not  equal,  but  he  knew  the  least 
deserved  death.  So,  though  the  sins  of  men  be  not  all  equal,  yet  the  least  of  them 
deserves  eternal  death. 

3  Ps.  cxxxvii.  9,  'Happy  shall  be  be  that  taketh  and  dasheth  thy  little  ones  against 
the  stones.'  Hugo's  gloss  is  pious,  &c,  Sit  nihil  in  te  Babylonicum,  Let  there  be  nothing 
in  thee  of  Babylon  ;  not  only  the  grown  men,  but  the  little  ones  must  be  dashed 
against  the  stones  ;  not  only  great  sins,  but  little  sins  must  be  killed,  or  they  will  kill 
the  soul  for  ever. 


•20  precious  remedies  [2  Cor.  II.  11. 

be  andean  iu  thy  words,  and  at  last  to  be  unclean  in  thy  practices. 
He  will  first  draw  thee  to  look  upon  the  golden  wedge,  and  then  to 
like  the  golden  wedge,  and  then  to  handle  the  golden  wedge,  and 
then  at  last  by  wicked  ways  to  gain  the  golden  wedge,  though  thou 
runnest  the  hazard  of  losing  God  and  thy  soul  for  ever ;  as  you  may 
see  in  Gehazi,  Achan,  and  Judas,  and  many  in  these  our  days.  Sin 
is  never  at  a  stand:  Ps.  i.  1,  first  ungodly,  then  sinners,  then  scorners. 
Here  they  go  on  from  sin  to  sin,  till  they  come  to  the  top  of  sin,  viz. 
to  sit  in  the  seat  of  scorners,  or  as  it  is  in  the  Septuagint — r&v  aoi/aZ>v 
— to  affect  the  honour  of  the  chair  of  pestilence. 

Austin,  writing  upon  John,  tells  a  story  of  a  certain  man,  that  was 
of  an  opinion  that  the  devil  did  make  the  fly,  and  not  God.  Saitli 
one  to  him,  If  the  devil  made  flies,  then  the  devil  made  wrorms,  and  God 
did  not  make  them,  for  they  are  living  creatures  as  well  as  flies.  True, 
said  he,  the  devil  did  make  worms.  But,  said  the  other,  if  the  devil 
did  make  worms,  then  he  made  birds,  beasts,  and  man.  He  granted 
all.  Thus,  saitli  Austin,  by  denying  God  in  the  fly,  became  to  deny 
God  in  man,  and  to  deny  the  whole  creation.1 

By  all  this  we  see,  that  the  yielding  to  lesser  sins,  draws  the  soul  to 
the  committing  of  greater.2  Ah !  how  many  in  these  days  have 
fallen,  first  to  have  low  thoughts  of  Scripture  and  ordinances,  and 
then  to  slight  Scripture  and  ordinances,  and  then  to  make  a  nose  of  wax 
of  Scripture  and  ordinances,  and  then  to  cast  off  Scripture  and  ordi- 
nances, and  then  at  last  to  advance  and  lift  up  themselves,  and  their 
Christ-dishonouring  and  soul-damning  opinions,  above  Scripture  and 
ordinances.  Sin  gains  upon  man's  soul  by  insensible  degrees  :  Eccles. 
x.  13, '  The  beginning  of  the  words  of  his  mouth  is  foolishness,  and  the 
end  of  his  talking  is  mischievous  madness/  Corruption  in  the  heart, 
when  it  breaks  forth,  is  like  a  breach  in  the  sea,  which  begins  in  a  nar- 
row passage,  till  it  eat  through,  and  cast  down  all  before  it.  The 
debates  of  the  soul  are  quick,  and  soon  ended,  and  that  may  be  done  in 
a  moment  that  may  undo  a  man  for  ever.  When  "a  man  hath  begun  to 
sin,  he  knows  not  where,  or  when,  or  how  he  shall  make  a  stop  of  sin. 
Usually  the  soul  goes  on  from  evil  to  evil,  from  folly  to  folly,  till  it  be 
ripe  for  eternal  misery.  Men  usually  grow  from  being  naught  to  be 
very  naught,  and  from  very  naught  to  be  stark  naught,  and  then  God 
sets  them  at  nought  for  ever. 

Remedy  (3).  The  third  remedy  against  this  third  device  that  Satan 
hath  to  draw  the  soul  to  sin,  is  solemnly  to  consider,  That  it  is  sad  to 
stand  with  God  j \>r  a  trifle.  Dives  would  not  give  a  crumb,  therefore  he 
.should  not  receive  a  drop,  Luke  xvi.  21.     It  is  the  greatest  folly  in  the 

1  An  Italian  having  found  his  enemy  at  advantage,  promised  him  if  he  would  deny 
his  faith,  he  would  save  his  life.  He,  to  save  his  life,  denied  his  faith,  which  having 
done,  he  stahhed  him,  rejoicing  that  by  this  he  had  at  one  time  taken  revenge  both  on 
body  and  soul.     [See  authorities,  Note  3,  page  14 G.] 

2  A  young  man  being  long  tempted  to  kill  his  father,  or  lie  with  his  mother,  or  be 
drunk,  he  thought  to  yield  to  the  lessor,  viz.  to  be  drunk,  that  he  might  be  rid  of  the 
greater;  but  when  he  was  drunk,  he  did  both  kill  his  father,  and  lie  with  his  mother. 
[Related,  with  authorities,  in  Wanley's  Wonders,  book  iv.  c  xviii. :  probably  a  refer- 
ence to  an  extraordinary  legend  of  Judas  Iscariot.  See  Mrs  Jameson's  Sacred  and 
Legendary  Art,  vol.  i.  p.  235  ;  but  cf.  the  old  Italian  legend  of  St  John  Chrysostom, 
ibid.,  p.  317.— G.] 


2  Cor.  II.  11.]  against  satan's  devices.  2  J 

world  to  adventure  the  going  to  hell  for  a  small  matter.  '  I  tasted 
but  a  little  honey,'  said  Jonathan,  '  and  I  must  die,'  1  Sam.  xiv.  29. 
It  is  a  most  unkind  and  unfaithful  thing  to  break  with  God  for  a 
little.  Little  sins  carry  with  them  but  little  temptations  to  sin,  and 
then  a  man  shews  most  viciousness  and  unkindness,  when  he  sins  on 
a  little  temptation.  It  is  devilish  to  sin  without  a  temptation  ;  it  is 
little  less  than  devilish  to  sin  on  a  little  occasion.  The  less  the  temp- 
tation is  to  sin,  the  greater  is  that  sin.1  Saul's  sin  in  not  staying  for 
Samuel,  was  not  so  much  in  the  matter,  but  it  was  much  in  the  malice 
of  it ;  for  though  Samuel  had  not  come  at  all,  yet  Saul  should  not 
have  offered  sacrifice ;  but  this  cost  him  dear,  his  soul  and  kingdom. 

Tt  is  the  greatest  unkindness  that  can  be  shewed  to  a  friend,  to 
adventure  the  complaining,  bleeding,  and  grieving  of  his  soul  upon  a 
light  and  a  slight  occasion.  So  it  is  the  greatest  unkindness  that  can 
be  shewed  to  God,  Christ,  and  the  Spirit,  for  a  soul  to  put  God  upon 
complaining,  Christ  upon  bleediug,  and  the  Spirit  upon  grieving,  by 
yielding  to  little  sins.  Therefore,  when  Satan  says  it  is  but  a  little  one, 
do  thou  answer,  that  often  times  there  is  the  greatest  unkindness 
shewed  to  God's  glorious  majesty,  in  the  acting  of  the  least  folly,  and 
therefore  thou  wilt  not  displease  thy  best  and  greatest  friend,  by  yield- 
ing to  his  greatest  enemy. 

Remedy  (-i).  The  fourth  remedy  against  this  device  of  Satan,  is  seri- 
ously to  consider,  That  there  is  great  danger,  yea,  many  times  most 
danger,  in  the  smallest  sins.  'A  little  leaven  leaveneth  the  whole  lump,' 
1  Cor.  v.  6.  If  the  serpent  wind  in  his  head,  he  will  draw  in  his  whole 
body  after.  Greater  sins  do  sooner  startle  the  soul,  and  awaken  and 
rouse  up  the  soul  to  repentance,  than  lesser  sins  do.  Little  sins  often 
slide  into  the  soul,  and  breed,  and  work  secretly  and  undiscernibly 
in  the  soul,  till  they  come  to  be  so  strong,  as  to  trample  upon  the  soul, 
and  to  cut  the  throat  of  the  soul.  There  is  oftentimes  greatest  danger 
to  our  bodies  in  the  least  diseases  that  hang  upon  us,  because  we  are 
apt  to  make  light  of  them,  and  to  neglect  the  timely  use  of  means 
for  removing  of  them,  till  they  are  grown  so  strong  that  they  prove 
mortal  to  us.  So  there  is  most  danger  often  in  the  least  sins.  We  are 
apt  to  take  no  notice  of  them,  and  to  neglect  those  heavenly  helps 
whereby  they  should  be  weakened  and  destroyed,  till  they  are  grown 
to  that  strength,  that  we  are  ready  to  cry  out,  the  medicine  is  too 
weak  for  the  disease  ;  I  would  pray,  and  I  would  hear,  but  I  am  afraid 
that  sin  is  grown  up  by  degrees  to  such  a  head,  that  I  shall  never  be 
able  to  prevail  over  it  ;  but  as  I  have  begun  to  fall,  so  I  shall  utterly 
fall  before  it,  and  at  last  perish  in  it,  unless  the  power  and  free  grace 
of  Christ  doth  act  gloriously,  beyond  my  present  apprehension  and 
expectation.  The  viper  is  killed  by  the  little  young  ones  that  are 
nourished  and  cherished  in  her  belly  :  so  are  many  men  eternally  killed 
and  betrayed  by  the  little  sins,  as  they  call  them,  that  are  nourished 
in  their  own  bosoms.2 

1  It  was  a  vexation  to  king  Lysimachus,  that  his  staying  to  drink  one  small  draught 
of  water  lost  him  his  kingdom  ;  and  so  it  will  eternally  vex  some  souls  at  last  that  for 
one  little  sin,  compared  with  great  transgressions,  they  have  lost  God,  heaven,  and 
their  souls  for  ever.     [Plutarch.    Cf.  Bp.  Jeremy  Taylor,  vol.  iv.  p.  457  (Eden).— G.] 

2  Caesar   was  stabbed   with   bodkins.     Pope  Adrian   was   choked   with  a  gnat.     A 


22  PRECIOUS  REMEDIES  [2  COR.  II.   11. 

I  know  not,  saith  one,  whether  the  maintenance  of  the  least  sin  be 
nol  worse  than  the  commission  of  the  greatest:  for  this  may  be  of 
frailty,  that  argues  obstinacy.  A  little  hole  in  the  ship  sinks  it;  a 
small  breach  in  a  sea-bank  carries  away  all  before  it;  a  little  stab  at 
the  heart  kills  a  man;  and  a  little  sin,  without  a  great  deal  of  mercy, 
will  damn  a  man.1 

Remedy  (5).  The  fifth  remedy  against  this  device  of  Satan,  is  solemnly 
to  consider,  That  other  saints  have  chosen  to  suffer  the  worst  of  tor- 
ments, rather  than  they  would  commit  the  least  sin,  i.  e.  such  as  the 
world  accounts.*  So  as  you  may  see  in  Daniel  and  his  companions, 
that  would  rather  choose  to  burn,  and  be  cast  to  the  lions,  than  they 
would  bow  to  the  image  that  Nebuchadnezzar  had  set  up.  When  this 
pecchaddillo,*  in  the  world's  account,  and  a  hot  fiery  furnace  stood  in 
competition,  that  they  must  either  fall  into  sin,  or  be  cast  into  the 
fiery  furnace,  such  was  their  tenderness  of  the  honour  and  glory  of 
God,  and  their  hatred  and  indignation  against  sin,  that  they  would 
rather  burn  than  sin ;  they  knew  that  it  was  far  better  to  burn  for 
their  not  sinning,  than  that  God  and  conscience  should  raise  a  hell, 
a  fire  in  their  bosoms  for  sin.4 

I  have  read  of  that  noble  servant  of  God,  Marcus  Arethusius,  minis- 
ter of  a  church  in  the  time  of  Constantine,  who  in  Constantine's  time 
had  been  the  cause  of  overthrowing  an  idol's  temple  ;  afterwards,  when 
Julian  came  to  be  emperor,  he  would  force  the  people  of  that  place 
to  build  it  up  again.  They  were  ready  to  do  it,  but  he  refused ;  where- 
upon those  that  were  his  own  people,  to  whom  he  preached,  took  him, 
and  stripped  him  of  all  his  clothes,  and  abused  his  naked  body,  and 
gave  it  up  to  the  children,  to  lance  it  with  their  pen-knives,  and  then 
caused  him  to  be  put  in  a  basket,  and  anointed  his  naked  body  with 
honey,  and  set  him  in  the  sun,  to  be  stung  with  wasps.  And  all  this 
cruelty  they  shewed,  because  he  would  not  do  anything  towards  the 
building  up  of  this  idol  temple ;  nay,  they  came  to  this,  that  if  he  would 
do  but  the  least  towards  it,  if  he  would  give  but  a  halfpenny  to  it, 
they  would  save  him.  But  he  refused  all,  though  the  giving  of  a  half- 
penny might  have  saved  his  live  ;  and  in  doing  this,  he  did  but  live 
up  to  that  principle  that  most  Christians  talk  of,  and  all  profess,  but 
few  come  up  to,  viz.,  that  we  must  choose  rather  to  suffer  the  worst  of 
torments  that  men  and  devils  can  invent  and  inflict,  than  to  commit 
the  least  sin,  whereby  God  should  be  dishonoured,  our  consciences 
wounded,  religion  reproached,  and  our  own  souls  endangered. 

Bcorpion  is  little,  yet  able  to  sting  a  lion  to  death.  A  mouse  is  but  little,  yet  killeth  an 
elephant,  if  he  gets  up  into  his  trunk.  The  leopard  being  great,  is  poisoned  with  a 
head  of  garlic.  The  smallest  errors  prove  many  times  most  dangerous.  It  is  as  much 
treason  to  coin  pence  as  bigger  pieces. 

1  One  little  miscarriage  doth,  in  the  eyes  of  the  world,  overshadow  all  a  Christian's 
graces,  as  one  cloud  doth  sometimes  overshadow  the  whole  body  of  the  sun. 

*  Melius  mori  fame  quam  Idolothytis  vesci. — Augustine.  It  is  better  to  die  with 
hunger,  than  to  eat  that  which  is  offered  to  idols. 

3  The  early  form  of  this  at  the  time  scarcely  accepted  word  ;  but  the  context  indi- 
cates a  reminiscence  of  Boskierus  (Codrus  Evang.),  who  uses  the  term  and  preceding 
illustrations  of  little  sins. — G. 

*  Many  heathens  would  rather  die  than  cozen  or  cheat  one  another,  so  faithful  were 
they  one  to  another.  Will  not  these  rise  in  judgment  against  many  professors  in  theso 
days,  who  mako  nothing  of  over- reaching  one  another? 


2  Cor.  II.  11.]  against  satan's  devices.  23 

Remedy  (6).  The  sixth  remedy  against  this  device  of  Satan  is,  seri- 
ously to  consider,  That  the  soul  is  never  able  to  stand  under  the 
guilt  and  weight  of  the  least  sin,  when  God  shall  set  it  home  upon 
the  soul.  The  least  sin  will  press  and  sink  the  stoutest  sinner  as  low 
as  hell,  when  God  shall  open  the  eyes  of  a  sinner,  and  make  him  see 
the  horrid  filthiness  and  abominable  vileness  that  is  in  sin.  What  so 
little,  base,  and  vile  creatures  as  lice  or  gnats,  and  yet  by  these  little 
poor  creatures,  God  so  plagued  stout-hearted  Pharaoh,  and  all  Egypt, 
that,  fainting  under  it,  they  were  forced  to  cry  out,  '  This  is  the  finger 
of  God,'  Exod.  viii.  16,  x.  19.  When  little  creatures,  yea,  the  least 
creatures,  shall  be  armed  with  a  power  from  God,  they  shall  press  and 
sink  down  the  greatest,  proudest,  and  stoutest  tyrants  that  breathe.1 
So  when  God  shall  cast  a  sword  into  the  hand  of  a  little  sin,  and  arm  it 
against  the  soul,  the  soul  will  faint  and  fall  under  it.  Some,  who  have 
but  projected  adultery,  without  any  actual  acting  it ;  and  others,  hav- 
ing found  a  trifle,  and  made  no  conscience  to  restore  it,  knowing,  by 
the  light  of  natural  conscience,  that  they  did  not  do  as  they  would 
be  done  by  ;  and  others,  that  have  had  some  unworthy  thought  of  God, 
have  been  so  frightened,  amazed,  and  terrified  for  those  sins,  which  are 
small  in  men's  account,  that  they  have  wished  they  had  never  been  ; 
that  they  could  take  no  delight  in  any  earthly  comfort,  that  they  have 
been  put  to  their  wits'  end,  ready  to  make  away  themselves,  wishing 
themselves  annihilated.2 

Mr  Perkins  mentions  a  good  man,  but  very  poor,  who,  being  ready 
to  starve,  stole  a  lamb,  and  being  about  to  eat  it  with  his  poor  chil- 
dren, and  as  his  manner  was  afore  meat,  to  crave  a  blessing,  durst  not 
do  it,  but  fell  into  a  great  perplexity  of  conscience,  and  acknow- 
ledged his  fault  to  the  owner,  promising  payment  if  ever  he  should  be 
able. 

Remedy  (7).  The  seventh  remedy  against  this  device  is,  solemnly 
to  consider,  That  there  is  more  evil  in  the  least  sin  than  in  the 
greatest  affliction;  and  this  appears  as  clear  as  the  sun,  by  the  severe 
dealing  of  God  the  Father  with  his  beloved  Son,  who  let  all  the 
vials  of  his  fiercest  wrath  upon  him,  and  that  for  the  least  sin  as  well 
as  for  the  greatest. 

'  The  wages  of  sin  is  death,'  Rom.  vi.  23  ;  of  sin  indefinitely,  whether 
great  or  small.3  Oh  !  how  should  this  make  us  tremble,  as  much  at 
the  least  spark  of  lust  as  at  hell  itself;  considering  that  God  the 
Father  would  not  spare  his  bosom  Son,  no,  not  for  the  least  sin,  but 
would  make  him  drink  the  dregs  of  his  wrath  ! 

And  so  much  for  the  remedies  that  may  fence  and  preserve  our 
souls  from  being  drawn  to  sin  by  this  third  device  of  Satan. 

1  The  tyrant  Maximinus,  who  had  set  forth  his  proclamation  engraven  in  brass  for 
the  utter  abolishing  of  Christ  and  his  religion,  was  eaten  of  lice.  [Maximinus  II., 
Euseb.  H.  E.  viii.  14,  ix.  2,  &c— G.] 

2  Una  guttula  malce  conscientice  totum  mare  mundani  gaudii  absorbet ;  i.  e.  one  drop  of 
an  evil  conscience  swallows  up  the  whole  sea  of  worldly  joy.  How  great  a  pain,  not  to 
be  borne,  comes  from  the  prick  of  this  small  thorn,  said  one. 

3  Death  is  the  heir  of  the  least  sin  ;  the  best  wages  that  the  least  sin  gives  his 
soldiers  is,  death  of  all  sorts.  In  a  strict  sense,  there  is  no  sin  little,  because  no  little 
God  to  sin  against. 


24  PRECIOUS  REMEDIES  [2  COR.  II.  1 1. 

The  fourth  device  that  Satan  hath  to  draw  the  soul  to  sin  is, 
Device  (4).  By  presenting  to  the  soul  the  best  men's  sins,  and  by 
hiding  from  the  soul  their  virtues;  by  shewing  the  sold  their  sins, 
mil/  by  hiding  from  the  soul  their  sorrcnus  and  repentance  :  as  by 
setting  hefore  the  soul  the  adultery  of  David,  the  pride  of  Hezekiah, 
the  impatience  of  Job,  the  drunkenness  of  Noah,  the  blasphemy  of 
Peter,  &&,  and  by  hiding  from  the  soul  the  tears,  the  sighs,  the 
groans,  the  meltings,  the  humblings,  aud  repentings  of  these  precious 
souls. 

Now,  the  remedies  against  this  device  of  the  devil  are  these : 
Remedy  (1).  The  first  remedy  against  this  device  of  (Satan  is,  seri- 
ously to  consider,  That  the  Spirit  of  the  Lord  hath  been  as  careful  to 
note  the  saints'  rising  by  repentance  out  of  sin,  as  he  hath  to  note 
their  falling  into  sins.  David  falls  fearfully,  but  by  repentance  he 
rises  sweetly  :  '  Blot  out  my  transgressions,  wash  me  throughly  from 
my  iniquity,  cleanse  me  from  my  sin  ;  for  I  acknowledge  my  trans- 
gressions, and  my  sin  is  ever  before  me.  Purge  me  with  hyssop, 
and  I  shall  be  clean  ;  wash  me,  and  I  shall  be  whiter  than  snow; 
deliver  me  from  blood-guiltiness,  O  God,  thou  God  of  my  salvation.' 
It  is  true,  Hezekiah's  heart  was  lifted  up  under  the  abundance  of 
mercy  that  God  had  cast  in  upon  him;  and  it  is  as  true  that  Heze- 
kiah humbled  himself  for  the  pride  of  his  heart,  so  that  the  wrath 
of  the  Lord  came  not  upon  him,  nor  upon  Jerusalem,  in  the  days  of 
Hezekiah.  It  is  true,  Job  curses  the  day  of  his  birth,  and  it  is  as  true 
that  he  rises  by  repentance  :  '  Behold,  I  am  vile,'  saith  he  ;  '  what  shall 
I  answer  thee?  I  will  lay  my  hand  upon  my  mouth.  Once  have  I 
spoken,  but  I  will  not  answer;  yea  twice,  but  I  will  proceed  no  further. 
I  have  heard  of  thee  by  the  hearing  of  the  ear,  but  now  mine  eye 
seeth  thee  ;  wherefore,  I  abhor  myself,  and  repent  in  dust  and  ashes,' 
Job  xl.  4,  5";  xlii.  5,  6.1  Peter  falls  dreadfully,  but  rises  by  repent- 
ance sweetly  ;  a  look  of  love  from  Christ  melts  hirn  into  tears.  He 
knew  that  repentance  was  the  key  to  the  kingdom  of  grace.  As  once 
his  faith  was  so  great  that  he  leapt,  as  it  were,  into  a  sea  of  waters  to 
come  to  Christ;  so  now  his  repentance  was  so  great  that  he  leapt,  as 
it  were,  into  a  sea  of  tears,  for  that  he  had  gone  from  Christ.  Some 
say  that,  after  his  sad  fall,  he  was  ever  and  anon  weeping,  and  that 
his  face  was  even  furrowed  with  continual  tears.  He  had  no  sooner 
took  in  poison  but  he  vomited  it  up  again,  ere  it  got  to  the  vitals  ; 
he  had  no  sooner  handled  this  serpent  but  he  turned  it  into  a  rod  to 
scourge  his  soul  with  remorse  for  sinning  against  such  clear  light,  and 
strong  love,  and  sweet  discoveries  of  the  heart  of  Christ  to  him.2 

Clement  notes  that  Peter  so  repented,  that  all  his  life  after,  every 
night  when  he  heard  the  cock  crow,  he  would  fall  upon  his  knees, 
and,  weeping  bitterly,  would  beg  pardon  of  his  sin.3  Ah,  souls,  you 
can  easily  sin  as  the  saints,   but  can  }rou   repent  with  the  saints  ! 

1  Tertullian  saith  that  he  was  (nulli  rei  natus  nisi  pixnitenticc)  born  for  no  other  pur- 
pose but  to  repent. 

8  Luther  confesses  that,  before  his  conversion,  ho  met  not  with  a  more  displeasing 
word  in  all  his  study  of  divinity  than  repent,  but  afterward  he  took  delight  in  the  word. 
J'cenitens  de peccato  dolet  el  de  dolore  gaudet,  to  sorrow  for  his  Bin,  and  then  to  rejoice  in 
his  sorrow.  3  In  Hefele's  l'atrum  Apostolicarum  Opera.     1847.     8vo. — U. 


2  Cor.  II.  11.]  against  satan's  devices.  25 

Many  can  sin  with  David  and  Peter,  that  cannot  repent  with  David 
and  Peter,  and  so  must  perish  for  ever. 

Theodosius  the  emperor,  pressing  that  he  might  receive  the  Lord's 
supper,  excuses  his  own  foul  fact  by  David's  doing  the  like  ;  to  which 
Ambrose  replies,  Thou  hast  followed  David  transgressing,  follow  David 
repenting,  and  then  think  thou  of  the  table  of  the  Lord.1 

Remedy  (2).  The  second  remedy  against  this  device  of  Satan  is, 
solemnly  to  consider,  That  these  saints  did  not  make  a  trade  of  sin. 
They  fell  once  or  twice,  and  rose  by  repentance,  that  they  might  keep 
the  closer  to  Christ  for  ever.  They  fell  accidentally,  occasionally,  and 
with  much  reluctancy  ;2  and  thou  sinnest  presumptuously,  obstinately, 
readily,  delightfully,  and  customarily.  Thou  hast,  by  thy  making  a 
trade  of  sin,  contracted  upon  thy  soul  a  kind  of  cursed  necessity  of  sin- 
ning, that  thou  canst  as  well  cease  to  be,  or  cease  to  live,  as  thou 
canst  cease  to  sin.  Sin  is,  by  custom,  become  as  another  nature  to 
thee,  which  thou  canst  not,  which  thou  wilt  not  lay  aside,  though  thou 
knowest  that  if  thou  dost  not  lay  sin  aside,  God  will  lay  thy  soul 
aside  for  ever  ;  though  thou  knowest  that  if  sin  and  thy  soul  do  not 
part,  Christ  and  thy  soul  can  never  meet.  If  thou  wilt  make  a  trade 
of  sin,  and  cry  out,  Did  not  David  sin  thus,  and  Noah  sin  thus,  and 
Peter  sin  thus  1  &c.  No  ;  their  hearts  turned  aside  to  folly  one  day, 
but  thy  heart  turns  aside  to  folly  every  day,  2  Peter  ii.  14,  Prov.  iv. 
16  ;  and  when  they  were  fallen,  they  rise  by  repentance,  and  by  the 
actings  of  faith  upon  a  crucified  Christ;3  but  thou  fallest,  and  hast  no 
strength  nor  will  to  rise,  but  wallowest  in  sin,  and  wilt  eternally  die  in 
thy  sins,  unless  the  Lord  be  the  more  merciful  to  thy  soul.  Dost  thou 
think,  0  soul  !  this  is  good  reasoning?  Such  a  one  tasted  poison  but 
once,   and  yet  narrowly  escaped  ;  but  I  do  daily  drink  poison,  yet 

1  shall  escape.  Yet  such  is  the  mad  reasoning  of  vain  souls.  David 
and  Peter,  &c,  sinned  once  foully  and  fearfully  ;  they  tasted  poison 
but  once,  and  were  sick  to  death  ;  but  I  taste  it  daily,  and  yet  shall 
not  taste  of  eternal  death.  Remember,  O  souls  !  that  the  day  is  at 
hand  when  self-flatterers  will  be  found  self-deceivers,  yea,  self-mur- 
derers. 

Remedy  (3).  The  third  remedy  against  this  device  of  Satan  is,  seri- 
ously to  consider,  That  though  God  doth  not,  nor  never  will,  dis- 
inherit his  people  for  their  sins,  yet  he  hath  severely  punished  his 
people  for  their  sins.  David  sins,  and  God  breaks  his  bones  for  his 
sin  :  '  Make  me  to  hear  joy  and  gladness,  that  the  bones  which  thou 
hast  broken  may  rejoice,'  Ps.  Ii.  8.  '  And  because  thou  hast  done  this,, 
the  sword  shall  never  depart  from  thy  house,  to  the  day  of  thy  death,' 

2  Sam.  xii.  10.  Though  God  will  not  utterly  take  from  them  his 
loving-kindness,  nor  suffer  his  faithfulness  to  fail,  nor  break  his  cove- 
nant, nor  alter  the  thing  that  is  gone  out  of  his  mouth,  yet  will  he 
1  visit  their  transgression  with  a  rod,  and  their  iniquity  with  stripes/ 

1  Theodoret,  Hist.  1.  iv.  c.  xvii. 

2  The  saints  cannot  sin  (voluntate  plena  sed  semi-plena)  with  a  whole  will,  hut,  as  it 
were,  with  a  half  will,  an  unwilling  willingness  ;  not  with  a  full  consent,  but  with  a 
dissenting  consent. 

3  Though  sin  do  (habitare)  dwell  in  the  regenerate,  as  Austin  notes,  yet  it  doth  not 
(regnare)  reign  over  the  regenerate ;  they  rise  by  repentance. 


26  PRECIOUS  REMEDIES  [2  COR.  II.  11. 

Ps.  lxxxix.  30,  35.  The  Scripture  abounds  with  instances  of  this 
kind.  This  is  so  known  a  truth  among  all  that  know  anything  of 
truth,  that  to  cite  more  scriptures  to  prove  it  would  be  to  light  a  candle 
to  see  the  sun  at  noon.1 

The  Jews  have  a  proverb,  '  That  there  is  no  punishment  comes 
upon  Israel  in  which  there  is  not  one  ounce  of  the  golden  calf;'  mean- 
ing that  that  was  so  great  a  sin,  as  that  in  every  plague  God  remem- 
bered it  ;  that  it  had  an  influence  into  every  trouble  that  befell  them. 
Every  man's  heart  may  say  to  him  in  his  sufferings,  as  the  heart  of 
Apollodorus  in  the  kettle,  '  I  have  been  the  cause  of  this.'2  God  is 
most  angry  when  he  shews  no  anger.  God  keep  me  from  this  mercy  ; 
this  kind  of  mercy  is  worse  than  all  other  kind  of  misery. 

One  writing  to  a  dead  friend  hath  this  expression  :  '  I  account  it 
a  part  of  unhappiness  not  to  know  adversity  ;  I  judge  you  to  be 
miserable,  because  you  have  not  been  miserable/3  It  is  mercy  that  our 
affliction  is  not  execution,  but  a  correction.4  He  that  hath  deserved 
hanging,  may  be  glad  if  he  scape  with  a  whipping.  God's  corrections 
are  our  instructions,  his  lashes  our  lessons,  his  scourges  our  school- 
masters, his  chastisements  our  advertisements  ;5  and  to  note  this,  both 
the  Hebrews  and  the  Greeks  express  chastening  and  teaching  by  one 
and  the  same  word  (Musar,  Paideia6),  because  the  latter  is  the  true 
end  of  the  former,  according  to  that  in  the  proverb,  '  Smart  makes 
wit,  and  vexation  gives  understanding.'  Whence  Luther  fitly  calls 
affliction  '  The  Christian  man's  divinity.'7  So  saith  Job  (chap,  xxxiii. 
14-19),  '  God  speaketh  once,  yea,  twice,  yet  man  perceiveth  it  not. 
In  a  dream,  in  a  vision  of  the  night,  when  deep  sleep  falleth  upon 
men,  in  slumberings  upon  the  bed  ;  then  he  openeth  the  ears  of  men, 
and  sealeth  their  instruction,  that  he  may  withdraw  man  from  his  pur- 
pose, and  hide  pride  from  man.  He  keepeth  back  his  soul  from  the 
pit,  and  his  life  from  perishing  by  the  sword.'  When  Satan  shall  tell 
thee  of  other  men's  sins  to  draw  thee  to  sin,  do  thou  then  think  of 
the  same  men's  sufferings  to  keep  thee  from  sin.  Lay  thy  hand  upon 
thy  heart,  and  say,  O  my  soul !  if  thou  sinnest  with  David,  thou 
must  suffer  with  David,  &c. 

Remedy  (4).  The  fourth  remedy  against  this  device  of  Satan  is, 
solemnly  to  consider,  That  there  are  but  two  main  ends  of  God's 
recording  of  the  falls  of  his  saints. 

And  the  one  is,  to  keep  those  from  fainting,  sinking,  and  despair, 
under  the  burden  of  their  sins,  who  fall  through  weakness  and  infirmity. 

And  the  other  is,  that  their  falls  may  be  as  landmarks  to  warn  others 
that  stand,  to  take  heed  lest  they  fall.     It  never  entered  into  the 

1  Josephu8  reports  that,  not  long  after  the  Jews  had  crucified  Christ  on  the  cross,  so 
many  of  them  wore  condemned  to  be  crucified,  that  there  were  not  places  enough  for 
crosses,  nor  crosses  enough  for  the  bodies  that  were  to  be  hung  thereon.  [The  Jewish 
War  and  Antiq. — G.]  ■  The  tyrant  of  Cassandreia. — Q. 

3  Qui  non  est  eruciatus  non  est  Chrislianus,  saith  Luther,  There  is  not  a  Christian 
that  carries  not  his  cross. 

4  Ps.  xciv.  12  ;  Frov.  iii.  12,  13,  16  ;  Obad.  6,  13  ;  Isa.  ix.  1,  el  scq. 

6  Admonitions. — G. 

c  That  is,  "ID-10,  Prov.  iii.  11  ;  and  *a,lu*,  Ileb.  xii.  6,  7,  8,  11— G. 

7  Theologium  Christinuorum Afrlictiones  Benedictiones,  Afflictions  are  bless- 
ings— Bernard- 


2  Cor.  II.  11.]  against  satan's  devices.  27 

heart  of  God  to  record  his  children's  sins,  that  others  might  be 
encouraged  to  sin,  but  that  others  might  look  to  their  standings,  and 
to  hang  the  faster  upon  the  skirts  of  Christ,  and  avoid  all  occasions 
and  temptations  that  may  occasion  the  soul  to  fall,  as  others  have 
fallen,  when  they  have  been  left  by  Christ.  The  Lord  hath  made 
their  sins  as  landmarks,  to  warn  his  people  to  take  heed  how  they 
come  near  those  sands  and  rocks,  those  snares  and  baits,  that  have 
been  fatal  to  the  choicest  treasures,  to  wit,  the  joy,  peace,  comfort, 
and  glorious  enjoyments  of  the  bravest  spirits  and  noblest  souls  that 
ever  sailed  through  the  ocean  of  this  sinful  troublesome  world  ;  as 
you  may  see  in  David,  Job,  Peter,  &c.  There  is  nothing  in  the  world 
that  can  so  notoriously  cross  the  grand  end  of  God's  recording  of  the 
sins  of  his  saints,  than  for  any  from  thence  to  take  encouragement  to 
sin  ;  and  wherever  yon  find  such  a  soul,  you  may  write  him  Christless, 
graceless,  a  soul  cast  off  by  God,  a  soul  that  Satan  hath  by  the  hand, 
and  the  eternal  God  knows  whither  he  will  lead  him.1 

The  fifth  device  that  Satan  hath  to  draw  the  soul  to  sin  is, 
Device  (5).  To  present  God  to  the  soul  as  one  made  up  all  of 
mercy.  Oh  !  saith  Satan,  you  need  not  make  such  a  matter  of  sin, 
you  need  not  be  so  fearful  of  sin,  not  so  unwilling  to  sin ;  for  God  is  a 
God  of  mercy,  a  God  full  of  mercy,  a  God  that  delights  in  mercy,  a 
God  that  is  ready  to  shew  mercy,  a  God  that  is  never  weary  of 
shewing  mercy,  a  God  more  prone  to  pardon  his  people  than  to  punish 
his  people  ;  and  therefore  he  will  not  take  advantage  against  the  soul  ; 
and  why  then,  saith  Satan,  should  you  make  such  a  matter  of  sin  ? 
Now  the  remedies  against  this  device  of  Satan  are  these  : 
Remedy  (1).  The  first  remedy  is,  seriously  to  consider,  That  it  is 
the  sorest  judgment  in  the  world  to  be  left  to  sin  upon  any  pretence 
whatsoever.  O  unhappy  man  !  when  God  leaveth  thee  to  thyself, 
and  doth  not  resist  thee  in  thy  sins.2  Woe,  woe  to  him  at  whose  sins 
God  doth  wink.  When  God  lets  the  way  to  hell  be  a  smooth  and 
pleasant  way,  that  is  hell  on  this  side  hell,  and  a  dreadful  sign  of  God's 
indignation  against  a  man  ;  a  token  of  his  rejection,  and  that  God 
doth  not  intend  good  unto  him.  That  is  a  sad  word,  '  Ephraim  is 
joined  to  idols  :  let  him  alone,'  Hosea  iv.  17  ;  he  will  be  uncounsel- 
lable  and  incorrigible  ;  he  hath  made  a  match  with  mischief,  he  shall 
have  his  bellyful  of  it  ;  he  falls  with  open  eyes,  let  him  fall  at  his 
own  peril.  And  that  is  a  terrible  saying.  '  So  I  gave  them  up  unto 
their  own  hearts'  lusts,  and  they  walked  in  their  own  counsels,'  Ps. 
lxxxi.  12.  A  soul  given  up  to  sin,  is  a  soul  ripe  for  hell,  a  soul 
posting  to  destruction.  Ah  Lord  !  this  mercy  I  humbly  beg,  that 
whatever  thou  givest  me  up  to,  thou  wilt  not  give  me  up  to  the  ways 
of  my  own  heart ;  if  thou  wilt  give  me  up  to  be  afflicted,  or  tempted, 
or  reproached,  &c,  I  will  patiently  sit  down,  and  say,  It  is  the  Lord  ; 
let  him  do  with  me  what  seems  good  in  his  own  eyes.     Do  anything 

1  I  have  known  a  good  man,  saith  Bernard,  who,  when  he  heard  of  any  that  .had 
committed  some  notorious  sin,  he  was  wont  to  say  with  himself,  '  IUe  hodie  et  ego  eras,' 
he  fell  to-day,  so  may  I  to-morrow. 

a  Humanum  est  peccare,  diabolicum  perseverare,  et  angelieum  resurgere. — Avg\i.istine\  ; 
i.e.  It  is  a  human  thing  to  fall  into  sin,  a  devilish  to  persevere  therein,  and  an  angeli- 
cal or  supernatural  to  rise  from  it. 


28  PRECIOUS  REMEDIES  [2  COR.  II.  11. 

with  mc,  lay  what  burden  thou  wilt  upon  me,  so  thou  dost  not  give 
me  up  to  the  ways  of  my  own  heart.1 

Remedy  (2).  The  second  remedy  against  this  device  of  Satan  is, 
solemnly  to  consider,  That  God  is  as  just  as  he  is  merciful.  As  the 
Scriptures  speak  him  out  to  be  a  very  merciful  God,  so  they  speak 
him  out  to  be  a  very  just  God.  Witness  his  casting  the  angels  out 
of  heaven,  2  Peter  ii.  4-6,  and  his  binding  them  in  chains  of  dark- 
ness2 till  the  judgment  of  the  great  day  ;  and  witness  his  turning 
Adam  out  of  paradise,  his  drowning  of  the  old  world,  and  his  raining 
hell  out  of  heaven  upon  Sodom  ;  and  witness  all  the  crosses,  losses, 
sicknesses,  and  diseases,  that  be  in  the  world  ;  and  witness  Tophet, 
that  was  prepared  of  old  ;  wituess  his  'treasuring  up  of  wrath  against 
the  day  of  wrath,  unto  the  revelation  of  the  just  judgments  of  God  ; 
but  above  all,  witness  the  pouring  forth  of  all  his  wrath  upon  his 
bosom  Son,  when  he  did  bear  the  sins  of  his  people,  and  cried  out, 
'  My  God,  my  God,  why  hast  thou  forsaken  me?'  Mat.  xxvii.  46. 

Remedy  (3).  The  third  remedy  against  this  device  of  Satan  is, 
seriously  to  consider,  That  si7is  against  mercy  will  bring  the  greatest 
and  sorest  judgments  upon  mien's  heads  and  hearts.  Mercy  is 
Alpha,  Justice  is  Omega.  David,  speaking  of  these  attributes,  placeth 
mercy  in  the  foreward,  and  justice  in  the  rearward,  saying,  '  My  song 
shall  be  of  mercy  and  judgment/  Ps.  ci.  1.  When  mercy  is  despised, 
then  justice  takes  the  throne.4  God  is  like  a  prince,  that  sends  not 
his  army  against  rebels  before  he  hath  sent  his  pardon,  and  proclaimed 
it  by  a  herald  of  arms  :  he  first  hangs  out  the  white  flag  of  mercy  ; 
if  this  wins  men  in,  they  are  happy  for  ever  ;  but  if  they  stand  out, 
then  God  will  put  forth  his  red  flag  of  justice  and  judgment ;-  if  the 
one  is  despised,  the  other  shall  be  felt  with  a  witness.5 

See  this  in  the  Israelites.  He  loved  them  and  chose  them  when 
they  were  in  their  blood,  and  most  unlovely.  He  multiplied  them,  not 
by  means,  but  by  miracle  ;  from  seventy  souls  they  grew  in  few  years 
to  six  hundred  thousand  ;  the  more  they  were  oppressed,  the  more  they 
prospered.  Like  camomile,  the  more  you  tread  it,  the  more  you 
.spread  it ;  or  to  a  palm-tree,  the  more  it  is  pressed,  the  further  it 
spreadeth  ;  or  to  fire,  the  more  it  is  raked,  the  more  it  burnetii.  Their 
mercies  came  in  upon  them  like  Job's  messengers,  one  upon  the  neck 
of  the  other :  He  put  off  their  sackcloth,  and  girded  them  with  glad- 
ness, and  '  compassed  them  about  with  songs  of  deliverance ;'  he 
'  carried  them  on  the  wings  of  eagles  ;'  he  kept  them  'as  the  apple  of 
his  eye,'  &c.6  But  they,  abusing  his  mercy,  became  the  greatest 
objects  of  his  wrath.     As  I  know  not  the  man  that  can  reckon  up 

1  A  me,  me  salva  Domine ;  Deliver  me,  0  Lord,  from  that  evil  man  myself. — Aug- 
\\istine\ 

■  God  hanged  them  up  in  gihbets,  as  it  were,  that  others  might  hear  and  fear,  and 
do  no  more  so  wickedly.  8  Cf.  Rom.  ii.  5  ;  but  it  is  the  sinner,  not  God. — G. 

*  QuanCo  gradus  altior,  tanto  casus  gravior ;  the  higher  we  are  in  dignity,  the  more 
grievous  is  our  fall  and  misery. 

6  Dens  tardus  est  ad  iram,  sed  larditatem  gravitate  pcenai  compensat ;  God  is  slow  to 
anger,  but  he  recompenseth  his  slowness  with  grievousuess  of  punishment.  If  we 
nbuse  mercy  to  serve  our  lust,  then,  in  Salvian'a  phrase,  God  will  rain  hell  out  of 
Leaven,  rather  than  not  visit  fur  such  sins. 

6  Ps.  xxxii.  7  ;  Exod.  six,  4  ;  Deut.  zxzii.  10. — G. 


2  Cor.  II.  11.]  against  satan's  devices.  29 

their  mercies,  so  I  know  not  the  man  that  can  sum  up  the  miseries 
that  are  come  upon  them  for  their  sins.  For  as  our  Saviour  prophesied 
concerning  Jerusalem,  '  that  a  stone  should  not  be  left  upon  a  stone,' 
so  it  was  fulfilled  forty  years  after  his  ascension,  by  Vespasian  the 
emperor  and  his  son  Titus,  who,  having  besieged  Jerusalem,  the  Jews 
were  oppressed  with  a  grievous  famine,  in  which  their  food  was  old 
shoes,  old  leather,  old  hay,  and  the  dung  of  beasts.  There  died,  partly 
of^the  sword  and  partly  of  the  famine,  eleven  hundred  thousand  of  the 
poorer  sort ;  two  thousand  in  one  night  were  embowelled  ;  six  thou- 
sand were  burned  in  a  porch  of  the  temple  ;  the  whole  city  was  sacked 
and  burned,  and  laid  level  to  the  ground  ;  and  ninety-seven  thousand 
taken  captives,  and  applied  to  base  and  miserable  service,  as  Eusebius 
and  Josephus  saith.1  And  to  this  day,  in  all  parts  of  the  world,  are 
they  not  the  off-scouring  of  the  world  ?  None  less  beloved,  and  none 
more  abhorred,  than  they.2 

And  so  Capernaum,  that  was  lifted  up  to  heaven,  was  threatened  to 
be  thrown  down  to  hell.  No  souls  fall  so  low  into  hell,  if  they  fall, 
as  those  souls  that  by  a  hand  of  mercy  are  lifted  up  nearest  to  heaven. 
You  slight  souls  that  are  so  apt  to  abuse  mercy,  consider  this,  that  in 
the  gospel  days,  the  plagues  that  God  inflicts  upon  the  despisers  and 
abusers  of  mercy  are  usually  spiritual  plagues ;  as  blindness  of  mind, 
hardness  of  heart,  benumbedness  of  conscience,  which  are  ten  thousand 
times  worse  than  the  worst  of  outward  plagues  that  can  befall  you. 
And  therefore,  though  you  may  escape  temporal  judgments,  yet  you 
shall  not  escape  spiritual  judgments  :  '  How  shall  we  escape,  if  neglect 
so  great  salvation  V  Heb.  ii.  3,3  saith  the  apostle.  Oh  !  therefore,  when- 
ever Satan  shall  present  God  to  the  soul  as  one  made  up  all  of  mercy, 
that  he  may  draw  thee  to  do  wickedly,  say  unto  him,  that  sins  against 
mercy  will  bring  upon  the  soul  the  greatest  misery ;  and  therefore 
whatever  becomes  of  thee,  thou  wilt  not  sin  against  mercy,  &c. 

Remedy  (4).  The  fourth  remedy  against  this  device  of  Satan,  is  seri- 
ously to  consider,  That  though  God's  general  mercy  be  over  all  his 
works,  yet  his  special  mercy  is  confined  to  those  that  are  divinely 
qualified*  So  in  Exodus  xxxiv.  6,  7,  ' And  the  Lord  passed  by 
before  me,  and  proclaimed,  The  Lord,  the  Lord  God,  merciful  and 
gracious,  longsuffering,  and  abundant  in  goodness  and  truth,  keep- 
ing mercy  for  thousands,  forgiving  iniquity,  transgression,  and  sin,  and 
that  will  by  no  means  clear  the  guilty.'  Exodus  xx.  6,  '  And  shewing 
mercy  unto  thousands  of  them  that  love  me,  and  keep  my  command- 

1  Vespasian  brake  into  their  city  at  Kedron,  where  they  took  Christ,  on  the  same 
feast  day  that  Christ  was  taken;  he  whipped  them  where  they  whipped  Christ;  he  sold 
twenty  Jews  for  a  penny,  as  they  sold  Christ  for  thirty  pence. — S.  Andr.  Cat.  [Sic  in 
all  editions;  but  qu.  St  Augustine,  De  Civitate  Dei? — G.] 

2  Men  are  therefore  worse,  because  they  ought  to  be  belter  ;  and  shall  be  deeper  in 
hell,  because  heaven  was  offered  unto  them  ;  but  they  would  not.  Ingmtia  beneficia, 
flagitia,  supplicia.  Good  turns  aggravate  unkindnesses,  and  men's  offences  are  increased 
by  their  obligations.  [Eusebius,  Eccl  Hist,  sub  Jerusal.  Josephus,  Jewish  War,  Book 
vi.  5,  et  alibi. — G.]  3  upiXvo-avTi;.     Shift  off,  disregard. 

4  Augustus,  in  his  solemn  feasts,  gave  trifles  to  some,  but  gold  to  others  that  his 
heart  was  most  set  upon.  So  God,  by  a  hand  of  general  mercy,  gives  these — poor  trifles 
— outward  blessings,  to  those  that  he  least  loves ;  but  his  gold,  his  special  mercy,  is 
only  towards  those  that  his  heart  is  most  set  upon. 


SO  PRECIOUS  REMEDIES  [2  COR.  II.  11. 

merits.'  Ps.  xxv.  10,  'All  the  paths  of  the  Lord  are  mercy  and  truth, 
unto  such  as  keep  his  covenant,  and  his  testimonies.'  Ps.  xxxii.  10, 
'  Many  sorrows  shall  be  to  the  wicked  ;  but  ho  that  trusteth  in  the 
Lord,  mercy  shall  compass  him  about.'  Ps.  xxxiii.  18,  'Behold,  the 
eye  of  the  Lord  is  upon  them  that  fear  him,  upon  them  that  hope  in 
his  mercy.'  Ps.  ciii.  11,  'For  as  the  heaven  is  high  above  the  earth, 
so  great  is  his  mercy  toward  them  that  fear  him.'  Ver.  17,  'But  the 
mercy  of  the  Lord  is  from  everlasting  to  everlasting  upon  them  that 
fear  him.'  When  Satan  attempts  to  draw  thee  to  sin  by  presenting 
God  as  a  God  all  made  up  of  mercy,  oh  then  reply,  that  though  God's 
general  mercy  extend  to  all  the  works  of  his  hand,  yet  his  special 
mercy  is  confined  to  them  that  are  divinely  qualified,  to  them  that  love 
him  and  keep  his  commandments,  to  them  that  trust  in  him,  that  by 
hope  hang  upon  him,  and  that  fear  him  ;  and  that  thou  must  be  such 
a  one  here,  or  else  thou  canst  never  be  happy  hereafter ;  thou  must 
partake  of  his  special  mercy,  or  else  eternally  perish  in  everlasting 
misery,  notwithstanding  God's  general  mercy. 

Remedy  (5).  The  fifth  remedy  against  this  device  of  Satan  is, 
solemnly  to  consider,  That  those  that  were  once  glorious  on  earth,  and 
((re  now  triumphing  in  heaven,  did  look  upon  the  mercy  of  God  as 
the  most  powerful  argument  to  preserve  them  from  sin,  and  to  fence 
their  souls  against  sin,  and  not  as  an  encouragement  to  sin.  Ps. 
xxvi.  3-6,  '  For  thy  loving-kindness  is  before  mine  eyes,  and  I  have 
walked  in  thy  truth  ;  I  have  not  sat  with  vain  persons,  neither  will 
I  go  in  with  dissemblers.  I  have  hated  the  congregation  of  evil- 
doers, and  will  not  sit  with  the  wicked.'  So  Joseph  strengthens  him- 
self against  sin  from  the  remembrance  of  mercy  :  '  How  then  can  I,' 
saith  he,  '  do  this  great  wickedness,  and  sin  against  God  V  Gen.  xxxix. 
9.  He  had  fixed  his  eye  upon  mercy,  and  therefore  sin  could  not  enter, 
though  the  irons  entered  into  his  soul ;  his  soul  being  taken  with 
mercy,  was  not  moved  with  his  mistress's  impudence.  Satan  knocked 
oft  at  the  door,  but  the  sight  of  mercy  would  not  suffer  him  to  answer 
or  open.  Joseph,  like  a  pearl  in  a  puddle,  keeps  his  virtue  still.1  So 
Paul,  '  Shall  we  continue  in  sin,  that  grace  may  abound  ?  Gud  forbid. 
How  shall  we  that  are  dead  to  sin,  live  any  longer  therein  V  Rom.  vi.  1,2. 
There  is  nothing  in  the  world  that  renders  a  man  more  unlike  to  a  saint, 
and  more  like  to  Satan,  than  to  argue  from  mercy  to  sinful  liberty  ; 
from  divine  goodness  to  licentiousness.  This  is  the  devil's  logic,  and 
in  whomsoever  you  find  it,  you  may  write,  '  This  soul  is  lost.'  A  man 
may  as  truly  say,  the  sea  burns,  or  fire  cools,  as  that  free  grace  and 
mercy  should  make  a  soul  truly  gracious  to  do  wickedly.  So  the 
same  apostle,  '  I  beseech  you  therefore,  brethren,  by  the  mercies  of 
God,  that  ye  present  your  bodies  a  living  sacrifice,  holy,  acceptable 
unto  God,  which  is  your  reasonable  service,'  Rom.  xii.  1.  So  John, 
'  These  things  I  write  unto  you,  that  ye  sin  not/  1  John  ii.  1,  2.  What 
was  it  that  he  wrote?  He  wrote,  'That  we  might  have  fellowship  with 
the  Father  and  his  Son  ;  and  that  the  blood  of  Christ  cleanseth  us 

1  The  stone  called  Ponlaurus,  is  of  that  virtue,  that  it  preserves  him  that  carries  it 
from  taking  any  hurt  by  poison.  The  mercy  of  God  in  Christ  to  our  souls  is  the  most 
precious  stone  or  pearl  in  the  world,  to  prevent  us  from  being  poisoned  with  sin. 


2  Cor.  II.  11.]  against  satan's  devices.  31 

from  all  sin,  and  that  if  we  confess  our  sin,  he  is  just  and  faithful  to 
forgive  us  our  sins  ;  and  that  if  we  do  sin,  we  have  an  advocate  with 
the  Father,  Jesus  Christ  the  righteous.'  These  choice  favours  and 
mercies  the  apostle  holds  forth  as  the  choicest  means  to  preserve  the 
soul  from  sin,  and  to  keep  at  the  greatest  distance  from  sin ;  and  if 
this  won't  do  it,  you  may  write  the  man  void  of  Christ  and  grace,  and 
undone  for  ever. 

The  sixth  device  that  Satan  hath  to  draw  the  soul  to  sin  is, 

Device  (6).  'By  persuading  the  soul  that  the  work  of  repentance  is 
an  easy  ivork,  and  that  therefore  the  soul  need  not  make  such  a  matter 
of  sin.  Why  !  Suppose  you  do  sin,  saith  Satan,  it  is  no  such  diffi- 
cult thing  to  return,  and  confess,  and  be  sorrowful,  and  beg  pardon,  and 
cry,  'Lord,  have  mercy  upon  me;'  and  if  you  do  but  this,  God  will 
cut  the  score,1  and  pardon  your  sins,  and  save  your  souls,  &c. 

By  this  device  Satan  draws  many  a  soul  to  sin,  and  makes  many 
millions  of  souls  servants  or  rather  slaves  to  sin,  &c. 

Now,  the  remedies  against  this  device  of  Satan  are  these  that 
follow  : 

Remedy  (1).  The  first  remedy  is,  seriously  to  consider,  That  re- 
pentance is  a  mighty  work,  a  difficult  work,  a  work  that  is  above  our 
power.  There  is  no  power  below  that  power  that  raised  Christ  from 
the  dead,  and  that  made  the  world,  that  can  break  the  heart  of  a  sin- 
ner or  turn  the  heart  of  a  sinner.  Thou  art  as  well  able  to  melt  ada- 
mant, as  to  melt  thine  own  heart ;  to  turn  a  flint  into  flesh,  as  to  turn 
thine  own  heart  to  the  Lord  ;  to  raise  the  dead  and  to  make  a  world, 
as  to  repent.  Repentance  is  a  flower  that  grows  not  in  nature's  garden. 
'  Can  the  Ethiopian  change  his  skin,  or  the  leopard  his  spots  ?  then 
may  ye  also  do  good,  that  are  accustomed  to  do  evil/  Jer.  xiii.  23. 
Repentance  is  a  gift  that  comes  down  from  above.2  Men  are  not  born 
with  repentance  in  their  hearts,  as  they  are  born  with  tongues  in 
their  mouths  :3  Acts  v.  31,  '  Him  hath  God  exalted  with  his  right 
hand  to  be  a  Prince  and  a  Saviour,  for  to  give  repentance  to  Israel, 
and  forgiveness  of  sins.'  So  in  2  Tim.  ii.  25,  '  In  meekness  instruct- 
ing them  that  oppose  themselves  ;  if  God  peradventure  will  give  them 
repentance  to  the  acknowledging  of  the  truth/  It  is  not  in  the  power 
of  any  mortal  to  repent  at  pleasure.4  Some  ignorant  deluded  souls 
vainly  conceit  that  these  five  words,  'Lord!  have  mercy  upon  me,' 
are  efficacious  to  send  them  to  heaven  ;  but  as  many  are  undone  by 
buying  a  counterfeit  jewel,  so  many  are  in  hell  by  mistake  of  their 
repentance.  Many  rest  in  their  repentance,  though  it  be  but  the 
shadow  of  repentance,  which  caused  one  to  say,  '  Repentance  damneth 
more  than  sin.' 

1  The  reference  is  to  the  '  scored '  or  notched  sticks  by  which  debt  accounts  were 
recorded  anciently. — G. 

2  Fallen  man  hath  lost  (imperium  suum  and  imperium  sui)  the  command  of  himself, 
and  the  command  of  the  creatures.  And  certainly  he  that  cannot  command  himself 
cannot  repent  of  himself. 

3  Da  pcenitentiam  et  postea  indulgentiam,  said  dying  Fulgentius. 

4  it  was  a  vain  brag  of  king  Cyrus,  that  caused  it  to  be  written  upon  his  tombstone, 
Tiivra.  vrotiTv  1vii.f4.ni,  1  could  do  all  things  ;  so  could  Paul  too,  but  it  was  '  through 
Christ,  which  strengthened  him.'     [Of.  Arrian  vi.  29  :  Plutarch,  Alexander,  69. — G.] 


32  PRECIOUS  REMEDIES  [2  COR.  II.  11. 

Remedy  (2).  The  second  remedy  against  this  device  of  Satan  is, 
solemnly  to  consider  of  the  nature  of  true  repentance.  Repentance 
is  some  other  tiling  than  what  vain  men  conceive.1 

Repentance  is  sometimes  taken,  in  a  more  strict  and  narrow  sense, 
for  godly  sorrow  ;  sometimes  repentance  is  taken,  in  a  large  sense,  for 
amendment  of  life.     Repentance  hath  in  it  three  things,  viz. : 

The  act,  subject,  terms. 

(1.)  The  formal  act  of  repentance  is  a  changing  and  converting. 
It  is  often  set  forth  in  Scripture  by  turning.  '  Turn  thou  me,  and  I 
shall  be  turned,'  saith  Ephraim  ;  'after  that  1  was  turned,  I  repented,' 
saith  he,  Jer.  xxxi.  18.     It  is  a  turning  from  darkness  to  light. 

(2.)  The  subject  changed  and  converted,  is  the  whole  man  ;  it  is 
both  the  sinner's  heart  and  life :  first  his  heart,  then  his  life ;  first 
his  person,  then  his  practice  and  conversation.  '  Wash  ye,  make  you 
clean,'  there  is  the  change  of  their  persons ;  '  Put  away  the  evil  of 
your  doings  from  before  mine  eyes  ;  cease  to  do  evil,  learn  to  do  well,' 
Isa.  i.  16  ;  there  is  the  change  of  their  practices.  So  '  Cast  away,' 
saith  Ezekiel,  'all  your  trausgresssions  whereby  you  have  transgressed ;' 
there  is  the  change  of  the  life  ;  '  and  make  you  a  new  heart  and  a  new 
spirit,'  xviii.  30  ;  there  is  the  change  of  the  heart, 

(3.)  The  terms  of  this  change  and  conversion,  from,  which  and  to 
which  both  heart  and  life  must  be  changed  ;  from  sin  to  God.  The 
heart  must  be  changed  from  the  state  and  power  of  sin,  the  life  from 
the  acts  of  sin,  but  both  unto  God  ;  the  heart  to  be  under  his  power 
in  a  state  of  grace,  the  life  to  be  under  his  rule  in  all  new  obedience  ; 
as  the  apostle  speaks,  '  To  open  their  eyes,  and  to  turn  them  from 
darkness  to  light,  and  from  the  power  of  Satan  unto  God,'  Acts 
xxvi.  18.  So  the  prophet  Isaiah  saith,  '  Let  the  wicked  forsake  their 
ways,  and  the  unrighteous  man  his  thoughts,  and  let  him  return  unto 
the  Lord,'  lv.  7. 

Thus  much  of  the  nature  of  evangelical  repentance.  Now,  souls, 
tell  me  whether  it  be  such  an  easy  thing  to  repent,  as  Satan  doth 
suggest.  Besides  what  hath  been  spoken,  I  desire  that  you  will  take 
notice,  that  repentance  doth  include  turning  from  the  most  darling 
sin.  Ephraim  shall  say,  '  What  have  I  to  do  any  more  with  idols  V 
Hosea  xiv.  8.  Yea,  it  is  a  turning  from  all  sin  to  God :  Ezek.  xviii.  30, 
'  Therefore  I  will  judge  you,  O  house  of  Israel,  every  one  of  you  ac- 
cording to  his  ways,  saith  the  Lord  God.  Repent,  and  turn  your- 
selves from  37our  transgresssons  ;  so  iniquity  shall  not  be  your  ruin. 

1  The  Hebrew  word  for  repentance  is  rOlEM"!,  from  31C,  which  signifies  to  return, 
implying  a  going  back  from  what  a  man  had  done.  It  notes  a  turning  or  converting 
from  one  thing  to  another,  from  sin  to  God.  The  Greeks  have  two  words  by  which 
they  express  the  nature  of  repentance,  one  is  ptTttpikw,  which  signifies  to  be  careful, 
anxious,  solicitous,  after  a  thing  is  done  ;  the  other  word,  ftiravoiu,  is  resipiscentia,  after- 
wit,  or  after-wisdom,  the  mind's  recovering  of  wisdom,  or  growing  wiser  after  our  folly. 
Ab.  uvoict  dementia,  et  fara  post,  it  being  the  correction  of  men's  folly,  and  returning  ad 
sanam  mentem.  True  repentance  is  a  thorough  change  both  of  the  mind  and  manners  ; 
optima  et  opt issinn  I'tTnitentia  est  nova  vita,  saith  Luther,  which  saying  is  an  excellent 
saying.  Repentance  for  sin  is  nothing  worth  without  repentance  from  .sin.  If  thou 
repentest  with  a  contradiction,  saith  Tertullian,  God  will  pardon  thee  with  a  contra- 
diction ;  if  thou  repentest  and  yet  continuest  in  thy  sin,  God  will  pardon  thee,  and  yet 
send  thee  to  hell ;  there  is  a  pardon  with  a  contradiction.  Negative  goodness  serves  no 
man's  turn  to  save  him  from  the  axe. 


2  Cor.  II.  11.]  against  satan's  devices.  33 

Herod  turned  from  many,  but  turned  not  from  his  Herodias,  which 
was  his  ruin.  Judas  turned  from  all  visible  wickedness,  yet  he  would 
not  cast  out  that  golden  devil  covetousness,  and  therefore  was  cast 
into  the  hottest  place  in  hell.  He  that  turns  not  from  every  sin,  turns 
not  aright  from  any  one  sin.  Every  sin  strikes  at  the  honour  of  God, 
the  being  of  God,  the  glory  of  God,  the  heart  of  Christ,  the  joy  of  the 
Spirit,  and  the  peace  of  a  man's  conscience;  and  therefore  a  soul  truly 
penitent  strikes  at  all,  hates  all,  conflicts  with  all,  and  will  labour  to 
draw  strength  from  a  crucified  Christ  to  crucify  all.  A  true  penitent 
knows  neither  father  nor  mother,  neither  right  eye  nor  right  hand, 
but  will  pluck  out  the  one  and  cut  off  the  other.  Saul  spared  but 
one  Agag,  and  that  cost  him  his  soul  and  his  kingdom,  1  Sam.  xv.  9. 
Besides,  repentance  is  not  only  a  turning  from  all  sin,  but  also  a  turn- 
ing to  all  good  ;  to  a  love  of  all  good,  to  a  prizing  of  all  good,  and  to  a 
following  after  all  good  :  Ezek.  xviii.  21,  '  But  if  the  wicked  will  turn 
from  all  the  sins  that  he  hath  committed,  and  keep  all  my  statutes, 
and  do  that  which  is  lawful  and  right,  he  shall  surely  live,  he  shall 
not  die  ;'  that  is,  only  negative  righteousness  and  holiness  is  no  right- 
eousness nor  holiness.1  David  fulfilled  all  the  will  of  God,  and  had 
respect  unto  all  his  commandments,  and  so  had  Zacharias  and  Eliza- 
beth. It  is  not  enough  that  the  tree  bears  not  ill  fruit ;  but  it  must 
bring  forth  good  fruit,  else  it  must  be  '  cut  down  and  cast  into  the 
fire,'  Luke  xiii.  7.  So  it  is  not  enough  that  you  are  not  thus  and  thus 
wicked,  but  you  must  be  thus  and  thus  gracious  and  good,  else  divine 
justice  will  put  the  axe  of  divine  vengeance  to  the  root  of  your  souls, 
and  cut  you  off  for  ever.  '  Every  tree  that  bringeth  not  forth  good 
fruit  is  hewed  down  and  cast  into  the  fire/  Mat.  iii.  1 0.  Besides,  re- 
pentance doth  include  a  sensibleness  of  sin's  sinfulness,  how  opposite 
and  contrary  it  is  to  the  blessed  God.  God  is  light,  sin  is  darkness ; 
God  is  life,  sin  is  death ;  God  is  heaven,  sin  is  hell ;  God  is  beauty, 
sin  is  deformity. 

Also  true  repentance  includes  a  sensibleness  of  sin's  mischievous- 
ness  ;  how  it  cast  angels  out  of  heaven,  and  Adam  out  of  paradise  ; 
how  it  laid  the  first  corner  stone  in  hell,  and  brought  in  all  the 
curses,  crosses,  and  miseries,  that  be  in  the  world  ;  and  how  it  makes 
men  liable  to  all  temporal,  spiritual,  and  eternal  wrath  ;  how  it  hath 
made  men  Godless,  Christless,  hopeless,  and  heavenless. 

Further,  true  repentance  doth  include  sorrow  for  sin,  contrition  of 
heart.  It  breaks  the  heart  with  sighs,  and  sobs,  and  groans,  for  that 
a  loving  God  and  Father  is  by  sin  offended,  a  blessed  Saviour  afresh 
crucified,  and  the  sweet  comforter,  the  Spirit,  grieved  and  vexed. 

Again,  repentance  doth  include,  not  only  a  loathing  of  sin,  but  also 
a  loathing  of  ourselves  for  sin.  As  a  man  doth  not  only  loathe  poison, 
but  he  loathes  the  very  dish  or  vessel  that  hath  the  smell  of  the  poison ; 
so  a  true  penitent  doth  not  only  loathe  his  sin,  but  he  loathes  himself, 

1  It  is  said  of  Ithacus,  that  the  hatred  of  the  Priscilian  heresy  was  all  the  virtue  that 
he  had.  The  evil  servant  did  not  riot  out  his  talent,  Mat.  xxv.  18.  Those  reprobates, 
Mat.  xxiii.  2,  robbed  not  the  saints,  but  relieved  them  not ;  for  this  they  must  eternally 
perish. 

VOL.  I.  C 


34  PRECIOUS  REMEDIES  [2  COR.  II.  11. 

the  vessel  that  smells  of  it ;  so  Ezek.  xx.  43,  '  And  there  shall  ye  re- 
member your  ways  and  all  your  doings,  wherein  ye  have  been  defiled  ; 
and  ye  shall  loathe  yourselves  in  your  own  sight  for  all  your  evils  that 
ye  have  committed.'  True  repentance  will  work  your  hearts,  not  only 
to  loathe  your  sins,  but  also  to  loathe  yourselves.1 

Again,  true  repentance  doth  not  only  work  a  man  to  loathe  himself 
for  his  sins,  but  it  makes  him  ashamed  of  his  sin  also  :  '  What  fruit 
have  ye  of  those  things  whereof  ye  are  now  ashamed?'  saith  the 
apostle,  Rom.  vi.  21.  So  Ezekiel,  'And  thou  shalt  be  confounded, 
and  never  open  thy  mouth  any  more,  because  of  thy  shame,  when  I 
am  pacified  toward  thee  for  all  that  thou  hast  done,  saith  the  Lord 
God,'  xxxvi.  32.  When  a  penitential  soul  sees  his  sins  pardoned,  the 
anger  of  God  pacified,  the  divine  justice  satisfied,  then  he  sits  down 
and  blushes,  as  the  Hebrew  hath  it,  as  one  ashamed.  Yea,  true  re- 
pentance doth  work  a  man  to  cross  his  sinful  self,  and  to  walk  con- 
trary to  sinful  self,  to  take  a  holy  revenge  upon  sin,  as  you  may  see 
in  Paul,  the  jailor,  Mary  Magdalene,  and  Manasseh.  This  the  apostle 
shews  in  2  Cor.  vii.  10,  11:  'For  godly  sorrow  worketh  repentance 
never  to  be  repented  of ;  but  the  sorrow  of  the  world  worketh  death. 
For  behold  the  self-same  thing,  that  ye  sorrowed  after  a  godly  sort, 
what  carefulness  it  wrought  in  you,  yea,  what  clearing  of  yourselves, 
yea,  what  indignation,  yea,  what  fear,  yea,  what  vehement  desire,  yea, 
what  zeal,  yea,  what  revenge.'2  Now,  souls,  sum  up  all  these  things 
together,  and  tell  me  whether  it  be  such  an  easy  thing  to  repent  as 
Satan  would  make  the  soul  to  believe,  and  I  am  confident  your  heart 
will  answer  that  it  is  as  hard  a  thing  to  repent  as  it  is  to  make  a 
world,  or  raise  the  dead. 

I  shall  conclude  this  second  remedy  with  a  worthy  saying  of  a  pre- 
cious holy  man  :  '  Repentance,'  saith  he,  '  strips  us  stark  naked  of  all 
the  garments  of  the  old  Adam,  and  leaves  not  so  much  as  a  shirt  be- 
hind.'  In  this  rotten  building  it  leaves  not  a  stone  upon  a  stone.  As 
the  flood  drowned  Noah's  own  friends  and  servants,  so  must  the  flood 
of  repenting  tears  drown  our  sweetest  and  most  profitable  sins. 

Remedy  (3).  The  third  remedy  against  this  device  of  Satan  is  seri- 
ously to  consider,  That  repentance  is  a  continued  act.  The  word 
repent  implies  the  continuation  of  it.3  True  repentance  inclines  a 
man's  heart  to  perform  God's  statutes  always,  even  unto  the  end.  A 
true  penitent  must  go  on  from  faith  to  faith,  from  strength  to  strength  ; 
he  must  never  stand  still  nor  turn  back.  Repentance  is  a  grace,  and 
must  have  its  daily  operation  as  well  as  other  graces.  True  repent- 
ance is  a  continued  spring,  where  the  waters  of  godly  sorrow  are 

1  True  repentance  is  a  sorrowing  for  sin,  as  it  is  offensivum  Dei,  aversivum  a  Deo. 
This  both  comes  from  God,  and  drives  a  man  to  God,  as  it  did  the  church  in  the 
Canticles,  and  the  prodigal :  Ezek.  xiii.  22,  23. 

2  Quantum  displicet  Deo  immunditia  peccati,  in  tantum  placet  Deo  erubescentia 
pcenitentis. — Ber\nard~\:  i.  e.  So  much  the  more  God  hath  been  displeased  with  the 
blackness  of  sin,  the  more  will  he  bo  pleased  with  the  blushing  of  the  sinner.  They 
that  do  not  bum  now  in  zeal  against  sin,  must  ere  long  burn  in  hell  for  sin. 

s  Anselm  in  his  Meditations  confesseth,  that  all  his  life  was  either  damnable  for  sin 
committed,  or  unprofitable  for  good  omitted  ;  at  last  concludes,  Quid  restat,  0  peccalor, 
nisi  tit  in  tota  vita  tua  dqdores  totam  vitam  tuam,  Oh,  what  then  remains  but  in  our  whole 
life  to  lament  the  sins  of  our  whole  life. 


2  Cor.  II.  11.]  against  satan's  devices.  35 

always  flowing  :  '  My  sins  are  ever  before  me,'  Ps.  li.  3.  A  true  peni- 
tent is  often  casting  his  eyes  back  to  the  days  of  his  former  vanity, 
and  this  makes  him  morning  and  evening  to  '  water  his  coach  with 
his  tears.'  '  Remember  not  against  me  the  sins  of  my  youth,'  saith 
one  blessed  penitent ;  and  '  I  was  a  blasphemer,  and  a  persecutor, 
and  injurious,'  saith  another  penitent.1  Repentance  is  a  continued  act 
of  turning,  a  repentance  never  to  be  repented  of,  a  turning  never  to 
turn  again  to  folly.  A  true  penitent  hath  ever  something  within  him 
to  turn  from  ;  he  can  never  get  near  enough  to  God  ;  no,  not  so  near 
him  as  once  he  was  ;  and  therefore  he  is  still  turning  and  turning  that 
he  may  get  nearer  and  nearer  to  him,  that  is  his  chiefest  good  and  his 
only  happiness,  optimum  maximum,  the  best  and  the  greatest.2  They 
are  every  day  a-crying  out,  '  O  wretched  men  that  we  are,  who  shall 
deliver  us  from  this  body  of  death  !'  Rom.  vii.  24  They  are  still  sen- 
sible of  sin,  and  still  conflicting  with  sin,  and  still  sorrowing  for  sin, 
and  still  loathing  of  themselves  for  sin.  Repentance  is  no  transient 
act,  but  a  continued  act  of  the  soul.  And  tell  me,  O  tempted  soul, 
whether  it  be  such  an  easy  thing  as  Satan  would  make  thee  believe, 
to  be  every  day  a-turning  more  and  more  from  sin,  and  a-turning 
nearer  and  nearer  to  God,  thj  choicest  blessedness.  A  true  penitent 
can  as  easily  content  himself  with  one  act  of  faith,  or  one  act  of  love, 
as  he  can  content  himself  with  one  act  of  repentance. 

A  Jewish  Rabbi,  pressing  the  practice  of  repentance  upon  his  dis- 
ciples, exhorting  them  to  be  sure  to  repent  the  day  before  they  died, 
one  of  them  replied,  that  the  day  of  any  man's  death  was  very  uncer- 
tain. '  Repent,  therefore,  every  day,'  said  the  Rabbi,  '  and  then  you 
shall  be  sure  to  repent  the  day  before  you  die/  You  are  wise,  and 
know  how  to  apply  it  to  your  own  advantage. 

Remedy  (4).  The  fourth  remedy  against  this  device  of  Satan  is 
solemnly  to  consider,  That  if  the  work  of  repentance  were  such  an 
easy  work  as  Satan  would  make  it  to  be,  then  certainly  so  many 
would  not  lie  roaring  and  crying  out  of  tvrath  and  eternal  ruin 
under  the  horrors  and  terrors  of  conscience,  for  not  repenting ; 
yea,  doubtless,  so  many  millions  would  not  go  to  hell  for  not  repent- 
ing, if  it  were  such  an  easy  thing  to  repent.3  Ah,  do  not  poor  souls 
under  horror  of  conscience  cry  out  and  say,  Were  all  this  world  a  lump 
of  gold,  and  in  our  hand  to  dispose  of,  we  would  give  it  for  the  least 
drachm  of  true  repentance  !  and  wilt  thou  say  it  is  an  easy  thing  to 
repent  ?  When  a  poor  sinner,  whose  conscience  is  awakened,  shall 
judge  the  exchange  of  all  the  world  for  the  least  drachm  of  repent- 
ance to  be  the  happiest  exchange  that  ever  sinner  made,  tell  me,  O 
soul,  is  it  good  going  to  hell  ?  Is  it  good  dwelling  with  the  devouring 
fire,  with  everlasting  burnings  ?     Is  it  good  to  be .  for  ever  separated 

1  Ps.  vi.  6,  xxv.  7,  1  Tim.  i.  13.— G. 

2  It  is  truly  said  of  God,  that  he  is  Omnia  super  omnia. 

3  If  thou  be  backward  in  the  thoughts  of  repentance,  be  forward  in  the  thoughts  of 
hell,  the  flames  whereof  only  the  streams  of  the  penintent  eye  can  extinguish. — Tertul- 
[lian\.  Oh,  how  shalt  thou  tear  and  rend  thyself!  how  shalt  thou  lament  fruitless 
repenting !  What  wilt  thou  say?  Woe  is  me,  that  I  have  not  cast  off  the  burden  of 
sin ;  woe  is  me,  that  I  have  not  washed  away  my  spots,  but  am  now  pierced  with 
mine  iniquities  ;  now  have  I  lost  the  surpassing  joy  of  angels  ! — Basil. 


:; ;  precious  remedies  [2  Cor.  II.  11. 

from  tin1  blessed  and  glorious  presence  of  God,  angels,  and  saints,  and. 
to  be  for  ever  shut  out  from  those  good  things  of  eternal  life,  which 
are  so  many,  that  they  exceed  number;  so  great,  that  they  exceed 
measure;  so  precious,  that  they  exceed  all  estimation  ?  We  know  it 
Lb  the  greatest  misery  that  can  befall  the  sons  of  men;  and  would  they 
not  prevent  this  by  repentance,  if  it  were  such  an  easy  thing  to  repent 
as  Satan  would  have  it?  Well,  then,  do  not  run  the  hazard  of  losing 
(iod,  Christ,  heaven,  and  thy  soul  for  ever,  by  hearkening  to  this  de- 
vice of  Satan,  viz.,  that  it  is  an  easy  thing  to  repent,  &c.  If  it  be  so 
easy,  why,  then,  do  wicked  men's  hearts  so  rise  against  them  that 
press  the  doctrine  of  repentance  in  the  sweetest  way,  and  by  the 
strongest  and  the  choicest  arguments  that  the  Scripture  doth  afford  ? 
And  why  do  they  kill  two  at  once  :  the  faithful  labourer's  name  and 
their  own  souls,  by  their  wicked  words  and  actings,  because  they  are 
put  upon  repenting,  which  Satan  tells  them  is  so  easy  a  thing  ?  Surely, 
were  repentance  so  easy,  wicked,  men  would  not  be  so  much  enraged 
when  that  doctrine  is,  by  evangelical  considerations,  pressed  upon 
them. 

Remedy  (5).  The  fifth  remedy  against  this  device  of  Satan  is  seri- 
ously to  consider,  That  to  repent  of  sin  is  as  great  a  ivork  of  (/race 
as  not  to  sin.1  By  our  sinful  falls  the  powers  of  the  soul  are  weakened, 
the  strength  of  grace  is  decayed,  our  evidences  for  heaven  are  blotted, 
fears  and  doubts  in  the  soul  are  raised  (will  God  once  more  pardon 
this  scarlet  sin,  and  shew  mercy  to  this  wretched  soul  ?),  and  corrup- 
tions in  the  heart  are  more  advantaged  and  confirmed  ;  and  the  con- 
science of  a  man  after  falls  is  the  more  enraged  or  the  more  benumbed. 
Now  for  a  soul,  notwithstanding  all  this,  to  repent  of  his  falls,  this 
shews  that  it  is  as  great  a  work  of  grace  to  repent  of  sin  as  it  is  not 
to  sin.  Repentance  is  the  vomit  of  the  soul ;  and  of  all  physic,  none 
so  difficult  and  hard  as  it  is  to  vomit.  The  same  means  that  tends  to 
preserve  the  soul  from  sin,  the  same  means  works  the  soul  to  rise  by 
repentance  when  it  is  fallen  into  sin.  We  know  the  mercy  and  loving- 
kindness  of  God  is  one  special  means  to  keep  the  soul  from  sin ;  as 
David  spake,  '  Thy  loving-kindness  is  always  before  mine  eyes,  and  I 
have  walked  in  thy  truth,  and  I  have  not  sat  with  vain  persons,  nei- 
ther will  I  go  in  with  dissemblers.  I  have  hated  the  congregation  of 
evil  doers,  and  will  not  sit  with  the  wicked/  Ps.  xxvi.  3-5.  So  by  the 
same  means  the  soul  is  raised  by  repentance  out  of  sin,  as  you  may 
see  in  Mary  Magdalene,  who  loved  much,  and  wept  much,  because 
much  was  forgiven  her,  Luke  vii.  37-39,  &c.  So  those  in  Hosea, 
1  Come,  let  us  return  unto  the  Lord;  for  he  hath  torn,  and  he  will 
heal  ;  he  hath  smitten,  and  he  will  bind  us  up.  After  two  days  he 
will  revive  us,  in  the  third  day  he  will  raise  us  up,  and  we  shall  live 
in  his  sight,  or  before  his  face,'  Hos.  vi.  1,  2  ;  as  the  Hebrew  [v:a^] 
hath  it,  i.e.  in  his  favour.  Confidence  in  God's  mercy  and  love,  that 
he  would  heal  them,  and  laud  up  their  wounds,  and  revive  their  de- 
jected spirits,  and  cause  them  to  live  in  his  favour,  was  that  which 
did  work  their  hearts  to  repent  and  return  unto  him. 

1  Yet  it  is  Letter  to  be  kepi  from  sin  than  cured  of  sin  by  repentance,  as  it  is  Letter 
for  a  man  to  be  preserved  from  a  disease  tb.au  to  be  cured  of  the  disease. 


2  Cor.  II.  11.]  against  satan's  devices.  37 

I  might  further  shew  you  this  truth  iu  many  other  particulars,  but 
this  may  suffice  :  only  remember  this  m  the  general,  that  there  is 
as  much  of  the  power  of  God,  and  love  of  God,  and  faith  in  God,  and 
fear  of  God,  and  care  to  please  God,  zeal  for  the  glory  of  God,  2  Cor. 
vii.  11,  requisite  to  work  a  man  to  repent  of  sin,  as  there  is  to  keep  a 
man  from  sin  ;  by  which  you  may  easily  judge,  that  to  repent  of  sin 
is  as  great  a  work  as  not  to  sin.  And  now  tell  me,  O  soul,  is  it  an 
easy  thing  not  to  sin  ?  We  know  then  certainly  it  is  not  an  easy 
thing  to  repent  of  sin. 

Remedy  (6).  The  sixth  remedy  against  this  device  of  Satan  is,  seri- 
ously to  consider,  Tltat  he  that  now  tempts  thee  to  sin  'upon  this  ac- 
count, that  repentance  is  easy,  will,  ere  long,  to  ivork  thee  to  despair, 
and  for  ever  to  break  the  neck  of  thy  soul,  present  repentance  as  the 
diffcidtest  and  hardest  work  in  the  world  ;  and  to  this  purpose  he 
will  set  thy  sins  in  order  before  thee,  and  make  them  to  say,  '  We  are 
thine,  and  we  must  follow  thee.'1  Now,  Satan  will  help  to  work  the 
soul  to  look  up,  and  see  God  angry  ;  and  to  look  inward,  and  to  see 
conscience  accusing  and  condemning  ;  and  to  look  downwards,  and 
see  hell's  mouth  open  to  receive  the  impenitent  soul :  and  all  this  to 
render  the  work  of  repentance  impossible  to  the  soul.  What,  saith 
Satan,  dost  thou  think  that  that  is  easy  which  the-  whole  power  of 
grace  cannot  conquer  while  we  are  in  this  world  ?  Is  it  easy,  saith 
Satan,  to  turn  from  some  outward  act  of  sin  to  which  thou  hast  been 
addicted  ?  Dost  thou  not  remember  that  thou  hast  often  complained 
against  such  and  such  particular  sins,  and  resolved  to  leave  them  ? 
and  yet,  to  this  hour,  thou  hast  not,  thou  canst  not  ?  What  will  it 
then  be  to  turn  from  every  sin  ?  Yea,  to  mortify  and  cut  off  those 
sins,  those  darling  lusts,  that  are  as  joints  and  members,  that  be  as 
right  hands  and  right  eyes  ?  Hast  thou  not  loved  thy  sins  above  thy 
Saviour?  Hast  thou  not  preferred  earth  before  heaven?  Hast  thou 
not  all  along  neglected  the  means  of  grace  ?  and  despised  the  offers 
of  grace  ?  and  vexed  the  Spirit  of  grace  1  There  would  be  no  end,  it 
I  should  set  before  thee  the  infinite  evils  that  thou  hast  committed, 
and  the  innumerable  good  services  that  thou  hast  omitted,  and  the 
frequent  checks  of  thy  own  conscience  that  thou  hast  contemned ;  and 
therefore  thou  mayest  well  conclude  that  thou  canst  never  repent, 
that  thou  shalt  never  repent.  Now,  saith  Satan,  do  but  a  little  con- 
sider thy  numberless  sins,  and  the  greatness  of  thy  sins,  the  foulness  ot 
thy  sins,  the  heinousness  of  thy  sins,  the  circumstances  of  thy  sins,  and 
thou  shalt  easily  see  that  those  sins  that  thou  thoughtest  to  be  but 
motes,  are  indeed  mountains  ;  and  is  it  not  now  in  vain  to  repent  of 
them  ?     Surely,  saith  Satan,  if  thou  shouldest   seek  repentance  ami 

1  Beda  tells  of  a  certain  great  man  that  was  admonished  in  his  sickness  to  repent,  who 
answered  that  he  would  not  repent  yet ;  for  if  he  should  recover,  his  companions  would 
laugh  at  him  ;  hut,  growing  sicker  and  sicker,  his  friends  pressed  him  again  to  repent, 
hut  then  he  told  them  it  was  too  late.  Quia  jam  judicatus  sum  et  condemnatus :  For 
now,  said  he,  I  am  judged  and  condemned. 

As  one  Lamachus,  a  commander,  said  to  one  of  his  soldiers  that  was  brought  before 
him  for  a  misbehaviour,  who  pleaded  he  would  do  so  no  more,  saith  he,  Non  licet  in 
hello  bis  peccare,  no  man  must  offend  twice  in  war  ;  so  God  will  not  suffer  men  often  to 
neglect  the  day  of  grace. 


38  PRECIOUS  REMEDIKS  [2  COR.  II.  11. 

grace  with  tears,  as  Esau,  thou  shalt  not  find  it  ;  thy  glass  is  out,  thy 
sun  is  set,  the  door  of  mercy  is  shut,  the  golden  sceptre  is  taken  in, 
and  now  thou  that  hast  despised  mercy,  shalt  be  for  ever  destroyed 
by  justice.  For  such  a  wretch  as  thou  art  to  attempt  repentance,  is 
to  attempt  a  thing  impossible.  It  is  impossible  that  thou,  that  in  all 
thy  life  couldst  never  conquer  one  sin,  shouldst  master  such  a  number- 
less number  of  sins  ;  which  are  so  near,  so  dear,  so  necessary,  and  so 
profitable  to  thee,  that  have  so  long  bedded  and  boarded  with  thee, 
that  have  been  old  acquaintance  and  companions  with  thee.  Hast 
thou  not  often  purposed,  promised,  vowed,  and  resolved  to  enter  upon 
the  practice  of  repentance,  but  to  this  day  couldst  never  attain  it  ? 
Surely  it  is  in  vain  to  strive  against  the  stream,  where  it  is  so  impos- 
sible to  overcome  ;  thou  art  lost  and  cast  for  ever  ;  to  hell  thou  must, 
to  hell  thou  shalt.  Ah,  souls  !  he  that  now  tempts  you  to  sin,  by 
suggesting  to  you  the  easiness  of  repentance,  will  at  last  work  you  to 
despair,  and  present  repentance  as  the  hardest  work  in  all  the  world, 
and  a  work  as  far  above  man  as  heaven  is  above  hell,  as  light  is  above 
darkness.  Oh  that  you  were  wise,  to  break  off  your  sins  by  timely 
repentance.  ! 

Now  the  seventh  device  that  Satan  hath  to  draw  the  soul  to  sin  is, 
Device  (7).  By  making  the  soul  bold  to  venture  upon  the  occasions 
of  sin.  Saith  Satan,  You  may  walk  by  the  harlot's  door,  though  you 
won't  go  into  the  harlot's  bed  ;  you  may  sit  and  sup  with  the  drunkard, 
though  you  won't  be  drunk  with  the  drunkard  ;  you  may  look  upon 
Jezebel's  beauty,  and  you  may  play  and  toy  with  Delilah,  though  you 
do  not  commit  wickedness  with  the  one  or  the  other ;  you  may  with 
Achan  handle  the  golden  wedge,  though  you  do  not  steal  the  golden 
wedge,  &c. 

Now  the  remedies  against  this  device  of  the  devil  are  these  : 
Remedy  (1).  The  first  remedy  is,  solemnly  to  dwell  upon  those 
scriptures  that  do  expressly  command  us  to  avoid  the  occasions  of 
sin,  and  the  least  appearance  of  evil :  1  Thes.  v.  22,  '  Abstain  from 
all  appearance  of  evil/  Whatsoever  is  heterodox,  unsound,  and  un- 
savoury, shun  it,  as  you  would  do  a  serpent  in  your  way,  or  poison  in 
your  meat.2 

Theodosius  tare  the  Arian's  arguments  presented  to  him  in  writing, 
because  he  found  them  repugnant  to  the  Scriptures  ;  and  Austin 
retracted  even  ironies  only,  because  they  had  the  appearance  of  lying. 
When  God  had  commanded  the  Jews  to  abstain  from  swine's  flesh, 
they  would  not  so  much  as  name  it,  but  in  their  common  talk  would 
call  a  sow  another  thing.  To  abstain  from  all  appearance  of  evil,  is  to 
do  nothing  wherein  sin  appears,  or  which  hath  a  shadow  of  sin.  Bernard 
glosseth  finely,  '  Whatever  is  of  evil  show,3  or  of  ill  report,  that  he  may 
neither  wound  conscience  nor  credit.'  We  must  shun  and  be  shy 
of  the  very  show  and  shadow  of  sin,  if  either  we  tender  our  credit 
abroad,  or  our  comfort  at  home. 

1  Repentance  is  a  work  that  must  be  timely  done,  or  utterly  undone  for  ever.  Aut 
pmnitendum  aut  pereundum. 

1  Epiphanius  saith  that  in  the  old  law,  when  any  dead  body  was  carried  by  any 
house,  they  were  enjoined  to  shut  their  doors  and  windows. 

J  Quicquid  est  male  coloratum. 


2  COR.  II.  11.]  AGAINST  SATAN'S  DEVICES.  39 

It  was  good  counsel  that  Livia  gave  her  husband  Augustus  :  '  It 
behoveth  thee  not  only  not  to  do  wrong,  but  not  to  seem  to  do  so,'  &c.  : 
so  Jude  23,  '  And  others  save  with  fear,  pulling  them  out  of  the  fire, 
hating  even  the  garment  spotted  by  the  flesh.'  It  is  a  phrase  taken 
from  legal  uncleanness,  which  was  contracted  by  touching  the  houses, 
the  vessels,  the  garments,  of  unclean  persons.1  Under  the  law,  men 
might  not  touch  a  menstruous  cloth,  nor  God  would  not  accept  of 
a  spotted  peace-offering.  So  we  must  not  only  hate  and  avoid  gross 
sins,  but  everything  that  may  carry  a  savour  or  suspicion  of  sin  ; 
we  must  abhor  the  very  signs  and  tokens  of  sin.  So  in  Prov.  v.  8, 
'Remove  thy  way  far  from  her,  and  come  not  nigh  the  door  of  her 
house.'  He  that  would  not  be  burnt,  must  dread  the  fire  ;  he  that 
would  not  hear  the  bell,  must  not  meddle  with  the  rope.2  To  ven- 
ture upon  the  occasion  of  sin,  and  then  to  pray,  *  Lead  us  not  into 
temptation,'  is  all  one  as  to  thrust  thy  finger  into  the  fire,  and  then 
to  pray  that  it  might  not  be  burnt  So,  in  Prov.  iv.  14,  15,  you  have 
another  command  :  '  Enter  not  into  the  path  of  the  wicked,  and  go 
not  in  the  way  of  evil  men  :  avoid  it,  and  pass  not  by  it,  turn  from  it, 
and  pass  away.'  This  triple  gradation  of  Solomon  sheweth  with  a 
great  emphasis,  how  necessary  it  is  for  men  to  flee  from  all  appear- 
ance of  sin,  as  the  seaman  shuns  sands  and  shelves,  and  as  men  shun 
those  that  have  the  plague-sores  running  upon  them.  As  weeds  do 
endanger  the  corn,  as  bad  humours  do  endanger  the  blood,  or  as  an 
infected  house  doth  endanger  the  neighbourhood  ;  so  doth  the  company 
of  the  bad  endanger  those  that  are  good.  Entireness3  with  wicked 
cousorts  is  one  of  the  strongest  chains  of  hell,  and  binds  us  to  a  par- 
ticipation of  both  sin  and  punishment. 

Remedy  (2).  The  second  remedy  against  this  device  of  Satan  is, 
solemnly  to  consider,  That  ordinarily  there  is  no  conquest  over  sin, 
without  the  soul  tvrns  from  the  occasion  of  sin.  It  is  impossible  for 
that  man  to  get  the  conquest  of  sin,  that  plays  and  sports  with  the 
occasions  of  sin.  God  will  not  remove  the  temptation,  except  you 
turn  from  the  occasion.  It  is  a  just  and  righteous  thing  with  God, 
that  he  should  fall  into  the  pit,  that  will  adventure  to  dance  upon 
the  brink  of  the  pit,  and  that  he  should  be  a  slave  to  sin,  that  will  not 
flee  from  the  occasions  of  sin.  As  long  as  there  is  fuel  in  our  hearts 
for  a  temptation,  we  cannot  be  secure.  He  that  hath  gunpowder 
about  him  had  need  keep  far  enough  off  from  sparkles.  To  rush  upon 
the  occasions  of  sin,  is  both  to  tempt  ourselves,  and  to  tempt  Satan  to 
tempt  our  souls.  It  is  very  rare  that  any  soul  plays  with  the  occasions 
of  sin,  but  that  soul  is  ensnared  by  sin.4  It  is  seldom  that  God  keeps 
that  soul  from  the  acts  of  sin,  that  will  not  keep  off  from  the  occasions 
of  sin.  He  that  adventures  upon  the  occasions  of  sin  is  as  he  that 
would  quench  the  fire  with  oil,  which  is   a  fuel  to  maintain  it,  and 

1  Socrates  speaks  of  two  young  men  that  flung  away  their  belts,  when,  being  in  an 
idol's  temple,  the  lustrating  water  fell  upon  them,  detesting,  saith  the  historian,  the 
garment  spotted  by  the  flesh.     [The  ecclesiastical  historian,  not  the  philosopher. — G.] 

2  One  said,  As  oft  as  I  have  been  among  vain  men,  I  returned  home  less  a  man  than 
I  was  before.  3  Friendship. — G. 

4  The  fable  saith,  that  the  butterfly  asked  the  owl  how  she  should  deal  with  the  fire 
which  had  singed  her  wings,  who  counsels  her  not  to  behold  so  much  as  its  smoke. 


40  PRECIOUS  REMEDIES  [2  COR.  II.  11. 

increase  it.  Ah,  souls,  often  remember  Low  frequently  you  have  been 
overcome  by  sin,  when  you  have  boldly  gone  upon  the  occasions  of 
sin  ;  look  back,  souls,  to  the  day  of  your  vanity,  wherein  you  have 
been  as  easily  conquered  as  tempted,  vanquished  as  assaulted,  when 
you  have  played  with  the  occasions  of  sin.  As  you  would  lor  the 
future  bo  kept  from  the  acting  of  sin,  and  be  made  victorious  over  sin, 
oh  !  flee  from  the  occasions  of  sin. 

Remedy  (3).  The  third  remedy  against  this  device  of  Satan  is, 
seriously  to  consider,  That  other  'precious  saints,  that  were  once  glorious 
on  earth,  and  arc  now  triumphing  in  heaven,  have  turned  from 
the  occasion  of  sin,  as  hell  itself;  as  you  may  see  in  Joseph,  Gen. 
xxxix.  10,  'And  it  came  to  pass,  as  she  spake  to  Joseph  day  by  day, 
that  he  hearkened  not  unto  her,  to  lie  by  her,  or  to  be  with  her.'1 
Joseph  was  famous  for  all  the  four  cardinal  virtues,  if  ever  any  wore. 
In  this  one  temptation  you  may  see  his  fortitude,  justice,  temperance, 
and  prudence,  in  that  he  shuns  the  occasion:  for  he  would  not  so 
much  as  be  with  her.  And  that  a  man  is  indeed,  that  he  is  in  a 
temptation,  which  is  but  a  tap  to  give  vent  to  corruption.  The 
Nazarite  might  not  only  not  drink  wine,  but  not  taste  a  grape,  or 
the  husk  of  a  grape.  The  leper  was  to  shave  his  hair,  and  pare  his 
nails.  The  devil  counts  a  fit  occasion  half  a  conquest,  for  he  knows 
that  corrupt  nature  hath  a  seed-plot  for  all  sin,  which  being  drawn 
forth  and  watered  by  some  sinful  occasion,  is  soon  set  a- work  to  the 
producing  of  death  and  destruction.  God  will  not  remove  the  tempta- 
tion, till  we  remove  the  occasion.  A  bird  whiles  aloft  is  safe,  but 
she  comes  not  near  the  snare  without  danger.  The  shunning  the 
occasions  of  sin  renders  a  man  most  like  the  best  of  men.  A  soul 
eminently  gracious,  dares  not  come  near  the  train,  though  he  be  far 
off  the  blow.  So  Job  xxxi.  1,  '  I  have  made  a  covenant  with  mine  eyes  ; 
Avhy  then  should  I  think  upon  a  maid  ?  '2  I  set  a  watch  at  the  entrance 
of  my  senses,  that  my  soul  might  not  by  them  be  infected  or  en- 
dangered. The  eye  is  the  window  of  the  soul,  and  if  that  should  be 
always  open,  the  soul  might  smart  for  it.  A  man  may  not  look 
intently  upon  that,  that  lie  may  not  love  entirely.  The  disciples  were 
set  a-gog,  by  beholding  the  beauty  of  the  temple.  It  is  best  and  safest 
to  have  the  eye  always  fixed  upon  the  highest  and  noblest  objects  :  as 
the  mariner's  eye  is  fixed  upon  the  star,  when  their  hand  is  on  the 
stern.  So  David,  when  he  was  himself,  he  shuns  the  occasion  of  sin : 
Ps.  xxvi.  4,  5,  '  I  have  not  sat  with  vain  persons,  neither  will  I  go  in 
with  dissemblers  ;  I  have  hated  the  congregation  of  evil  doers,  and 
will  not  sit  with  the  wicked.' 

Stories  speak  of  some  that  could  not  sleep  when  they  thought  of 
the  trophies  of  other  worthies,  that  went  before  them.  The  highest 
and  choicest  examples  are  to  some,  and  should  be  to  all,  very  quicken- 
ing and  provoking;  and  oh  that  the  examples  of  those  worthy  saints, 
David,  Joseph,  and  Job,  might  prevail  with  all  your  souls  to  shun  and 

1  There  are  stories  of  heathens  that  would  not  look  upon  beauties,  leal  they  should  be 
ensnared.     Democritus  plucked  out  his  own  eyes  to  avoid  the  danger  of  uncleanness. 

2  T\~\2  JVQ.  I  cut  a  covenant.  In  making  covenants,  it  was  a  custom  among  the 
Jews  to  cut  some  beast  or  other  in  pieces,  and  so  walk  between  the  pieces,  to  signify 
thai  thej  desired  God  to  destroy  them  that  should  break  the  covenant. 


2  Cor.  II.  11.]  against  satan's  devices.  41 

avoid  the  occasions  of  sin !  Every  one  should  strive  to  be  like  to  them 
in  grace,  that  they  desire  to  be  equal  with  in  glory.  He  that  shooteth 
at  the  sun,  though  he  be  far  short,  will  shoot  higher  than  he  that  aimeth 
at  a  shrub.  It  is  best,  and  it  speaks  out  much  of  Christ  within,  to  eye 
the  highest  and  the  worthiest  examples. 

Remedy  (4).  The  fourth  remedy  against  this  device  of  Satan  is, 
solemnly  to  consider,  That  the  avoiding  the  occasions  of  sin,  is  an 
evidence  of  grace,  and  tltat  tuhich  lifts  up  a  man  above  most  other 
men  in  the  world.1  That  a  man  is  indeed,  which  he  is  in  temptation  ; 
and  when  sinful  occasions  do  present  themselves  before  the  soul,  this 
speaks  out  both  the  truth  and  the  strength  of  grace  ;  when  with  Lot,  a 
man  can  be  chaste  in  Sodom,  and  with  Timothy  can  live  temperate  in 
Asia,  among  the  luxurious  Ephesians  ;  and  with  Job  can  walk  up- 
rightly in  the  land  of  Uz,  where  the  people  were  profane  in  their 
lives,  and  superstitious  in  their  worship ;  and  with  Daniel  be  holy 
in  Babylon;  and  with  Abraham  righteous  in  Chaldea;  and  with  Ne- 
hemiah,  zealous  in  Damasco,  &c.  Many  a  wicked  man  is  big  and  full 
of  corruption,  but  shews  it  not  for  want  of  occasion  ;  but  that  man  is 
surely  good,  who  in  his  course  will  not  be  bad,  though  tempted  by  occa- 
sions. A  Christless  soul  is  so  far  from  refusing  occasions  when  they 
come  in  his  way,  that  he  looks  and  longs  after  them,  and  rather  than 
he  will  go  without  them  he  will  buy  them,  not  only  with  love  or 
money,  but  also  with  the  loss  of  his  soul.  Nothing  but  grace  can 
fence  a  man  against  the  occasions  of  sin,  when  he  is  strongly  tempted 
thereunto.  Therefore,  as  you  would  cherish  a  precious  evidence  in 
your  own  bosoms  of  the  truth  and  strength  of  your  graces,  shun  all  sinful 
occasions. 

The  eighth  device  that  Satan  hath  to  draw  the  soul  to  sin,  is, 

Device  (8).  By  representing  to  the  soul  the  outivard  mercies  that 
vain  men  enjoy,  and  the  outward  miseries  that  they  are  freed  from, 
whilst  they  have  walked  in  the  ways  of  sin.  Saith  Satan,  Dost  thou 
see,  O  soul,  the  many  mercies  that  such  and  such  enjoy,  that  walk 
in  those  very  ways  that  thy  soul  startles  to  think  of,  and  the  many 
crosses  that  they  are  delivered  from,  even  such  as  makes  other  men, 
that  say  they  dare  not  walk  in  such  ways,  to  spend  their  days  in 
sighing,  weeping,  groaning,  and  mourning  1  and  therefore,  saith  Satan, 
if  ever  thou  wouldst  be  freed  from  the  dark  night  of  adversity,  and 
enjoy  the  sunshine  of  prosperity,  thou  must  walk  in  their  ways.2 

By  this  stratagem  the  devil  took  those  in  Jer.  xliv.  16-18,  '  As 
for  the  word  that  thou  hast  spoken  unto  us  in  the  name  of  the  Lord,  we 
will  not  hearken  unto  thee  :  but  we  will  certainly  do  whatsoever  thing 
goeth  forth  of  our  mouth,  to  burn  incense  unto  the  queen  of  heaven, 
and  to  pour  out  drink-offerings  unto  her,  as  we  have  done,  we,  and 
our  fathers,  our  kings,  and   our  princes,  in  the  cities  of  Judah,  and 

1  Plutarch  saith  of  Demosthenes,  that  he  was  excellent  at  praising  the  worthy  acts 
of  his  ancestors,  but  not  so  at  imitating  them.  Oh  that  this  were  not  applicable  to  many 
professors  in  our  times  ! 

2  It  was  a  weighty  saying  of  Seneca,  Nihil  est  infelicius  eo,  cui  nil  unquam  contigit 
adversi,  there  is  nothing  more  unhappy  than  he  who  never  felt  adversity.  Some  of  the 
heathens  would  be  wicked  as  their  gods  were,  counting  it  a  dishonour  to  their  god  to  be 
unlike  him.—  Lactxntius. 


42  PRECIOUS  REMEDIES  [2  COR.  II.  11. 

in  the  streets  of  Jerusalem  :  for  then  had  we  plenty  of  victuals,  and 
were  well,  and  saw  no  evil.  But  since  we  left  off  to  burn  incense  to 
the  queen  of  heaven,  and  to  pour  out  drink-offerings  unto  her,  Ave 
have  wanted  all  things,  and  have  been  consumed  by  the  sword  and  by 
the  famine/  This  is  just  the  language  of  a  world  of  ignorant,  pro- 
fane, and  superstitious  souls  in  London,  and  England,  that  would  have 
made  them  a  captain  to  return  to  bondage,  yea,  to  that  bondage  that 
was  Averse  than  that  the  Israelites  groaned  under.  Oh,  say  they,  since 
such  and  such  persons  have  been  put  down,  and  left  off,  we  have  had 
nothing  but  plundering  and  taxing,  and  butchering  of  men,  &c. ;  and 
therefore  we  Avill  do  as  Ave,  and  our  kings,  and  nobles,  and  fathers 
have  formerly  done,  for  then  had  we  plenty  at  home,  and  peace  abroad, 
&c,  and  there  was  none  to  make  us  afraid.1 

Now  the  remedies  against  this  device  of  Satan  are  these  that 
follow  : 

Remedy  (]).  The  first  remedy  is,  solemnly  to  consider,  That  no 
man  knoivs  how  the  heart  of  God  stands  by  his  hand.  His  band  of 
mercy  may  be  toAvards  a  man,  when  his  heart  may  be  against  that 
man,  as  you  may  see  in  Saul  and  others  ;  and  the  hand  of  God  may  be 
set  against  a  man,  Avhen  the  heart  of  God  is  dearly  set  upon  a  man,  as 
you  may  see  in  Job  and  Ephraim.2  The  hand  of  God  was  sorely 
set  against  them,  and  yet  the  heart  and  bowels  of  God  were  strongly 
working  toAvards  them.  No  man  knoweth  either  love  or  hatred  by  out- 
Avard  mercy  or  misery ;  for  all  things  come  alike  to  all,  to  the  right- 
eous and  to  the  unrighteous,  to  the  good  and  to  the  bad,  to  the  clean 
aud  to  the  unclean,  &c.  The  sun  of  prosperity  shines  as  well  upon 
brambles  of  the  Avilderness  as  fruit-trees  of  the  orchard  ;  the  snoAV  and 
hail  of  adversity  lights  upon  the  best  garden  as  well  as  the  stinking 
dunghill  or  the  wild  Avaste.  Abab's  and  Josiah's  ends  concur  in  the 
very  circumstances.  Saul  and  Jonathan,  though  different  in  their 
natures,  deserts,  and  deportments,  yet  in  their  deaths  they  were  not 
divided.  Health,  Avealth,  honours,  &c,  crosses,  sicknesses,  losses,  &c, 
are  cast  upon  good  men  and  bad  men  promiscuously.  '  The  Avhole 
Turkish  empire  is  nothing  else  but  a  crust,  cast  by  heaven's  great 
housekeeper  to  his  dogs/3  Moses  dies  in  the  Avilderness  as  well  as 
those  that  murmured.  Nabal  is  rich,  as  well  as  Abraham  ;  Ahithophel 
wise,  as  well  as  Solomon  ;  and  Doeg  honoured  by  Saul,  as  Avell  as 
Joseph  Avas  by  Pharaoh.  Usually  the  worst  of  men  have  most  of  these 
outward  things  ;  and  the  best  of  men  have  least  of  earth,  though  most 
of  heaven. 

Jiemcdy  (2).  The  second  remedy  against  this  device  of  Satan  is, 
seriously  to  consider,  That  there  is  nothing  in  the  world  that  doth  so 

1  It  is  said  of  one  of  the  emperors,  that  Rome  had  no  war  in  his  days,  hecause  it  was 
plague  enough  to  have  such  an  emperor.  You  are  wise,  and  know  how  to  apply  it.  [The 
allusion,  no  doubt,  is  to  Charles  I.,  and  the  agitation  for  the  Restoration  of  Charles  II 
Cromwell  died  Sept.  3.  1658.— G.] 

-  Tnll y  judged  the  Jews'  religion  to  be  naught,  because  they  were  so  often  overcome, 
and  impoverished,  and  afflicted ;  and  the  religion  of  Rome  to  be  right,  because  the  Romana 
prospered  ami  became  lords  of  the  world;  and  yet,  though  the  Romans  had  his  hand, 
yet  the  Jews  had  his  heart,  for  they  were  dearly  beloved  though  sorely  afflicted.  [Brooks's 
reference  is  found  in  Cicero,  in  Orat.  Pro  L.  Flacco  28. — G.] 

3  Nihil  est  nisi  mica  panis. — Luther. 


2  Cor.  II.  11.]  against  satan's  devices.  43 

provoke  God  to  be  wroth  and  angry,  as  men's  talcing  encouragement 
from  God's  goodness  and  mercy  to  do  wickedly.  This  you  may  see 
by  that  wrath  that  fell  upon  the  old  world,  and  by  God's  raining 
hell  out  of  heaven  upon  Sodom  and  Gomorrah.  This  is  clear  in  Jere- 
miah xliv.,  from  ver.  20  to  ver.  28.  The  words  are  worthy  of  your 
best  meditation.  Oh  that  they  were  engraven  in  all  your  hearts,  and 
constant  in  all  your  thoughts  !  Though  they  are  too  large  for  me  to 
transcribe  them,  yet  they  are  not  too  large  for  me  to  remember  them. 
To  argue  from  mercy  to  sinful  liberty,  is  the  devil's  logic,  and  such 
logicians  do  ever  walk  as  upon  a  mine  of  gunpowder  ready  to  be  blown 
up.  No  such  soul  can  ever  avert  or  avoid  the  wrath  of  God.  This  is 
wickedness  at  the  height,  for  a  man  to  be  very  bad,  because  God  is 
very  good.  A  worse  spirit  than  this  is  not  in  hell.  Ah,  Lord,  doth 
not  wrath,  yea,  the  greatest  wrath,  lie  at  this  man's  door  ?  Are  not  the 
strongest  chains  of  darkness  prepared  for  such  a  soul  ?  To  sin  against 
mercy  is  to  sin  against  humanity.  It  is  bestial;  nay,  it  is  worse. 
To  render  good  for  evil  is  divine,  to  render  good  for  good  is  human, 
to  render  evil  for  evil  is  brutish  ;  but  to  render  evil  for  good  is  devilish  ; 
and  from  this  evil  deliver  my  soul,  O  God.1 

Remedy  (3).  The  third  remedy  against  this  device  of  Satan  is, 
solemnly  to  consider,  lhat  there  is  no  greater  misery  in  this  life, 
than  not  to  be  in  misery;  no  greater  affliction,  than  not  to  be 
afflicted.  Woe,  woe  to  that  soul  that  God  will  not  spend  a  rod  upon  ! 
This  is  the  saddest  stroke  of  all,  when  God  refuses  to  strike  at  all : 
Hos.  iv.  17,  'Ephraim  is  joined  to  idols;  let  him  alone.'  'Why 
should  you  be  smitten  any  more  ?  you  will  revolt  more  and  more,'  Isa. 
i.  5.  When  the  physician  gives  over  the  patient,  you  say,  '  Ring  out 
his  knell,  the  man  is  dead.'  So  when  God  gives  over  a  soul  to  sin 
without  control,  you  may  truly  say,  '  This  soul  is  lost/  you  may  ring 
out  his  knell,  for  he  is  twice  dead,  and  plucked  up  by  the  roots.  Free- 
dom from  punishment  is  the  mother  of  security,  the  step-mother  of 
virtue,  the  poison  of  religion,  the  moth  of  holiness,  and  the  introducer 
of  wickedness.  '  Nothing,'  said  one,  '  seems  more  unhappy  to  me,  than 
he  to  whom  no  adversity  hath  happened/  Outward  mercies  ofttimes 
prove  a  snare  to  our  souls.  '  I  will  lay  a  stumbling-block,'  Ezek.  iii. 
20.  Vatablus  his  note  there  is,  '  I  will  prosper  him  in  all  things, 
and  not  by  affliction  restrain  him  from  sin.'2  Prosperity  hath  been  a 
stumbling-block,  at  which  millions  have  stumbled  and  fallen,  and 
broke  the  neck  of  their  souls  for  ever.3 

Remedy  (4).  The  fourth  remedy  against  this  device  of  Satan  is, 
seriously  to  consider,  That  the  wants  of  wicked  men,  under  all  their 
outward  mercy  and  freedom  from  adversity,  is  far  greater  than  all 
their  outward  enjoyments.  They  have  many  mercies,  yet  they  want 
more  than  they  enjoy;  the  mercies  which  they  enjoy  are  nothing  to  the 

1  Such  souls  make  God  a  god  of  clouts,  one  that  will  not  do  as  he  saith  ;  hut  they  shall 
find  God  to  he  as  severe  in  punishing  as  he  is  to  others  gracious  in  pardoning.  Good 
turns  aggravate  unkindnesses,  and  our  guilt  is  increased  by  our  obligations. 

2  Faciam  ut  omnia  habeat  prospera;  calamitatibus  euru  a  peccato  non  revocabo. 
[Annot.  in  Lib.  Vet.  Test.     Paris,  1557.— G-] 

3  Religio  peperit  divitias,  et  filia  devoravit  malrem  ;  religion  brought  forth  riches,  and 
the  daughter  soon  devoured  the  mother,  saith  Augustine. 


44  PRECIOUS  REMEDIES  [2  COR.  II.  11. 

mercies  they  want.  It  is  true,  they  have  honours  and  riches,  and  plea- 
sures and  friends,  and  are  mighty  in  power;  their  seed  is  established 
in  their  sight  with  them,  and  their  offspring  before  their  eyes  :  'Their 
houses  are  sate  from  fear,  neither  is  the  rod  of  God  upon  them;' 
•  They  send  forth  their  little  ones  like  a  flock,  and  their  children 
dance.  They  lake  the  timbrel  and  harp,  and  rejoice  at  the  sound  of 
the  organ;9  'They  spend  their  days  in  wealth,  their  eyes  stand  out 
with  fatness,  they  have  more  than  heart  can  wish  :  and  they  have  no 
bands  in  their  death,  but  their  strength  is  firm  ;  they  are  not  in  trouble 
as  other  men,'  as  David  and  Job  speak.1  Yet  all  this  is  nothing  to 
what  they  want.2  They  want  interest  in  God,  Christ,  the  Spirit,  the 
promises,  the  covenant  of  grace,  and  everlasting  glory  ;  they  want 
acceptation  and  reconciliation  with  God ;  they  want  righteousness, 
justification,  sanctification,  adoption,  and  redemption  ;  they  want  the 
pardon  of  sin,  and  power  against  sin,  and  freedom  from  the  dominion 
of  sin  ;  they  want  that  favour  that  is  better  than  life,  and  that  joy  that 
is  unspeakable  and  full  of  glory,  and  that  peace  that  passes  under- 
standing, and  that  grace,  the  least  spark  of  which  is  more  worth  than 
heaven  and  earth  ;  they  want  a  house  that  hath  foundations,  whose 
builder  and  maker  is  God  ;  they  want  those  riches  that  perish  not,  the 
glory  that  fades  not,  that  kingdom  that  shakes  not.  Wicked  men 
are  the  most  needy  men  in  the  world,  yea,  they  want  those  two  things 
that  should  render  their  mercies  sweet,  viz.,  the  blessing  of  God,  and 
content  with  their  condition,  and  without  which  their  heaven  is  but 
hell  on  this  side  hell.3  When  their  hearts  are  lifted  up  and  grown  big 
upon  the  thoughts  of  their  abundance,  if  conscience  does  but  put  in 
a  word  and  say,  It  is  true,  here  is  this  and  that  outward  mercy.  Oh, 
but  where  is  an  interest  in  Christ?  Where  is  the  favour  of  God? 
Where  are  the  comforts  of  the  Holy  Ghost?  Where  are  the  evidences 
for  heaven?  &c.  This  word  from  conscience  makes  the  man's  counte- 
nance to  change,  his  thoughts  to  be  troubled,  his  heart  to  be  amazed, 
and  all  his  mercies  on  the  right  hand  and  left  to  be  as  dead  and 
withered.  Ah,  were  but  the  eyes  of  wicked  men  open  to  see  their 
wants  under  their  abundance,  they  would  cry  out  and  say,  as  Absalom 
did,  '  What  are  all  these  tome  so  loner  as  I  cannot  see  the  king's  face?' 
2  Sam.  xiv.  24,  33.  What  is  honour,  and  riches,  and  the  favour  of 
creatures,  so  long  as  I  want  the  favour  of  God,  the  pardon  of  my  sins, 
an  interest  in  Christ,  and  the  hopes  of  glory!  O  Lord,  give  me  these, 
or  I  die;  give  me  these,  or  else  1  shall  eternally  die. 

Remedy  (5).  The  fifth  remedy  against  this  device  of  Satan  is, 
solemnly  to  consider,  That  outivard  things  are  not  as  they  seem,  and 
are  esteemed     They  have,  indeed,  a  glorious  outside,  but  if  you  view 

1  Cf.  Psalm  xlix.  11,  lxxiii.  7 ;  Job  xxi.  12,  &c,  &c— G. 

'-'  Men  thai  enjoy  all  worldly  comforts  may  truly  say,  Omncs  humancc  consolationes 
SUfU  dfsolationes. 

3  ATec  C/tristus  nee  caelum  patitur  hyperbolem,  neither  Christ  nor  heaven  can  he  hyper- 
ed.  A  crown  of  gold  cannot  cure  the  headache,  nor  a  velvet  slipper  cannot  ease 
the  goul  ;  DO  more  can  honour  or  riches  quiet  and  still  the  conscience.  The  heart  of  man 
is  a  three-square  triangle,  which  the  whole  round  circle  of  the  world  cannot  till,  as 
mathematicians  say,  but  all  the  corners  will  complain  of  emptiness,  and  hunger  for 
Bomethins  else. 


2  Cor.  II.  11  .J  against  satan's  devices.  45 

their  insides,  you  will  easily  find  that  they  fill  the  head  full  of  cares, 
and  the  heart  full  of  fears.  What  if  the  fire  should  consume  one 
part  of  my  estate,  and  the  sea  should  be  a  grave  to  swallow  up 
another  part  of  my  estate  !  what  if  my  servants  should  be  unfaithful 
abroad,  and  my  children  should  be  deceitful  at  home !  Ah,  the  secret 
fretting,  vexing,  and  gnawing  that  doth  daily,  yea  hourly,  attend 
those  men's  souls  whose  hands  are  full  of  worldly  goods  ! 

It  was  a  good  speech  of  an  emperor,  '  You,'  said  he,  '  gaze  on  my 
purple  robe  and  golden  crown,  but  did  you  know  what  cares  are 
under  it,  you  would  not  take  it  up  from  the  ground  to  have  it.'  It 
was  a  true  saying  of  Augustine  on  the  26th  Psalm,  '  Many  are  miser- 
able by  loving  hurtful  things,  but  they  are  more  miserable  by  having 
them.'1  It  is  not  what  men  enjoy,  but  the  principle  from  whence  it 
comes,  that  makes  men  happy.  Much  of  these  outward  things  do 
usually  cause  great  distraction,  great  vexation,  and  great  condemna- 
tion at  last,  to  the  possessors  of  them.  If  God  gives  them  in  his  wrath, 
and  do  not  sanctify  them  in  his  love,  they  will  at  last  be  witnesses 
against  a  man,  and  millstones  for  ever  to  sink  a  man  in  that  day 
when  God  shall  call  men  to  an  account,  not  for  the  use,  but  for  the 
abuse  of  mercy. 

Remedy  (6).  The  sixth  remedy  against  this  device  of  Satan  is, 
seriously  to  consider  the  end  and  the  design  of  God  in  heaping  up 
mercy  upon  the  heads  of  the  wicked,  and  in  giving  them  a  quietus 
est,  rest  and  quiet  from  those  sorrows  and  sufferings  that  others  sigh 
under.  David,  in  Psalm  lxxiii.  17-20,  shews  the  end  and  design  of 
God  in  this.  Saith  he,  '  When  I  went  into  the  sanctuary  of  God, 
then  I  understood  their  end :  surely  thou  didst  set  them  in  slippery 
places,  thou  castedst  them  down  into  destruction.  How  are  they 
brought  into  desolation  as  in  a  moment :  they  are  utterly  consumed 
with  terrors.  As  a  dream,  when  ooe  awaketh,  so,  0  Lord,  when  thou 
awakest,  thou  shalt  despise  their  image.'2  So  in  Ps.  xcii.  7,  '  When 
the  wicked  spring  as  grass,  and  when  all  the  workers  of  iniquity  do 
flourish,  it  is  that  they  shall  be  destroyed  for  ever.'  God's  setting 
them  up,  is  but  in  order  to  his  casting  them  down  ;  his  raising  them 
high,  is  but  in  order  to  his  bringing  them  low:  Exod.  ix.  16,  'And 
in  very  deed,  for  this  cause  have  I  raised  thee  up,  for  to  shew  in  thee 
my  power,  and  that  my  name  may  be  declared  throughout  all  the 
earth.'  I  have  constituted  and  set  thee  up  as  a  butt-mark,3  that  I 
may  let  fly  at  thee,  and  follow  thee  close  with  plague  upon  plague,  till 
I  have  beaten  the  very  breath  out  of  thy  body,  and  got  myself  a  name, 
by  setting  my  feet  upon  the  neck  of  all  thy  pride,  power,  pomp,  and 
glory.  Ah,  souls,  what  man  in  his  wits  would  be  lifted  up  that  he 
might  be  cast  down ;  would  be  set  higher  than  others,  when  it  is  but 

1  Multi  amando  res  noxias  sunt  miseri,  habendo  miseriores.  —  Augustine  on  Psalm 
xx  vi. — G. 

2  Valens,  the  Eoman  emperor,  fell  from  being  an  emperor  to  be  a  footstool  to  Sapor, 
king  of  Persia.  Dionysius,  king  of  Sicily,  fell  from  his  kingly  glory  to  be  a  school- 
master. The  brave  Queen  Zenobia  was  brought  to  Rome  in  golden  chains.  Valens 
an  emperor,  Belisarius,  a  famous  general,  Henry  the  Fourth,  Bajazet,  Pythias,  «reat 
Pompey,  and  William  the  Conqueror,  these,  from  being  very  high,  were  brought  very 
low ;  they  all  fell  from  great  glory  and  majesty  to  great  poverty  and  misery. 

3  Arrow-mark  or  target. — G. 


46  TRECIOUS  REMEDIES  [2  COR.  II.  11. 

in  order  to  his  being  brought  down  lower  than  others?  There  is  not 
a  wicked  man  in  the  world  that  is  set  up  with  Lucifer,  as  high  as 
heaven,  but  shall  with  Lucifer  be  brought  down  as  low  as  hell. 
Canst  thou  think  seriously  of  this,  O  soul,  and  not  say,  O  Lord,  I 
humbly  crave  that  thou  wilt  let  me  be  little  in  this  world,  that  I  may 
be  great  in  another  world  ;  and  low  here,  that  I  may  be  high  for  ever 
hereafter.1  Let  me  be  low,  and  feed  low,  and  live  low,  so  I  may  live 
with  thee  for  ever;  let  me  now  be  clothed  with  rags,  so  thou  wilt 
clothe  me  at  last  with  thy  robes  ;  let  me  now  be  set  upon  a  dunghill, 
so  I  may  at  last  be  advanced  to  sit  with  thee  upon  thy  throne.  Lord, 
make  me  rather  gracious  than  great,  inwardly  holy  than  outwardly 
happy,  and  rather  turn  me  into  my  first  nothing,  yea,  make  me  worse 
than  nothing,  rather  than  set  me  up  for  a  time,  that  thou  mayest  bring 
me  low  for  ever. 

Remedy  (7).  The  seventh  remedy  against  this  device  of  Satan  is 
solemnly  to  consider,  That  God  doth  often  most  plague  and  punish 
those  whom  others  think  he  doth  most  spare  and  love  ;  that  is,  God 
doth  plague  and  punish  them  most  with  spiritual  judgments — which 
are  the  greatest,  the  sorest,  and  the  heaviest — whom  he  least  punishes 
with  temporal  punishments.2  There  are  no  men  on  earth  so  internally 
plagued  as  those  that  meet  with  least  external  plagues.  Oh  the 
blindness  of  mind,  the  hardness  of  heart,  the  searedness  of  conscience, 
that  those  souls  are  given  up  to,  who,  in  the  eye  of  the  world,  are  re- 
puted the  most  happy  men,  because  they  are  not  outwardly  afflicted 
and  plagued  as  other  men.  Ah,  souls,  it  were  better  that  all  the 
temporal  plagues  that  ever  befell  the  children  of  men  since  the  fall 
of  Adam  should  at  once  meet  upon  your  souls,  than  that  you  should 
be  given  up  to  the  least  spiritual  plague,  to  the  least  measure  of 
spiritual  blindness  or  spiritual  hardness  of  heart,  &c.  Nothing  will 
better  that  man,  nor  move  that  man,  that  is  given  up  to  spiritual 
judgments.  Let  God  smile  or  frown,  stroke  or  strike,  cut  or  kill,  he 
minds  it  not,  he  regards  it  not ;  let  life  or  death,  heaven  or  hell,  be 
set  before  him,  it  stirs  him  not ;  he  is  mad  upon  his  sin,  and  God  is 
fully  set  to  do  justice  upon  his  soul.  This  man's  preservation  is  but 
a  reservation  unto  a  greater  condemnation  ;  this  man  can  set  no 
bounds  to  himself ;  he  is  become  a  brat  of  fathomless  perdition  ;  he 
hath  guilt  in  his  bosom  and  vengeance  at  his  back  wherever  he  goes. 
Neither  ministry  nor  misery,  neither  miracle  nor  mercy,  can  mollify 
his  heart,  and  if  this  soukbe  not  in  hell,  on  this  side  hell,  who  is  ? 3 

Remedy  (8).  The  eighth  remedy  against  this  device  of  Satan  is, 
To  dwell  more  upon  that  strict  account  that  vain  men  must  make 
for  all  that  good  that  they  do  enjoy.4     Ah !    did  men  dwell   more 

1  Da  Domine,  ut  sic  possideamus  temporalia,  ut  non  perdamus  neterna.  Grant  us, 
Lord,  that  we  may  so  partake  of  temporal  felipity,  that  we  may  not  lose  eternal. — 
Bernard. 

s  Psalm  lxxxi.  12,  lxxviii.  2C-31,  cvi.  15.  He  gave  thorn  their  requests,  but  sent 
leanness  into  their  soul.  It  is  a  heavy  plague  to  have  a  fat  body  and  a  lean  soul ;  a 
house  full  of  gold,  and  a  heart  full  of  sin. 

*  It  is  better  to  have  a  sore  than  a  seared  conscience.  It  is  better  to  have  no  heart 
than  a  hard  heart,  no  mind  than  a  blind  mind. 

*  In  this  day  men  shall  give  an  account  (De  bonis  commissis,  de  bonis  dimissis,  de  malis 
commissis,  de  malis  permissis)  of  good  things  committed  unto  them,  of  good  things 


2  Cor.  II.  11.]  against  satan's  devices.  47 

upon  that  account  that  they  must  ere  long  give  for  all  the  mercies 
that  they  have  enjoyed,  and  for  all  the  favours  that  they  have 
abused,  and  for  all  the  sins  they  have  committed,  it  would  make 
their  hearts  to  tremble  and  their  lips  to  quiver,  and  rottenness  to 
enter  into  their  bones ;  it  would  cause  their  souls  to  cry  out,  and  say, 
Oh  that  our  mercies  had  been  fewer  and  lesser,  that  our  account 
might  have  been  easier,  and  our  torment  and  misery,  for  our  abuse  of 
so  great  mercy,  not  greater  than  we  are  able  to  bear.  Oh  cursed  be 
the  day  wherein  the  crown  of  honour  was  set  upon  our  heads,  and 
the  treasures  of  this  world  were  cast  into  our  laps  ;  oh  cursed  be  the 
day  wherein  the  sun  of  prosperity  shined  so  strong  upon  us,  and  this 
flattering  world  smiled  so  much  upon  us,  as  to  occasion  us  to  forget 
God,  to  slight  Jesus  Christ,  to  neglect  our  souls,  and  to  put  far  from 
us  the  day  of  our  account ! 

Philip  the  Third  of  Spain,  whose  life  was  free  from  gross  evils, 
professed,  '  That  he  would  rather  lose  his  kingdom  than  offend  God 
willingly  ;'  yet  being  in  the  agony  of  death,  and  considering  more 
thoroughly  of  his  account  he  was  to  give  to  God,  fear  struck  into  him, 
and  these  words  brake  from  him :  '  Oh  !  would  to  God  I  had  never 
reigned.  Oh  that  those  years  that  I  have  spent  in  my  kingdom,  I 
had  lived  a  solitary  life  in  the  wilderness  !  Oh  that  I  had  lived  a 
solitary  life  with  God  !  How  much  more  securely  should  I  now  have 
died  !  How  much  more  confidently  should  I  have  gone  to  the  throne 
of  God  !  What  doth  all  my  glory  profit  me,  but  that  I  have  so  much 
the  more  torment  in  my  death  ?'  God  keeps  an  exact  account  of 
every  penny  that  is  laid  out  upon  him  and  his,  and  that  is  laid  out 
against  him  and  his  ;  and  this  in  the  day  of  account  men  shall  know 
and  feel,  though  now  they  wink  and  will  not  understand.  The  sleep- 
ing of  vengeance  causeth  the  overflowing  of  sin,  and  the  overflowing 
of  sin  causeth  the  awakening  of  vengeance.  Abused  mercy  will  cer- 
tainly turn  into  fury.  God's  forbearance  is  no  quittance.  The  day 
is  at  hand  when  he  will  pay  wicked  men  for  the  abuse  of  old  and 
new  mercies.  If  he  seem  to  be  slow,  yet  he  is  sure.  He  hath  leaden 
heels,  but  iron  hands.  The  farther  he  stretcheth  his  bow,  or  draweth 
his  arrow,  the  deeper  he  will  wound  in  the  day  of  vengeance.  Men's 
actions  are  all  in  print  in  heaven,  and  God  will,  in  the  day  of  account, 
read  them  aloud  in  the  ears  of  all  the  world,  that  they  may  all  say 
Amen  to  that  righteous  sentence  that  he  shall  pass  upon  all  despisers 
and  abusers  of  mercy.1 

The  ninth  device  that  Satan  hath  to  draw  the  soul  to  sin  is, 
Device  (9).  By  presenting  to  the  soul  the  crosses,  losses,  re- 
proaches, sorrows,  and  sufferings  that  do  daily  attend  those  tliat 
walk  in  the  ways  of  holiness.  Saith  Satan,  Do  not  you  see  that 
there  are  none  in  the  world  that  are  so  vexed,  afflicted,  and  tossed,  as 
those  that  walk  more  circumspectly  and  holily  than  their  neighbours  ? 

neglected  by  them,  of  evil  committed  by  them,  and  of  evils  suffered  [allowed]  by  them. 
In  die  judicii  plus  valebit  conscientia  pura,  quarn  marsupia  plena  ;  then  shall  a  good 
conscience  be  more  worth  than  all  the  world's  good. — Bernard. 

1  Hierom  [Jerome]  still  thought  that  voice  was  in  his  ears  (Surgite  mortui  et  venite 
ad  judicium),  Arise,  you  dead,  and  come  to  judgment.  As  oft  as  I  think  on  that  day, 
how  doth  my  whole  body  quake,  and  my  heart  within  me  tremble. 


48  PRECIOUS  REMEDIES  [2  C'OR.  II.  11. 

They  are  a  byword  at  home,  and  a  reproach  abroad ;  their  miseries 
come  in  upon  them  like  .bib's  messengers,  one  upon  the  neck  of 
another,  and  there  is  no  end  of  their  sorrows  and  troubles.  Therefore, 
saith  Satan,  you  were  better  walk  in  ways  that  are  less  troublesome, 
and  Less  afflicted,  though  they  be  more  sinful;  for  who  but  a  madman 
would  spend  his  days  in  sorrow,  vexation,  and  affliction,  when  it  may 
be  prevented  by  walking  in  the  ways  that  I  set  before  him? 

Now  the  remedies  against  this  device  of  Satan  are  these  : 

Remedy  (1).  The  first  remedy  against  this  device  of  Satan  is, 
solemnly  to  consider,  Tltat  all  the  afflictions  U hat  do  attend  the  people 
of  God,  are  such  as  shall  turn  to  the  profit  and  glorious  advantage 
of '  tlte  people  of  God.  They  shall  discover  that  filthiness  and  vilenesa 
in  sin,  that  yet  the  soul  hath  never  seen. 

It  was  a  speech  of  a  German  divine1  in  his  sickness,  'In  this  disease 
I  have  learned  how  great  God  is,  and  what  the  evil  of  sin  is  ;  I  never 
knew  to  purpose  what  God  was  before,  nor  what  sin  meant,  till  now.' 
Afflictions  are  a  crystal  glass,  wherein  the  soul  hath  the  clearest  sight 
of  the  ugly  face  of  sin.  In  this  glass  the  soul  comes  to  see  sin  to  be 
but  a  bitter-sweet ;  yea,  in  this  glass  the  soul  comes  to  see  sin  not  only 
to  be  an  evil,  but  to  be  the  greatest  evil  in  the  world,  to  be  an  evil 
far  worse  than  hell  itself. 

Again,  They  shall  contribute  to  the  mortifying  and  purging  away 
of  their  sins,  Isa.  i.  15,  and  xxvii.  8,  9.  Afflictions  are  God's  fur- 
nace, by  which  he  cleanses  his  people  from  their  dross.  Affliction  is 
a  fire  to  purge  out  our  dross,  and  to  make  virtue  shine  ;  it  is  a  potion 
to  carry  away  ill  humours,  better  than  all  the  benedictum  rnedica- 
mentum,  as  physicians  call  them.2  Aloes  kill  worms  ;  colds  and  frosts  do 
destroy  vermin ;  so  do  afflictions  the  corruptions  that  are  in  our  hearts. 
The  Jews,  under  all  the  prophet's  thunderings,  retained  their  idols ; 
but  after  their  Babylonish  captivity7,  it  is  observed,  there  have  been  no 
idols  found  amongst  them. 

Again,  Afflictions  are  sweet  preservatives  to  keep  the  saints  from 
sin,  which  is  a  greater  evil  than  hell  itself.  As  Job  spake,  '  Surely  it 
is  meet  to  be  said  unto  God,  I  have  borne  chastisement,  I  will  not 
offend  any  more :  That  which  I  see  not,  teach  thou  me  ;  if  I  have 
done  iniquity,  I  will  do  no  more.  Once  have  I  spoken  foolishly,  yea. 
twice,  I  will  do  so  no  more/  Job  xxxiv.  31,  32.  The  burnt  child 
dreads  the  fire.  Ah  I  saith  the  soul  under  the  rod,  sin  is  but  a  bitter- 
sweet; and  for  the  future  I  intend,  by  the  strength  of  Christ,  that  I 
will  not  buy  repentance  at  so  dear  a  rate.3 

The  Rabbins,  to  scare  their  scholars  from  sin,  were  wont  to  tell 
them,  'That  sin  made  God's  head  ache;'  and  saints  under  the  red 
have  found  by  woful  experience,  that  sin  makes  not  only  their  heads. 
but  their  hearts  ache  also. 

Augustine,  by  wandering  out  of  his  way,  escaped  one  that  lay  in 

1  Gaspar  Olcvianus  (1586).— G. 

2  In  time  s  of  peace  our  armour  is  rusty,  in  time  of  war  it  is  bright 

8  Salt  brine  preserves  from  putrefaction,  and  salt  marshes  keep  the  sheep  rom  the 
rot:  so  do  afflictions  the  saints  from  sin.  The  ball  in  the  Emblem  saith,  Pcrcussa 
surgo,  the  border  you  beat  mo  down  in  affliction,  the  higher  I  shall  bound  in  affec- 
tion towards  heaven  and  heavenly  things. 


2  COK.  II.  11.]  AGAINST  SATAN'S  DEVICES.  49 

wait  to  mischief  him.1  If  afflictions  did  not  put  us  out  of  our  way, 
we  should  many  times  meet  with  some  sin  or  other  that  would  mis- 
chief our  precious  souls. 

Again,  They  will  work  the  saints  to  be  more  fruitful  in  holiness  : 
Heb.  xii.  10,  11,  '  But  he  afflicts  us  for  our  profit,  that  we  might  be  par- 
takers of  his  holiness.'  The  flowers  smell  sweetest  after  a  shower;  vines 
bear  the  better  for  bleeding ;  the  walnut-tree  is  most  fruitful  when 
most  beaten.  Saints  spring  and  thrive  most  internally  when  they  are 
most  externally  afflicted.  Afflictions  are  called  by  some  '  the  mother 
of  virtue.'  Manasseh  his  chain  was  more  profitable  to  him  than  his 
crown.  Luther  could  not  understand  some  Scriptures  till  he  was  in 
affliction.  The  Christ-cross  is  no  letter,  and  yet  that  taught  him  more 
than  all  the  letters  in  the  row.  God's  house  of  correction  is  his  school 
of  instruction.2  All  the  stones  that  came  about  Stephen's  ears  did 
but  knock  him  closer  to  Christ,  the  corner-stone.  The  waves  did  but 
lift  Noah's  ark  nearer  to  heaven  ;  and  the  higher  the  waters  grew,  the 
more  near  the  ark  was  lifted  up  to  heaven.  Afflictions  do  lift  up  the 
soul  to  more  rich,  clear,  and  full  enjoyments  of  God  :3  Hosea  ii.  14,  '  Be- 
hold, I  will  allure  her  into  the  wilderness,  and  speak  comfortably  to 
her'  ;  (or  rather,  as  the  Hebrew  hath  it)  ;  'I  will  earnestly  or  vehe- 
mently speak  to  her  heart.'4  God  makes  afflictions  to  be  but  inlets 
to  the  soul's  more  sweet  and  full  enjoyment  of  his  blessed  self.  When 
was  it  that  Stephen  saw  the  heavens  open,  and  Christ  standing  at  the 
right  hand  of  God,  but  when  the  stones  were  about  his  ears,  and  there 
was  but  a  short  step  betwixt  him  and  eternity  ?  And  when  did  God 
appear  in  his  glory  to  Jacob,  but  in  the  day  of  his  troubles,  when  the 
stones  were  his  pillows,  and  the  ground  his  bed,  and  the  hedges  his 
curtains,  and  the  heavens  his  canopy  ?  Then  he  saw  the  angels  of 
God  ascending  and  descending  in  their  glistering  robes.  The  plant  in 
Nazianzen  grows  with  cutting ;  being  cut,  it  flourisheth  ;  it  contends 
with  the  axe,  it  lives  by  dying,  and  by  cutting  it  grows.5  So  do  saints 
by  their  afflictions  that  do  befall  them  ;  they  gain  more  experience  of 
the  power  of  God  supporting  them,  of  the  wisdom  of  God  directing 
them,  of  the  grace  of  God  refreshing  and  cheering  them,  and  of  the 
goodness  of  God  quieting  and  quickening  of  them,  to  a  greater  love  to 
holiness,  and  to  a  greater  delight  in  holiness,  and  to  a  more  vehement 
pursuing  after  holiness. 

I  have  read  of  a  fountain,  that  at  noonday  is  cold,  and  at  midnight 
it  grows  warm  ;  so  many  a  precious  soul  is  cold  God-wards,  and  heaven- 
wards, and  holiness-wards,  in  the  day  of  prosperity  ;  that  grow  warm 
God -wards  and  heaven-wards,  and  holiness- wards,  in  the  midnight  of 
adversity. 

Again,  Afflictions  serve  to  keep  the  hearts  of  the  saints  humble  and 

1  Confessions.— G.  2  Schola  crucis,  schola  lucis. 

3  Cf.  '  Epistle'  prefixed  to  Durant's  Altum  Silentium,  by  Brooks. — G. 

4  n^1?  ^y.  •  •  •  TrOII   Vedibbartignal  libbab. 

8  It  is  reported  of  Tiberius  the  emperor,  that  passing  by  a  place  where  he  saw  a  cross 
lying  in  the  ground  upon  a  marble  stone,  and  causing  the  stone  to  be  digged  up,  he 
found  a  great  deal  of  treasure  under  the  cross.  So  many  a  precious  saint  hath  found 
much  spiritual  and  heavenly  treasure  under  the  crosses  they  have  met  withal. 

VOL.  I.  D 


50  PRECIOUS  REMEDIES  [2  COR.  II.  11. 

tender  :  Lam.  iii.  19,  20,  '  Kemcmbcring  my  affliction  and  my  misery, 
i  he  wormwood  and  the  gall.  My  soul  hath  them  still  in  remembrance, 
and  is  humbled  in  me,'  or  bowed  down  in  me,  as  the  original  hath  it.1 
So  David,  when  he  was  under  the  rod,  could  say,  '  I  was  dumb,  I  opened 
not  my  mouth  ;  because  thou  didst  it/  Ps.  xxxix.  4. 

1  have  read  of  one  [Gregory  Nazianzen],  who,  when  anything  fell  out 
prosperously,  would  read  over  the  Lamentation  of  Jeremiah,  and  that 
kept  his  heart  tender,  humbled,  and  low.  Prosperity  doth  not  contri- 
bute more  to  the  puffing  up  the  soul,  than  adversity  doth  to  the  bowing 
down  of  the  soul.  This  the  saints  by  experience  find  ;  and  therefore 
they  can  kiss  and  embrace  the  cross,  as  others  do  the  world's  crown.2 

Again,  They  serve  to  bring  the  saints  nearer  to  God,  and  to  make 
them  more  importunate  and  earnest  in  prayer  with  God.  '  Before  I  was 
afflicted,  I  went  astray  ;  but  now  have  I  kept  thy  word.'  '  It  is  good 
for  me  that  I  have  been  afflicted,  that  I  might  learn  thy  statutes.' 
'  I  will  be  to  Ephraim  as  a  lion,  and  as  a  young  lion  to  the  house  of 
Judah.  I,  even  I,  will  tear  and  go  away  :  I  will  take  away,  and  none 
shall  rescue  him/  '  I  will  go  and  return  to  my  place,  till  they  acknow- 
ledge their  offence,  and  seek  my  face  :  in  their  affliction  they  will 
seek  me  early.'  And  so  they  did.  '  Come,'  say  they,  '  and  let  us  return 
unto  the  Lord  :  for  he  hath  torn,  and  he  will  heal  us;  he  hath  smit- 
ten, and  he  will  bind  us  up.  After  two  days  he  will  revive  us  :  in 
the  third  day  he  will  raise  us  up,  and  we  shall  live  in  his  sight.'3  So 
when  God  had  hedged  up  their  way  with  thorns,  then  they  say,  '  I  will 
go  and  return  to  my  first  husband  ;  for  then  was  it  with  me  better 
than  now,'  Hosea  ii.  6,  7.  Ah  the  joy,  the  peace,  the  comfort,  the 
delight,  and  content  that  did  attend  us,  when  we  kept  close  communion 
with  God,  doth  bespeak  our  return  to  God.  '  We  will  return  to  our 
first  husband  ;  for  then  was  it  with  us  better  than  now.' 

When  Tiribazus,  a  noble  Persian,  was  arrested,  he  drew  out  his 
sword,  and  defended  himself;  but  when  they  told  him  that  they  came 
to  carry  him  to  the  king,  he  willingly  yielded.4  So,  though  a  saint 
may  at  first  stand  a  little  out,  yet  when  he  remembers  that  afflictions 
are  to  carry  nearer  to  God,  he  yields,  and  kisses  the  rod.  Afflictions 
are  like  the  prick  at  the  nightingale's  breast,  that  awakes  her,  and  puts 
her  upon  her  sweet  and  delightful  singing. 

Again,  Afflictions  they  serve  to  revive  and  recover  decayed  graces ; 
they  inflame  that  love  that  is  cold,  and  they  quicken  that  faith  that  is 
decaying,  and  they  put  life  into  those  hopes  that  are  withering,  and 
spirits  into  those  joys  and  comforts  that  are  languishing.5  Musk, 
saith  one,  when  it  hath  lost  its  sweetness,  if  it  be  put  into  the  sink 
amongst  filth  it  recovers  it.     So  do  afflictions  recover  and  revive  de- 

1  m^n"1  from  nra>. 

-  The  more  precious  odours  and  the  purest  spices,  are  beaten  and  bruised,  the 
sweeter  scent  and  savour  they  send  abroad.     So  do  saints  when  they  are  afllicted. 

3  Ps.  cxix.  67,  71.     Hosea  v.  14,  15  ;  vi.  1,  2. 

*  C{.  Diodorus  xv.  8-11  :  Plutarch,  Artaxerxes,  24,  27,  29.— G. 

5  M  >8t  men  are  like  a  top,  that  will  not  go  unless  you  whip  it,  and  the  more  you  whip 
it  the  better  it  goes.  You  know  how  to  apply  it.  They  that  are  in  adversity,  saith 
Luther,  do  better  understand  Scriptures  ;  but  those  that  are  in  prosperity,  read  them  as 
a  verse  in  Ovid.  Bees  are  killed  with  honey,  but  quickened  with  vinegar.  The  honey 
of  prosperity  kills  our  graces,  but  the  vinegar  of  adversity  quickens  our  graces. 


2  COR.  II.  11.]  AGAINST  SATAN'S  DEVICES.  51 

cayed  graces.  The  more  saints  are  beaten  with  the  hammer  of  afflic- 
tions, the  more  they  are  made  the  trumpets  of  God's  praises,  and  the 
more  are  their  graces  revived  and  quickened.  Adversity  abases  the 
loveliness  of  the  world  that  might  entice  us  ;  it  abates  the  lustiness 
of  the  flesh  within,  that  might  incite  us  to  folly  and  vanity  ;  and  it 
abets  the  spirit  in  his  quarrel  to  the  two  former,  which  tends  much 
to  the  reviving  and  recovering  of  decayed  graces.  Now,  suppose 
afflictions  and  troubles  attend  the  ways  of  holiness,  yet  seeing  that 
they  all  work  for  the  great  profit  and  singular  advantage  of  the  saints, 
let  no  soul  be  so  mad  as  to  leave  an  afflicted  way  of  holiness,  to  walk 
in  a  smooth  path  of  wickedness. 

Remedy  (2).  The  second  remedy  against  this  device  of  Satan  is, 
solemnly  to  consider,  that  all  the  afflictions  that  do  befall  the  saints, 
do  only  reach  their  worser  part ;  they  reach  not,  they  hurt  not,  their 
noble  part,  their  best  part.  All  the  arrows  stick  in  the  target,  they 
reach  not  the  conscience  :  1  Peter  iii.  13,  '  And  who  shall  harm  you, 
if  ye  be  followers  of  that  which  is  good,'  saith  the  apostle.  That  is, 
none  shall  harm  you.  They  may  thus  and  thus  afflict  you,  but  they 
shall  never  harm  you.1 

It  was  the  speech  of  an  heathen,  whenas  by  the  tyrant  he  was  com- 
manded to  be  put  into  a  mortar,  and  to  be  beaten  to  pieces  with  an 
iron  pestle,  he  cries  out  to  his  persecutors,  '  You  do  but  beat  the 
vessel,  the  case,  the  husk  of  Anaxarchus,  you  do  not  beat  me/  His 
body  was  to  him  but  as  a  case,  a  husk  ;  he  counted  his  soul  himself, 
which  they  could  not  reach.    You  are  wise,  and  know  how  to  apply  it. 

Socrates  said  of  his  enemies,  '  They  may  kill  me,  but  they  cannot 
hurt  me.'  So  afflictions  may  kill  us,  but  they  cannot  hurt  us  ;  they 
may  take  away  my  life,  but  they  cannot  take  away  my  God,  my  Christ, 
my  crown. 

Remedy  (3).  The  third  remedy  against  this  device  of  Satan  is, 
seriously  to  consider,  That  the  afflictions  that  do  attend  the  saints  in 
the  ways  of  holiness,  are  but  short  and  momentary.  '  Sorrow  may 
abide  for  a  night,  but  joy  comes  in  the  morning,'  Ps.  xxx.  5.  This 
short  storm  will  end  in  an  everlasting  calm,  this  short  night  will  end 
in  a  glorious  day,  that  shall  never  have  end.2  It  is  but  a  very  short 
time  between  grace  and  glory,  between  our  title  to  the  crown  and 
our  wearing  the  crown,  between  our  right  to  the  heavenly  inheritance 
and  our  possession  of  the  heavenly  inheritance.  Fourteen  thou- 
sand years  to  the  Lord  is  but  as  one  day.  What  is  our  life  but  a 
shadow,  a  bubble,  a  flo  wer,  a  post,  a  span,  a  dream  ?  &c.  Yea,  so 
small  a  while  doth  the  hand  of  the  Lord  rest  upon  us,  that  Luther  can- 
not get  diminutives  enough  to  extenuate  it,  for  he  calls  it  a  very  little 
cross  that  we  bear,  to  mx.gov  fiix.gov.  The  prophet  in  Isaiah  xxvi.  20, 
saith  the  indignation  doth  not  (transire)  pass,  but  (pertransire)  over- 
pass.    The  sharpness,  shortness,  and  suddenness  of  it  is  set  forth  b}^ 

1  The  Christian  soldier  shall  ever  be  master  of  the  day.  Mori  fiosse,  vinci  non  pos^c, 
said  Cyprian  to  Cornelius ;  he  may  suffer  death,  but  never  conquest. 

2  There  are  none  of  God's  afflicted  ones  that  have  not  their  lucida  intervalla,  intermis- 
sions, respites,  and  breathing  whiles,  under  their  short  and  momentary  afflictions. 
When  God's  hand  is  on  thy  back,  let  thy  hand  be  on  thy  mouth,  for  though  the  afflic- 
tion be  sharp,  it  shall  be  but  short. 


52  PRECIOUS  REMEDIES  [2  COR.  II.  11. 

the  travail  of  a  woman,  John  xvi.  21.  And  that  is  a  sweet  scripture, 
'  For  ye  have  need  of  patience,  that  after  ye  have  done  the  will  of  God, 
ye  might  receive  the  promise.'  '  For  yet  a  little  while,  he  that  shall 
come  will  come,  and  will  not  tarry,'  Heb.  x.  36,  37.  Tantillum  tan- 
t  ilium  adhuc  inisillum.     A  little,  little,  little  while.1 

When  Athanasius's  friends  came  to  bewail  him,  because  of  his 
misery  and  banishment,  he  said,  '  It  is  but  a  little  cloud,  and  will 
quickly  be  gone.'2  It  will  be  but  as  a  day  before  God  will  give  his 
attficted  ones  beauty  for  ashes,  the  oil  of  gladness  for  the  spirit  of 
heaviness  ;  before  he  will  turn  all  your  sighing  into  singing,  all  your 
lamentations  into  consolations,  your  sackcloth  into  silks,  ashes  into 
ointments,  and  your  fasts  into  everlasting  feasts,  &c. 

Remedy  (4).  The  fourth  remedy  against  this  device  of  Satan,  is 
seriously  to  consider,  That  the  afflictions  that  do  befall  the  saints  are 
such  as  proceed  from  God's  dearest  love*  '  As  many  as  I  love, 
I  rebuke  and  chasten,'  Rev.  iii.  19.  Saints,  saith  God,  think  not 
that  I  hate  you,  because  I  thus  chide  you.  He  that  escapes  re- 
prehension may  suspect  his  adoption.  God  had  one  Son  without 
corruption,  but  no  son  without  correction.  A  gracious  soul  may  look 
through  the  darkest  cloud,  and  see  a  God  smiling  on  him.  We 
must  look  through  the  anger  of  his  correction  to  the  sweetness  of  his 
couutenance ;  and  as  by  the  rainbow  we  see  the  beautiful  image  of 
the  sun's  light  in  the  midst  of  a  dark  and  waterish  cloud. 

When  Munster  lay  sick,  and  his  friends  asked  him  how  he  did  and 
how  he  felt  himself,  he  pointed  to  his  sores  and  ulcers,  whereof  he  was 
full,  and  said,  '  These  are  God's  gems  and  jewels,  wherewith  he  decketh 
his  best  friends,  and  to  me  they  are  more  precious  than  all  the  gold 
and  silver  in  the  world.'  A  soul  at  first  conversion  is  but  rough  cast ; 
but  God  by  afflictions  doth  square  and  fit,  and  fashion  it  for  that 
glory  above,  which  doth  speak  them  out  to  flow  from  precious  love  ; 
therefore  the  afflictions  that  do  attend  the  people  of  God  should  be  no 
bar  to  holiness,  nor  no  motive  to  draw  the  soul  to  ways  of  wickedness. 
Remedy  (.5).  The  fifth  remedy  against  this  device  of  Satan  is, 
solemnly  to  consider,  That  it  is  our  duty  and  glory  not  to  measure 
afflictions  by  the  smart  but  by  the  end.  When  Israel  was  dismissed  out 
of  Egypt,  it  was  with  gold  and  ear-rings,  Exod.  xi.  3  ;  so  the  Jews 
were  dismissed  out  of  Babylon  with  gifts,  jewels,  and  all  necessary 
utensils,  Ezrai.  7-11.  Look  more  at  the  latter  end  of  a  Christian  than 
the  beginning  of  his  affliction.  Consider  the  patience  of  Job,  and  what 
end  the  Lord  made  with  him.  Look  not  upon  Lazarus  lying  at 
Dives's  door,  but  lying  in  Abraham's  bosom.  Look  not  to  the  beginning 
of  Joseph,  who  was  so  far  from  his  dream,  that  the  sun  and  moon 
should  reverence  him,  that  for  two  years  he  was  cast  Avhere  he  could 
see  neither  sun,  moon,  nor  stars  ;  but  behold  him  at  last  made  ruler 
over  Egypt.  Look  not  upon  David,  as  there  was  but  a  step  between 
him  and  death,  nor  as  he  was  envied  by  some,  and  slighted  and 
1  'En  yao  fLiKpov  oto»  eVov.  '  Nubecula  est,  cito  transibit.  —  Athanasii/s. 

;i  Austin  asketli,  Si  amatur  quo  modo  infirmatur,  If  lie  were  beloved,  how  came  be  to 
be  sick?  So  are  wicked  men  apt  to  say,  because  they  know  not  that  corrections  aro 
pledges  of  our  adoption,  and  badges  of  our  Sonship.  God  had  one  Sou  without  sin,  but 
none  without  sorrow. — [Augustine  on  Rev.  iii.  19. — G  ] 


2  Cor.  II.  11.]  against  satan's  devices.  53 

despised  by  others  ;  but  behold  him  seated  in  his  royal  throne,  and 
dying  in  his  bed  of  honour,  and  his  son  Solomon  and  all  his  glister- 
ing nobles  about  him.  Afflictions,  they  are  but  as  a  dark  entry  into 
your  Father's  house  ;  they  are  but  as  a  dirty  lane  to  a  royal  palace. 
Now  tell  me,  souls,  whether  it  be  not  very  great  madness  to  shun  the 
ways  of  holiness,  and  to  walk  in  the  ways  of  wickedness,  because  of 
those  afflictions  that  do  attend  the  ways  of  holiness.1 

Remedy  (6).  The  sixth  remedy  against  this  device  of  Satan  is, 
seriously  to  consider,  That  the  design  of  God  in  all  the  afflictions 
that  do  befall  them,  is  only  to  try  them  ;  it  is  not  to  wrong  them,  nor 
to  ruin  them,  as  ignorant  souls  are  apt  to  think.  '  He  knoweth 
the  way  that  I  take :  and  when  he  hath  tried  me,  I  shall  come  forth 
as  gold,'  saith  patient  Job,  xxiii.  10.  So  in  Deut.  viii.  2,  '  And 
thou  shalt  remember  all  the  way  which  the  Lord  thy  God  led  thee 
these  forty  years  in  the  wildernesss,  to  humble  thee,  and  to  prove 
thee,  to  know  what  was  in  thy  heart,  whether  thou  wouldst  keep  his 
commandments  or  no/  God  afflicted  them  thus,  that  he  might  make 
known  to  themselves  and  others  what  was  in  their  hearts.  When 
fire  is  put  to  green  wood,  there  comes  out  abundance  of  watery 
stuff  that  before  appeared  not ;  when  the  pond  is  empty,  the  mud, 
filth,  and  toads  come  to  light.2  The  snow  covers  many  a  dunghill,  so 
doth  prosperity  many  a  rotten  heart.  It  is  easy  to  wade  in  a  warm  bath, 
and  every  bird  can  sing  in  a  sunshine  day,  &c.  Hard  weather  tries  what 
health  we  have  ;  afflictions  try  what  sap  we  have,  what  grace  we  have. 
Withered  leaves  soon  fall  off  in  windy  weather,  rotten  boughs  quickly 
break  with  heavy  weights,  &c.    You  are  wise,  and  know  how  to  apply  it. 

Afflictions  are  like  pinching  frosts,  that  will  search  us  ;  where  we 
are  most  unsound,  we  shall  soonest  complain,  and  where  most  corrup- 
tions lie,  we  shall  most  shrink.  We  try  metal  by  knocking  ;  if  it  sound 
well,  then  we  like  it.  So  God  tries  his  by  knocking,  and  if  under  knocks 
they  yield  a  pleasant  sound,  God  will  turn  their  night  into  day,  and  their 
bitter  into  sweet,  and  their  cross  into  a  crown  ;  and  they  shall  hear  that 
voice,  '  Arise,  and  shine  \  for  the  glory  of  the  Lord  is  risen  upon 
thee,  and  the  favours  of  the  Lord  are  flowing  in  on  thee/  Isa.  lx.  l.a 

Remedy  (7).  The  seventh  remedy  against  this  device  of  Satan 
is,  solemnly  to  consider,  That  the  afflictions,  wrath,  and  misery  that 
do  attend  the  ways  of  wickedness,  are  far  greater  and  heavier  than 
those  are  that  do  attend  the  ways  of  holiness.4'  Oh,  the  galling, 
girding,  lashing,  and  gnawing   of  conscience,  that  do  attend  souls 

1  Afflictions,  they  are  but  our  Father's  goldsmiths,  who  are  •working  to  add  pearls  to 
our  crowns.  Tiberius  saw  paradise  when  he  walked  upon  hot  burning  coals.  Hero- 
dotus said  of  the  Assyrians,  Let  them  drink  nothing  but  wormwood  all  their  life  long  ; 
when  they  die,  they  shall  swim  in  honey.     You  are  wise,  and  know  how  to  apply  it. 

2  The  king  of  Aracam,  in  Scaliger,  tries  her  whom  he  means  to  marry  by  sweating. 
If  they  be  sweet,  he  marries  them  ;  if  not,  then  he  rejects  them.  You  may  easily 
make  the  application. 

3  Dunghills  raked  send  out  a  filthy  steam,  ointments  a  sweet  perfume.  This  is 
applicable  to  sinners  and  saints  under  the  rod. 

4  Sin  oftentimes  makes  men  insensible  of  the  wrath  of  the  Almighty.  Sin  transforms 
many  a  man,  as  it  were,  into  those  bears  in  Pliny,  that  could  not  be  stirred  with  the 
sharpest  prickles  ;  or  those  fishes  in  Aristotle,  that  though  they  have  spears  thrust  into 
their  sides,  yet  they  awake  not.     [Bears  :  Pliny,  lib.  viii.  c.  54. — G.] 


5-t  PRECIOUS  REMEDIES  [2  COR.  II.  11. 

in  a  way  of  wickedness  !  '  The  wicked,'  saith  Isaiah,  '  are  like  the 
troubled  sea,  when  it  cannot  rest,  whose  waters  cast  up  mire  and 
dirt/  '  There  is  no  peace  to  the  wicked,  saith  my  God.'1  There  are 
snares  in  all  their  mercies,  and  curses  and  crosses  do  attend  all  their 
comforts,  both  at  home  and  abroad.  What  is  a  fine  suit  of  clothes 
with  the  plague  in  it  I  and  what  is  a  golden  cup  when  there  is  poison 
at  the  bottom  \  or  what  is  a  silken  stocking  with  a  broken  leg  in  it  ? 
The  curse  of  God,  the  wrath  of  God,  the  hatred  of  God,  and  the  tierce 
indignation  of  God,  do  always  attend  sinners  walking  in  a  way  of 
wickedness.  Turn  to  Deut.  xxviii.,  and  read  from  ver.  15  to  the  end 
of  the  chapter,  and  turn  to  Levit.  xxvi.,  and  read  from  ver.  14  to 
the  end  of  that  chapter,  and  then  you  shall  see  how  the  curse  of  God 
haunts  the  wicked,  as  it  were  a  fury,  in  all  his  ways.  In  the  city  it 
attends  him,  in  the  country  hovers  over  him ;  coming  in,  it  accom- 
panies him  ;  going  forth,  it  follows  him,,  and  in  travel  it  is  his  comrade. 
It  fills  his  store  with  strife,  and  mingles  the  wrath  of  God  with  his 
sweetest  morsels.  It  is  a  moth  in  his  wardrobe,  murrain  among  his 
cattle,  mildew  in  the  field,  rot  among  sheep,  and  ofttimes  makes  the 
fruit  of  his  loins  his  greatest  vexation  and  confusion.  There  is  no 
solid  joy,  nor  lasting  peace,  nor  pure  comfort,  that  attends  sinners 
in  their  sinful  ways.2  There  is  a  sword  of  vengeance  that  doth  every 
moment  hang  over  their  heads  by  a  small  thread  ;3  and  what  joy 
and  content  can  attend  such  souls,  if  the  eye  of  conscience  be  but  so 
far  open  as  to  see  the  sword  ?  Ah  !  the  horrors  and  terrors,  the  trem- 
blings and  shakings,  that  attend  their  souls  ! 

The  tenth  device  that  Satan  hath  to  draw  the  soul  to  sin  is, 
Device  (10).  By  working  them  to  be  frequent  in  comparing  them- 
selves and  their  ivays  ivith  those  that  are  reputed  or  reported  to  b<" 
vjorse  than,  themselves.  By  this  device  the  devil  drew  the  proud 
pharisee  to  bless  himself  in  a  cursed  coudition,  '  God,  I  thank  thee  that 
I  am  not  as  other  men  are,  extortioners,  unjust,  adulterers,  or  even  as 
this  publican,  &c,  Luke  xviii.  11.  Why,  saith  Satan,  you  swear  but 
pretty  oaths,  as  '  by  your  faith  and  troth,'  &c,  but  such  and  such  swear 
by  wounds  and  blood  ;  you  are  now  and  then  a  little  wanton,  but  such 
and  such  do  daily  defile  and  pollute  themselves  by  actual  uncleanness 
and  filthiness  ;  you  deceive  and  overreach  your  neighbours  in  things 
that  are  but  as  toys  and  trifles,  but  such  and  such  deceive  and  over- 
reach others  in  things  of  greatest  concernment,  even  to  their  ruin 
and  undoings  ;  you  do  but  sit,  and  chat,  and  sip  with  the  drunkard, 
but  such  and  such  sit  and  drink  and  are  drunk  with  the  drunkard  ; 
you  are  only  a  little  proud  in  heart  and  habit,  in  looks  and  words,  &c. 
Now  the  remedies  against  this  device  of  the  devil  are  these  : 
Remedy  (1).  The  first  remedy  against  this  device  of  Satan  is, 
solemnly  to  consider  this,  Thai  there  is  not  a  greater  nor  a  clear-  r 
argument  to  prove  a  man  a  hypocrite,  than  to  be  quick-sighted 
abroad  and  blind  at  home,  than  to  see  '  a  mote  in  another  man's  eye, 

1  Isa.  lvii.  20,  and  xlviii.  22. 

*  Sin  brings  in  sorrow  and  sickness,  &c.  The  Rabbins  say,  that  when  Adam  tasted 
the  forbidden  fruit,  hi.s  head  ached.  Sirens  arc  said  to  sing  curiously  while  they  live, 
but  to  roar  horribly  when  they  die.     So  do  the  wicked. 

3  Allusion  is  to  Damocles. — G. 


2  Cor.  II.  11.]  against  satan's  devices.  55 

and  not  a  beam  in  his  own  eye,'  Mat.  vii.  3,  4  ;  than  to  use  spec- 
tacles to  behold  other  men's  sins  rather  than  looking-glasses  to  behold 
his  own ;  rather  to  be  always  holding  his  finger  upon  other  men's  sores, 
and  to  be  amplifying  and  aggravating  other  men's  sins  than  miti- 
gating of  his  own,  &C.1 

Remedy  (2).  The  second  remedy  against  this  device  of  Satan  is, 
To  spend  more  time  in  comparing  of  your  internal  and,  external 
actions  with  the  Rule,  with  the  Word,,  by  which  you  must  be  judged 
at  last,  than  in  comparing  of  yourselves  with  those  that  are  worse 
than  yourselves.2  That  man  that,  comparing  his  self  with  others 
that  are  worse  than  himself,  may  seem,  to  himself  and  others,  to  be  an 
angel  ;  yet,  comparing  himself  With  the  word,  may  see  himself  to  be 
like  the  devil,  yea,  a  very  devil.  '  Have  not  I  chosen  twelve,  and  one 
of  you  is  a  devil  X  John  vi.  70.  Such  men  are  like  him,  as  if  they 
were  spit  out  of  his  mouth. 

Satan  is  called  '  the  god  of  this  world,'  2  Cor.  iv.  4,  because,  as  God 
at  first  did  but  speak  the  word,  and  it' was  done,  so,  if  the  devil  doth 
but  hold  up  his  finger,  give  the  least  hint,  they  will  do  his  will,  though 
they  undo  their  souls  for  ever.  Ah,  what  monsters  would  these  men 
appear  to  be,  did  they  but  compare  themselves  with  a  righteous  rule, 
and  not  with  the  most  unrighteous  men  ;  they  would  appear  to  be  as 
black  as  hell  itself. 

Remedy  (3).  The  third  remedy  against  this  device  of  Satan  is, 
seriously  to  consider,  That  though  thy  sins  be  not  as  great  as  others, 
yet  without  sound  repentance  on  thy  side  and  pardoning  mercy  on 
God's,  thou  wilt  be  as  certainly  damned  as  others,  though  not  equally 
tormented  with  others.3  What  though  hell  shall  not  be  so  hot  to  thee 
as  others,  yet  thou  must  as  certainly  to  hell  as  others,  unless  the 
glorious  grace  of  God  shines  forth  upon  thee  in  the  face  of  Christ. 
God  will  suit  men's  punishments  to  their  sins  ;  the  greatest  sins  shall 
be  attended  with  the  greatest  punishments,  and  lesser  sins  with  lesser 
punishments.  Alas,  what  a  poor  comfort  will  this  be  to  thee  when 
thou  comest  to  die,  to  consider  that  thou  shaft  not  be  equally  tormented 
with  others,  yet  must  be  for  ever  shut  out  from  the  glorious  presence 
of  God,  Christ,  angels,  and  saints,  and  from  those  good  things  of  eternal 
life,  that  are  so  many  that  they  exceed  number,  so  great  that  they 
exceed  measure,  so  precious  that  they  exceed  estimation  !  Sure  it  is, 
that  the  tears  of  heaven4  are  not  sufficient  to  bewail  the  loss  of  heaven ; 
the  worm  of  grief  gnaws  as  painful  as  the  fire  burns.  If  those  souls, 
Acts  xx.  37,  wept  because  they  should  see  Paul's  face  no  more,  how 
deplorable  is  the  eternal  deprivation  of  the  beatifical  vision  !5 

1  History  speaks  of  a  kind  of  witches  that,  stirring  ahroad,  would  put  on  their  eyes, 
but  returning  home  they  boxed  them  up  again.     So  do  hypocrites. 

2  The  nearer  we  draw  to  God  and  his  word,  the  more  rottenness  we  shall  find  in  our 
bones.  The  more  any  man  looks  into  the  body  of  the  sun,  the  less  he  seeth  when 
he  looks  down  again.  It  is  said  of  the  basilisk,  that  if  he  look  into  a  glass  he  presently 
dieth  ;  so  will  sin,  and  a  sinner  (in  a  spiritual  sense),  when  the  soul  looks  into  the  word, 
which  is  God's  glass,  &c. 

3  As  in  heaven  one  is  more  glorious  than  another,  so  in  hell  one  shall  be  more 
miserable  than  another. — August[ine~\.  *  Qu,  '  hell '  ? — G. 

5  The  gate  of  indulgence,  the  gate  of  hope,  the  gate  of  mercy,  the  gate  of  glory,  the  gate 
of  consolation,  and  the  gate  of  salvation,  will  be  for  ever  shut  against  them,  Mat.  xxv.  10. 


56  PEECIOTTS  REMEDIES  [2  COR.  II.  11. 

But  this  is  not  all :  thou  shalt  not  be  only  shut  out  of  heaven,  but 
shut  up  in  hell  for  ever  ;  not  only  shut  out  from  the  presence  of  God 
and  angels,  &c.,  but  shut  up  with  devils  and  damned  spirits  for  ever; 
not  only  shut  out  from  those  sweet,  surpassing,  unexpressible,  and 
everlasting  pleasures  that  be  at  God's  right  hand,  but  shut  up  for  ever 
under  those  torments  that  are  ceaseless,  remediless,  and  endless.1  Ah, 
souls,  were  it  not  ten  thousand  times  better  for  you  to  break  off  your 
sins  by  repentance,  than  to  go  on  in  your  sins  till  you  feel  the  truth 
of  what  now  you  hear  ? 

The  God  of  Israel  is  very  merciful.  Ah,  that  you  would  repent  and 
return,  that  your  souls  might  live  for  ever  !  Remember  this,  grievous 
is  the  torment  of  the  damned,  for  the  bitterness  of  the  punishments, 
but  most  grievous  for  the  eternity  of  the  punishments.  For  to  be 
tormented  without  end,  this  is  that  which  goes  beyond  the  bounds  of 
all  desperation.  Ah,  how  do  the  thoughts  of  this  make  the  damned 
to  roar  and  cry  out  for  unquietness  of  heart,  and  tear  their  hair,  and 
gnash  their  teeth,  and  rage  for  madness,  that  they  must  dwell  in 
'  everlasting  burnings'  for  ever  ! 2 

The  eleventh  device  that  Satan  hath  to  draw  the  soul  to  sin  is, 
Device  (11).  By  polluting  and  defiling  the  souls  and  judgments 
of  men  with  such  dangerous  errors,  that  do  in  their  proper  tendency 
tend  to  carry  the  souls  of  men  to  all  looseness  and  ivickedness,  as 
woful  experience  doth  abundantly  evidence.  Ah,  how  many  are 
there  filled  with  these  and  such  like  Christ-dishonouring  and  soul- 
undoing  opinions,  viz.,  that  ordinances  are  poor,  low,  carnal  things, 
and  not  only  to  be  lived  above,  but  without  also  ;  that  the  Scriptures 
are  full  of  fallacies  and  uncertainties,  and  no  further  to  be  heeded  than 
they  agree  with  that  spirit  that  is  in  them  ;  that  it  is  a  poor,  low 
thing,  if  not  idolatry  too,  to  worship  God  in  a  Mediator  ;  that  the  re- 
surrection is  already  past ;  that  there  was  never  any  such  man  or  per- 
son as  Jesus  Christ,  but  that  all  is  an  allegory,  and  it  signifies  nothing 
but  light  and  love,  and  such  good  frames  born  in  men ;  that  there  is 
no  God  nor  devil,  heaven  nor  hell,  but  what  is  within  us  ;  that  there 
is  no  sin  in  the  saints,  they  are  under  do  law  but  that  of  the  Spirit, 
which  is  all  freedom  ;  that  sin  and  grace  are  equally  good,  and  agree th 
to  his  will, — with  a  hundred  other  horrid  opinions,  which  hath  caused 
wickedness  to  break  in  as  a  flood  among  us,  &c. 

Now  the  remedies  against  this  device  of  Satan  are  those  that  follow  : 
Remedy  (1).  The  first  remedy  against  this  device  of  Satan  is, 
solemnly  to  consider,  That  an  erroneous,  vain  mind  is  as  odious 
to  God  as  a  vicious  life?  He  that  had  the  leprosy  in  his  head  was 
to  be  pronounced  utterly  unclean,  Levit.  xiii.  44.  Gross  errors  make 
the  heart  foolish,  and  render  the  life  loose,  and  the  soul  light  in  the 
eye  of  God.  Error  spreads  and  frets  like  a  gangrene,  and  renders  the 
soul  a  leper  in  the  sight  of  God.4 

1  It  was  a  good  saying  of  Chrysostom,  speaking  of  hell :  Ne  quceramus  ubi  sit,  sed 
quomodo  illamfugiamus,  let  us  not  seek  where  it  is,  but  how  we  shall  escape  it. 

2  Surely  one  good  means  to  escape  hell  is  to  take  a  turn  or  two  in  hell  by  our  dail 
meditations.  8  A  blind  eye  is  worse  than  a  lame  foot. 

4  The  breath  of  the  erroneous  is  infectious,  and,  like  the  dogs  of  Congo,  they  bite 
thougli  they  bark  not. 


2  Cor.  II.  11.]  against  satan's  devices.  57 

It  was  God's  heavy  and  dreadful  plague  upon  the  Gentiles,  to  be 
given  up  to  a  mind  void  of  judgment,  or  an  injudicious  mind,  or  a 
mind  rejected,  disallowed,  abhorred  of  God,  or  a  mind  that  none  have 
cause  to  glory  in,  but  rather  to  be  ashamed  of,  Rom.  i.  28.  I  think 
that  in  these  days  God  punisheth  many  men's  former  wickednesses  by 
giving  them  up  to  soul-ruining  errors.  Ah,  Lord,  this  mercy  I  humbly 
beg,  that  thou  wouldst  rather  take  me  into  thine  own  hand,  and  do 
anything  with  me,  than  give  me  up  to  those  sad  errors  to  which  thou- 
sands have  married  their  souls,  and  are  in  a  way  of  perishing  for  ever.1 

Remedy  (2).  The  second  remedy  against  this  device  of  Satan  is, 
To  receive  the  truth  affectionately,  and  let  it  dwell  in  your  souls 
'plenteously.2  When  men  stand  out  against  the  truth,  when  truth 
would  enter,  and  men  bar  the  door  of  their  souls  against  the  truth, 
God  in  justice  gives  up  such  souls  to  be  deluded  and  deceived  by  error, 
to  their  eternal  undoing:  2  Thes.  ii.  10-12,  'Because  they  received 
not  the  love  of  the  truth,  that  they  might  be  saved,  God  shall  send 
them  strong  delusions  (or,  as  the  Greek  hath  it,  "the  efficacy  of  error," 
evegytiav  crXai-Jjs),  that  they  should  believe  a  lie  ;  that  they  all  might  be 
damned  who  believed  not  the  truth,  but  had  pleasure  in  unrighteousness.'' 
Ah,  sirs,  as  you  love  your  souls,  do  not  tempt  God,  do  not  provoke 
God,  by  your  withstanding  truth  and  out-facing  truth,  to  give  you  up 
to  believe  a  lie,  that  you  may  be  damned.  There  are  no  men  on  earth 
so  fenced  against  error  as  those  are  that  receive  the  truth  in  the  love 
of  it.  Such  souls  are  not  'easily  tossed  to  and  fro,  and  carried  about 
with  every  wind  of  doctrine  by  the  sleight  of  men  and  cunning  crafti- 
ness, wherein  they  lie  in  wait  to  deceive,'  Eph.  iv.  14.3  It  is  not  he 
that  receives  most  of  the  truth  into  his  head,  but  he  that  receives  most 
of  the  truth  affectionately  into  his  heart,  that  shall  enjoy  the  happiness 
of  having  his  judgment  sound  and  clear,  when  others  shall  be  deluded 
and  deceived  by  them,  who  make  it  their  business  to  infect  the 
judgments  and  to  undo  the  souls  of  men. 

Ah,  souls,  as  you  would  not  have  your  judgments  polluted  and  de- 
filed with  error,  'Let  the  word  of  the  Lord,'  that  is  more  precious  than 
gold,  yea  than  fine  gold,  'dwell  plenteously  in  you,'  Col.  iii.  16.4  It 
is  not  the  hearing  of  truth,  nor  the  knowing  of  truth,  nor  the  com- 
mending of  truth,  nor  the  talking  of  truth,  but  the  indwelling  of  truth 
in  your  souls,  that  will  keep  your  judgments  chaste  and  sound,  in  the 
midst  of  all  those  glittering  errors  -that  betray  many  souls  into  his 
hands,  that  can  easily  'transform  himself  into  an  angel  of  light,'  2  Cor. 
xi.  14,  that  he  may  draw  others  to,  lie  in  chains  of  darkness  with  him 
for  ever.5  Oh,  let  not  the  word  be  a  stranger,  but  make  it  your 
choicest  familiar  !     Then  will  you  be  able  to  stand  in  the  day  wherein 

1  Through  animosity  to  persist  in  error  is  diabolical ;  it  were  best  that  we  never 
erred ;  next  to  that,  that  we  amended  our  error. 

2  The  greatest  sinners  are  sure  to  be  the  greatest  sufferers. 

3  b  T>i  xvS'.'ia,  Gr.,  signifies  cogging  with  a  die  ;  such  sleights  as  cheaters  and  false 
gamesters  use  at  dice. 

«  ivoixiru,  i.  e.  indwell  in  you  as  an  ingrafted  word  incorporated  into  your  souls,  so 
concocted  and  digested  by  you,  as  that  you  turn  it  into  a  part  of  yourselves. 

5  They  must  needs  err  that  know  not  God's  ways,  yet  can  they  not  wander  so  wide 
as  to  miss  of  hell. 


5S  PRECIOUS  REMEDIES  [2  COR.  II.  11. 

many  shall  fall  on  your  right  hand,  and  on  your  left,  by  the  subtlety 
of  those  that  shall  say,  'Lo,  here  is  Christ,  or  lo,  there  is  Christ.' 

There  was  more  wit  than  grace  in  his  speech  that  counselled  his 
friends,  '  Not  to  come  too  nigh  unto  truth,  lust  his  teeth  should  be 
beaten  out  with  its  heels.'  Ah,  souls,  if  truth  dwell  plenteously  in 
you,  you  are  happy  ;  if  not,  you  are  unhappy  under  all  your  greatest 
felicity.1 

'It  is  with  truth,'  saith  Melancthon,  'as  it  is  with  holy  water,  every- 
one praised  it,  and  thought  it  had  some  rare  virtue  in  it ;  but  offer  to 
sprinkle  them  with  it,  and  they  will  shut  their  eyes,  and  turn  away 
their  faces  from  it,' 

Remedy  (3).  The  third  remedy  against  this  device  of  Satan  is, 
Bolemnly  to  consider,  That  error  makes  the  owner  to  suffer  loss.  All 
the  pains  and  labour  that  men  take  to  defend  and  maintain  their 
errors,  to  spread  abroad  and  infect  the  world  with  their  errors,  shall 
bring  no  profit,  nor  no  comfort  to  them  in  that  day,  wherein  '  every 
man's  work  shall  be  made  manifest,  and  the  fire  shall  try  it  of  what 
sort  it  is,'  as  the  apostle  shews  in  that  remarkable  scripture,  1  Cor. 
iii.  11-15.  Ah,  that  all  those  that  rise  early  and  go  to  bed  late,  that 
spend  their  time,  their  strength,  their  spirits,  their  all,  to  advance  and 
spread  abroad  God-dishonouring  and  soul-undoing  opinions,  would 
seriously  consider  of  this,  that  they  shall  lose  all  the  pains,  cost,  and 
charge  that  they  have  been,  or  shall  be  at,  for  the  propagating  of 
error ;  and  if  they  are  ever  saved,  it  shall  be  by  fire,  as  the  apostle 
there  shews.  Ah,  sirs,  Is  it  nothing  to  lay  out  your  money  for  that 
which  is  not  bread?  and  your  strength  for  that  which  will  not,  which 
cannot,  profit  you  in  the  day  that  you  must  make  up  your  account,  and 
all  3^our  works  must  be  tried  by  fire  ?2  Ah,  that  such  souls  would  now 
at  last  'buy  the  truth,  and  sell  it  not,'  Pro  v.  xxiii.  23.  Remember  you 
can  never  over-buy  it,  whatsoever  you  give  for  it ;  you  can  never  suffi- 
ciently sell  it,  if  you  should  have  all  the  world  in  exchange  for  it. 

It  is  said  of  Cgesar,  that  '  he  had  greater  care  of  his  books  than  of 
his  royal  robes,'  for,  swimming  through  the  waters  to  escape  his 
enemies,  he  carried  his  books  in  his  hand  above  the  waters,  but  lost 
Ins  robes.3  Ah,  what  are  Cassar's  books  to  God's  books?  Well,  re- 
member this,  that  one  day,  yea,  one  hour  spent  in  the  study  of  truth, 
or  spreading  abroad  of  truth,  will  yield  the  soul  more  comfort  and  pro- 
fit, than  many  thousand  years  spent  in  the  study  and  spreading  abroad 
of  corrupt  and  vain  opinions,  that  have  their  rise  from  hell,  and  not 
from  heaven,  from  the  god  of  this  world  and  not  from  that  God  that 
shall  at  last  judge  this  world,  and  all  the  corrupt  opinions  of  men. 

Remedy  (4).  The  fourth  remedy  against  this  device  of  Satan  is,  To 
//<ife,  reject,  and,  abominate  all  those  doctrines  and  opi/rdons  that  a/re 
contrary  to  godliness,  and  that  open  a  door  to  profaneness,*  and  all 

1  Veritas  vincit,  Truth  at  last  triumphs.  Veritas  stat  in  aperto  campo,  Truth  stands 
in  the  open  fields;  ay,  and  it  makes  those  souls  stand  in  whom  it  dwells,  when  others 
fall  as  stars  from  heaven. 

*  Error  as  a  glass  is  bright,  but  brittle,  and  cannot  endure  the  hammer,  or  fire,  as 
gold  can,  which,  though  rubbed  or  melted,  remains  firm  and  orient. 

3  Major  fait  cura  Crcsari  libellorora  quam  purpuras. 

4  One  old  piece  of  gold  is  worth  a  thousand  new  counters,  and  one  old  truth  of  God 


2  Cor.  II.  11.]  against  satan's  devices.  59 

such  doctrines  and  opinions  that  require  men  to  hold  forth  a  strict- 
ness above  what  the  Scripture  requireth ;  and  all  such  doctrines  and 
opinions  that  do  advance  anid  lift  up  corrupted  nature  to  the  doing 
of  supernatural  things,  ivhich  none  can  do  but  by  that  supernatural 
power  that  raised  Christ  from  the  grave  ;  and  such  opinions  that 
do  lift  our  own  righteousness  in  the  room  of  Christ's  righteousness, 
that  place  good  works  in  the  throne  of  Christ,  and  makes  them  co- 
partners with  Christ,  &c.  And  all  those  opinions  and  doctrines  that 
do  so  set  up  and  cry  up  Christ  and  his  righteousness,  as  to  cry  down 
all  duties  of  holiness  and  righteousness,  and  all  those  doctrines  and 
opinions  that  do  make  the  glorious  and  blessed  privileges  of  believers 
in  the  days  of  the  gospel  to  be  lesser,  fewer,  and  weaker,  than  they 
were  in  the  time  of  the  law.  Ah,  did  your  souls  arise  with  a  holy 
hatred,  and  a  strong  indignation  against  such  doctrines  and  opinions, 
you  would  stand  when  others  fall,  and  you  would  shine  as  the  sun  in 
his  glory,  when  many  that  were  once  as  shining  stars  may  go  forth  as 
stinking  snuffs.1 

Remedy  (5).  The  fifth  remedy  against  this  device  of  Satan  is,  To 
hold  fast  the  truth.  As  men  take  no  hold  on  the  arm  of  flesh  till  they 
let  go  the  arm  of  God,  Jer.  xvii.  5,  so  men  take  no  hold  on  error  till 
they  have  let  go  their  hold  of  truth  ;  therefore  hold  fast  the  truth, 
2  Tim.  i.  13,  and  Titus  i.  9.  Truth  is  thy  crown,  hold  fast  thy  crown, 
and  let  no  man  take  thy  crown  from  thee.  Hath  not  God  made  truth 
sweet  to  thy  soul,  yea,  sweeter  than  honey,  or  the  honeycomb  ?  and 
wilt  not  thou  go  on  to  heaven,  feeding  upon  truth,  that  heavenly 
honeycomb,  as  Samson  did  of  his  honeycomb.2  Ah,  souls,  have  you 
not  found  truth  sweetening  your  spirits,  and  cheering  your  spirits, 
and  warming  your  spirits,  and  raising  your  spirits,  and  corroborating 
your  spirits  ?  Have  not  you  found  truth  a  guide  to  lead  you,  a  staff 
to  uphold  you,  a  cordial  to  strengthen  you,  and  a  plaster  to  heal  you? 
And  will  not  you  hold  fast  the  truth  ?  Hath  not  truth  been  your  best 
friend  in  your  worst  days  ?  Hath  not  truth  stood  by  you  when  friends 
have  forsaken  you  ?  Hath  not  truth  done  more  for  you  than  all  the 
world  could  do  against  you,  and  will  you  not  hold  fast  the  truth  f  Is 
not  truth  your  right  eye,  without  which  you  cannot  see  for  Christ  ?  And 
your  right  hand,  without  which  you  cannot  do  for  Christ  ?  And  your 
right  foot,  without  which  you  cannot  walk  with  Christ?  And  will  you 
not  hold  fast  truth  ?  Oh  !  hold  fast  the  truth  in  your  judgments  and 
understandings,  in  your  wills  and  affections,  in  your  profession  and 
conversation. 

Truth  is  more  precious  than  gold  or  rubies,  '  and  all  the  things 
thou  canst  desire  are  not  to  be  compared  to  her/  Prov.  iii.  15.4 
Truth  is  that  heavenly  glass  wherein  we  may  see  the  lustre  and 

is  more  than  a  thousand  new  errors.  True  hatred  is  tU  ro  <ysvee,  to  the  whole  kind ;  it 
is  sad  to  frown  upon  one  error  and  smile  upon  another. 

1  Gideon  had  seventy  sons,  and  but  one  bastard,  and  yet  that  bastard  destroyed  all 
the  rest  (Judges  viii.  ]  3,  et  seq.).    One  turn  may  bring  a  man  quite  out  of  the  way. 

2  The  priests  of  Mercury,  when  they  ate  their  figs  and  honey,  cried  out  (yA.B*S  n 
aX^ua),  Sweet  is  truth. 

3  It  is  with  truth  as  with  some  plants,  which  live  and  thrive  but  in  warm  climates. 

4  Said  of  '  wisdom.' — G. 


CO  PRECIOUS  REMEDIES  [2  COR  II  11. 

glory  of  divine  wisdom,  power,  greatness,  love,  and  mercifulness. 
In  this  glass  you  may  see  the  face  of  Christ,  the  favour  of  Christ, 
the  riches  of  Christ,  and  the  heart  of  Christ,  beating  and  working 
sweetly  towards  your  souls.  Oh  !  let  your  souls  cleave  to  truth,  as 
llutli  did  to  Naomi,  Ruth  i.  15,  1G,  and  say,  '  I  will  not  leave  truth, 
nor  return  from  following  after  truth  ;  but  where  truth  goes  I  will 
go,  and  where  truth  lodgeth  I  will  lodge  ;  and  nothing  but  death 
shall  part  truth  and  my  soul.'1  What  John  said  to  the  church  of 
Philadelphia  I  may  say  to  you,  'Hold  fast  that  which  thou  hast, 
that  no  man  take  thy  crown,'  Rev.  iii.  11.  The  crown  is  the  top  of 
royalties  :  such  a  thing  is  truth  :  '  Let  no  man  take  thy  crown.'  '  Hold 
fast  the  faithful  word,'  as  Titus  speaks,  chap.  i.  9.2  You  were  better 
let  go  anything  than  truth  ;  you  were  better  let  go  your  honours  and 
riches,  your  friends  and  pleasures,  and  the  world's  favours  ;  yea,  your 
nearest  and  dearest  relations,  ay,  your  very  lives,  than  to  let  go  truth. 
Oh,  keep  the  truth,  and  truth  will  make  you  safe  and  happy  for  ever. 
Blessed  are  those  souls  that  are  kept  by  truth. 

Remedy  (6).  The  sixth  remedy  against  this  device  of  Satan  is,  To 
keep  humble.  Humility  will  keep  the  soul  free  from  many  darts  of 
Satan's  casting,  and  erroneous  snares  of  his  spreading.  As  low  trees 
and  shrubs  are  free  from  many  violent  gusts  and  blasts  of  wind  which 
shake  and  rend  the  taller  trees,  so  humble  souls  are  free  from  those 
gusts  and  blasts  of  error  that  rend  and  tear  proud,  lofty  souls.  Satan 
and  the  world  have  least  power  to  fasten  errors  upon  humble  souls. 
The  God  of  light  and  truth  delights  to  dwell  with  the  humble ;  and  the 
more  light  and  truth  dwells  in  the  soul,  the  further  off  darkness  and 
error  will  stand  from  the  soul.  The  God  of  grace  pours  in  grace  into 
humble  souls,  as  men  pour  liquor  into  empty  vessels  ;  and  the  more 
grace  is  poured  into  the  soul,  the  less  error  shall  be  able  to  overpower 
the  soul,  or  to  infect  the  soul.3 

That  is  a  sweet  word  in  Psalm  xxv.  9t,  'The  meek'  (or  the  humble) 
'  will  he  guide  in  judgment,  and  the  meek  will  he  teach  his  way.'* 
And  certainly  souls  guided  by  God,  and  taught  by  God,  are  not  easily 
drawn  aside  into  ways  of  error.  Oh,  take  heed  of  spiritual  pride ! 
Pride  fills  our  fancies,  and  weakens  our  graces,  and  makes  room  in  our 
hearts  for  error.  There  are  no  men  on  earth  so  soon  entangled,  and  so 
easily  conquered  by  error,  as  proud  souls.  Oh,  it  is  dangerous  to  love 
to  be  wise  above  what  is  written,  to  be  curious  and  unsober  in  your 
desire  of  knowledge,  and  to  trust  to  your  own  capacities  and  abilities 
to  undertake  to  pry  into  all  secrets,  and  to  be  puffed  up  with  a  carnal 
mind.     Souls  that  are  thus  a-soaring  up  above  the  bounds  and  limits 

1  Though  I  cannot  dispute  for  the  truth,  yet  I  can  die  for  the  truth,  said  that  blessed 
martyr. 

3  'Avrt%iftivoi,  Hold  fast  as  with  tooth  and  nail,  against  these  that  would  snatch  it 
from  us. 

8  I  have  read  of  one  who,  seeing  in  a  vision  so  many  snares  of  the  devil  spread  upon 
the  earth,  he  sat  down  mourning,  and  said  within  himself,  Quis  pertransiet  ista,  who 
shall  pass  through  these?  whereunto  he  heard  a  voice  answering,  llumilitas  pertransiet, 
humility  shall  pass  through  them. 

4  Ps.  xxv.  9,  D*13y,  Gnanavim,  from  iliJJ,  Gnanah,  which  signifies  the  humble  or 
afflicted.  The  high  tide  quickly  ebbs,  and  the  highest  sun  is  presently  declining.  You 
know  how  to  apply  it. 


2  Cor.  II.  11.]  against  satan's  devices.  61 

of  humility,  usually  fall  into  the  very  worst  of  errors,  as  experience 
doth  daily  evidence.1 

Remedy  (7).  The  seventh  remedy  against  this  device  of  Satan  is, 
solemnly  to  consider,  The  great  evils  that  errors  have  produced.  Error 
is  a  fruitful  mother,  and  hath  brought  forth  such  monstrous  children  as 
hath  set  towns,  cities, and  nations  on  fire.2  Error  is  that  whorish  woman 
that  hath  cast  down  many,  wounded  many,  yea,  slain  many  strong  men, 
many  great  men,  and  many  learned  men,  and  many  professing  men 
in  former  times  and  in  our  time,  as  is  too  evident  to  all  that  are  not 
much  left  of  God,  destitute  of  the  truth,  and  bliuded  by  Satan.  Oh, 
the  graces  that  error  hath  weakened,  and  the  sweet  joys  and  comforts 
that  error  hath  clouded,  if  not  buried  !  Oh,  the  hands  that  error  hath 
weakened,  the  eyes  that  error  hath  blinded,  the  judgments  of  men 
that  error  hath  perverted,  the  minds  that  error  hath  darkened,  the 
hearts  that  error  hath  hardened,  the  affections  that  error  hath  cooled, 
the  consciences  that  error  hath  seared,  and  the  lives  of  men  that  error 
hath  polluted  !  Ah,  souls'!  can  you  solemnly  consider  of  this,  and  not 
tremble  more  at  error  than  at  hell  itself?  &c. 

The  twelfth  device  that  Satan  hath  to  draw  the  soul  to  sin  is, 
Device  (12).  To  affect'6  wicked  company,  to  keep  wicked  society.  And 
oh !  the  horrid  impieties  and  wickedness  that  Satan  hath  drawn  men  to 
sin,  by  working  them  to  sit  and  associate  themselves  with  vain  persons. 
Now,  the  remedies  against  this  device  of  the  devil  are  these : 
Remedy  (1).  The  first  remedy  against  this  device  of  Satan  is,  To 
dwell,  till  your  hearts  be  affected,  upon  those  commands  of  God  that 
do  expressly  require  us  to  shun  the  society  of  the  wicked  :  Eph.  v.  11, 
'  And  have  no  fellowship  with  the  unfruitful  works  of  darkness,  but 
rather  reprove  them  ;'  Prov.  iv.  14-16,  '  Enter  not  into  the  path  of  the 
wicked,  and  go  not  in  the  way  of  evil  men.  Avoid  it,  pass  not  by  it, 
turn  from  it,  and  pass  away.'  1  Cor.  v.  9-11,  2  Thes.  iii.  6,  Prov.  i. 
10-15.  Turn  to  these  Scriptures,  and  let  your  souls  dwell  upon  them, 
till  a  holy  indignation  be  raised  in  your  souls  against  fellowship  with 
vain  men.  '  God  will  not  take  the  wicked  by  the  hand/  as  Job  speaks, 
xxxiv.  20,  xxx.  24.  Why  then  should  you  ?  God's  commands  are  not 
like  those  that  are  easily  reversed,  but  they  are  like  those  of  the  Medes, 
that  cannot  be  changed.  If  these  commands  be  not  now  observed  by 
thee,  they  will  at  last  be  witnesses  against  thee,  and  millstones  to  sink 
thee,  in  that  day  that  Christ  shall  judge  thee.4 

Remedy  (2).  The  second  remedy  against  this  device  of  Satan  is, 
seriously  to  consider,  That  their  company  is  very  infectious  and  dan- 
gerous, as  is  clear  from  the  scripture  above  mentioned.  Ah,  how 
many  have  lost  their  names,  and  lost  their  estates,  and  strength,  and 
God,  and  heaven,  and  souls,  by  society  with  wicked  men  !  As  ye  shun 
a  stinking  carcase,  as  the  seaman  shuns  sands  and  rocks,  and  shelves,5 
as  ye  shun  those  that  have  the  plague-sores  running  upon  them,  so 

1  The  proud  soul  is  like  him  that  gazed  upon  the  moon,  but  fell  into  the  pit. 
•  Errors  in  conscience  produce  many  great  evils,  not  only  ad  intra,  in  men's  own  souls, 
but  also  ad  extra,  in  human  affairs.  3  '  Choose.' — G. 

4  Non  parentum  aut  majorum  authoritas,  sed  Dei  docebit  imperium. — Jerome.  The 
commands  of  God  must  outweigh  all  authority  and  example  of  men. 

5  '  Shoals,'— G. 


<;2  TRECIOUS  REMEDIES  [2  COR.  II.  11. 

should  yini  shun  the  society  of  wicked  men.  As  weeds  endanger  the 
corn,  ;is  had  humours  endanger  the  blood,  or  as  an  infected  house  the 
neighbourhood,  so  doth  wicked  company  the  soul,1  Prov.  xiii.  20. 

Bias,  a  heathen  man,  being  at  sea  in  a  great  storm,  and  perceiving 
many  wicked  men  in  the  ship,  called  upon  the  gods:  'Oh,  saith  he, 
toil  tear  prayer,  hold  your  tongues  ;  I  would  not  have  the  gods  take 
notice  that  you  are  here  ;  they  sure  will  drown  us  all  if  they  should.' 
Ah,  sirs,  could  a  heathen  see  so  much  danger  in  the  society  of  wicked 
mi  id,  and  can  you  see  none  ? 

Remedy  (3).  The  third  remedy  against  this  device  of  Satan  is,  To 
look  alt  rays  upon  wicked  men,  under  those  names  and  notions  that 
the  Scripture  doth  set  them  out  under.  The  Scripture  calls  them 
lions  for  their  fierceness,  and  bears  for  their  cruelty,  and  dragons  for 
their  hideousness,  and  dogs  for  their  filthiness,  and  wolves  for  their 
subtleness.  The  Scripture  styles  them  scorpions,  vipers,  thorns,  briers, 
thistles,  brambles,  stubble,  dirt,  chaff,  dust,  dross,  smoke,  scum,  as  you 
may  see  in  the  margin.2  It  is  not  safe  to  look  upon  wicked  men  under 
those  names  and  notions  that  they  set  out  themselves  by,  or  that  flat- 
terers set  them  out  by;  this  may  delude  the  soul,  but  the  looking  upon 
them  under  those  names  and  notions  that  the  Scripture  sets  them  out 
by,  may  preserve  the  soul  from  frequenting  their  company  and  delight- 
ing in  their  society.  Do  not  tell  me  what  this  man  calls  them,  or 
how  such  and  such  count  them  ;  but  tell  me  how  doth  the  Scripture 
call  them,  how  doth  the  Scripture  count  them  ?  As  Nabal's  name  was, 
so  was  his  nature,  1  Sam.  xxv.  25,  and  as  wicked  men's  names  are, 
so  are  their  natures.  You  may  know  well  enough  what  is  within  them, 
by  the  apt  names  that  the  Holy  Ghost  hath  given  them.3 

Remedy  (4).  The  fourth  remedy  against  this  device  of  Satan,  is, 
solemnly  to  consider,  That  the  society  and  company  of  wicked  men 
have  been  a  great  grief  and  burden  to  those  precious  souls  that  were 
once  glorious  on  earth,  and  are  noiv  triumphing  in  heaven  :  Ps.  cxx. 
5,  6,  '  Woe  is  me,  that  I  dwell  in  Meshech,  that  I  sojourn  in  the  tents 
of  Kedar  !  My  soul  hath  long  dwelt  with  him  that  hateth  peace/  So 
Jeremiah,  '  Oh  that  I  had  in  the  wilderness  a  lodging-place  of  way- 
faring men,  that  I  might  leave  my  people,  and  go  from  them  !  for  they 
be  all  adulterers,  an  assembly  of  treacherous  men,'  Jer.  ix.  2.  So  they 
'  vexed  Lot's  righteous  soul  by  their  filthy  conversation/  2  Pet.  ii.  7  ;4 
they  made  his  life  a  burden,  they  made  death  more  desirable  to  him 
than  life,  yea,  they  made  his  life  a  lingering  death.  Guilt  or  grief  is 
all  the  good  gracious  souls  get  by  conversing  with  wicked  men.5 

1  Eusobius  reports  of  John  the  Evangelist,  that  he  would  not  suffer  Cerinthus,  the 
heretic,  in  the  sanio  bath  with  him,  lest  some  judgment  should  abide  them  both. — 
Euseb.  1.  iii.  cap.  25.  [Cf.  Note  in  Sibbes,  vol.  vii.  G03. — G.]  A  man  that  keepeth  ill 
company  is  like  him  that  walketh  in  the  sun,  tanned  insensibly. 

2  2  Tim.  iv.  17,  Isa.  xi.  7,  Ezek.  iii.  10,  Mat.  vii.  6,  Rev.  xxii.  15,  Luke  xiii.  32,  Isa. 
x.  17,  Ezek.  ii.  G,  Judges  ix.  14,  Job  xxi.  18,  Ps.  lxxxiii.  13,  Ps.  xviii.  42,  Ezek.  xxii. 
IS.  19,  Isa.  lxv.  5,  Ezek.  xxiv.  6. 

3  Lactantius  says  of  Lucian  [nee  diis,  nee  hominibvs  jiqiereil).  he  spared  neither  God 
nor  man  ;  such  monsters  are  wicked  men.  which  should  render  their  company  to  all 
that  have  tasted  of  the  sweetness  of  divine  love,  a  burden  and  not  a  delight. 

4  Vide  Bezam,  i.  c.  the  Annott.  of  Beza,  in  loc. — G. 

B  0  Lord,  let  me  not  go  to  hell,  where  the  wicked  are  ;  for  Lord,  thou  knowest  I  never 


2  Cor.  II.  11.]  against  satan's  devices.  G3 

The  second  thing  to  be  shewed  is, 

The  several  devices  that  Satan  hath,  as  to  draw  souls  to  sin,  so  to 
keep  souls  from  holy  duties,  to  hinder  souls  in  holy  services,  and  to 
keep  them  off  from  religious  performances. 

'  And  he  shewed  me  Joshua  the  high  priest  standing  before  the 
angel  of  the  Lord,  and  Satan  standing  at  his  right  hand  to  resist  him,' 
Zech.  iii.  1. 

The  truth  of  this  I  shall  shew  you  in  the  following  particulars  : 

The  first  device  that  Satan  hath  to  draw  souls  from  holy  duties,  and 
to  keep  them  off  from  religious  services,  is, 

Device  (1).  By  presenting  the  world  in  such  a  dress,  and  in  such 
a  garb  to  the  soul,  as  to  ensnare  the  soul,  and  to  win  upon  the  affec- 
tions of  the  soul.  He  represents  the  world  to  them  in  its  beauty  and 
bravery,1  which  proves  a  bewitching  sight  to  a  world  of  men.2  (It  is 
true,  this  took  not  Christ,  because  Satan  could  find  no  matter  in  him 
for  his  temptation  to  work  upon.)  So  that  he  can  no  sooner  cast  out  his 
golden  bait,  but  we  are  ready  to  play  with  it,  and  to  nibble  at  it ;  he  can 
no  sooner  throw  out  his  golden  ball,  but  men  are  apt  to  run  after  it, 
though  they  lose  God  and  their  souls  in  the  pursuit.  Ah!  how  many 
professors  in  these  days  have  for  a  time  followed  hard  after  God,  Christ, 
and  ordinances,  till  the  devil  hath  set  before  them  the  world  in  all  its 
beauty  and  bravery,  which  hath  so  bewitched  their  souls  that  they 
have  grown  to  have  low  thoughts  of  holy  things,  and  then  to  be  cold 
in  their  affections  to  holy  things,  and  then  to  slight  them,  and  at  last, 
with  the  young  man  in  the  Gospel,  to  turn  their  backs  upon  them. 
Ah !  the  time,  the  thoughts,  the  spirits,  the  hearts,  the  souls,  the  duties, 
the  services,  that  the  inordinate  love  of  this  wicked  world  doth  eat  up 
and  destroy,  and  hath  ate  up  and  destroyed.  Where  one  thousand 
are  destroyed  by  the  world's  frowns,  ten  thousand  are  destroyed  by  the 
world's  smiles.  The  world,  siren-like,  it  sings  us  and  sinks  us  ;  it  kisses 
us,  and  betrays  us,  like  Judas  ;  it  kisses  us  and  smites  us  under  the 
fifth  rib,  like  Joab.  The  honours,  splendour,  and  all  the  glory  of  this 
world,  are  but  sweet  poisons,  that  will  much  endanger  us,  if  they  do 
not  eternally  destroy  us.3  Ah !  the  multitude  of  souls  that  have  sur- 
feited of  these  sweet  baits  and  died  for  ever. 

Now  the  remedies  against  this  device  of  Satan  are  these, 

Remedy  (1).  The  first  remedy  against  this  device  of  Satan  is,  To  dtvett 
upon  the  impotency  and  weakness  of  all  these  things  here  below.  They 
are  not  able  to  secure  you  from  the  least  evil,  they  are  not  able  to  pro- 
cure you  the  least  desirable  good.  The  crown  of  gold  cannot  cure  the 
headache,  nor  the  velvet  slipper  ease  the  gout,  nor  the  jewel  about  the 

loved  their  company  here,  said  a  gracious  gentlewoman,  when  she  was  to  die,  heing  in 
much  trouble  of  conscience.  1  '  Finery.' — G. 

2  The  beauty  of  the  world  foils  a  Christian  more  than  the  strength ;  the  flattering 
sunshine  more  than  the  blustering  storm.  In  storms  we  keep  our  garments  close  about 
us  [as  in  the  fable  of  the  sun  and  wind. — G]. 

3  The  inhabitants  of  Nilus  are  deaf  by  the  noise  of  the  waters ;  so  the  world  makes 
such  a  noise  in  men's  ears,  that  they  cannot  hear  the  things  of  heaven.  The  world  is 
like  the  swallows'  dung,  that  put  out  Tobias  his  eyes.  The  champions  could  not  wring 
an  apple  oat  of  Milo's  hand  by  a  strong  hand,  but  a  fair  maid,  by  fair  means,  got  it 
presently. 


G-t  PRECIOUS  REMEDIES  [2  COR.  II.  11. 

neck  cannot  take  away  the  pain  of  the  teeth.  The  frogs  of  Egypt 
entered  into  the  rich  men's  houses  of  Egypt,  as  well  as  the  poor.  Our 
daily  experience  doth  evidence  this,  that  all  the  honours,  riches,  &c, 
that  men  enjoy,  cannot  free  them  from  the  cholic,  the  fever,  or  lesser 
diseases.1  Nay,  that  which  may  seem  most  strange  is,  that  a  great  deal 
of  wealth  cannot  keep  men  from  falling  into  extreme  poverty  :  Judges 
i.  G,  you  shall  find  seventy  kings,  with  their  fingers  and  toes  cut  off, 
glad,  like  whelps,  to  lick  up  crumbs  under  another  king's  table ;  and 
shortly  after,  the  same  king  that  brought  them  to  this  penury,  is 
reduced  to  the  same  poverty  and  misery.  Why  then  should  that  be  a 
bar  to  keep  thee  out  of  heaven,  that  cannot  give  thee  the  least  ease 
on  earth  ? 

Remedy  (2).  The  second  remedy  against  this  device  of  Satan  is,  To 
divell  upon  the  vanity  of  them  as  well  as  upon  the  impotency  of  all 
worldly  good.  This  is  the  sum  of  Solomon's  sermon,  'Vanity  of  vanities, 
and  all  is  vanity.'  This  our  first  parents  found,  and  therefore  named 
their  second  son  Abel,  or  vanity.  Solomon,  that  had  tried  these  things, 
and  could  best  tell  the  vanity  of  them,  he  preacheth  this  sermon  over 
again  and  again, '  Vanity  of  vanities,  and  all  is  vanity/  It  is  sad  to  think 
how  many  thousands  there  be  that  can  say  with  the  preacher,  '  Vanity 
of  vanities,  all  is  vanity/  nay,  swear  it,  and  yet  follow  after  these  things 
as  if  there  were  no  other  glory,  nor  felicity,  but  what  is  to  be  found  in 
these  things  they  call  vanity.2  Such  men  will  sell  Christ,  heaven,  and 
their  souls  for  a  trifle,  that  call  these  things  vanity,  but  do  not  cor- 
dially believe  them  to  be  vanity,  but  set  their  hearts  upon  them  as  if 
they  were  their  crown,  the  top  of  all  their  royalty  and  glory.  Oh  let 
your  souls  dwell  upon  the  vanity  of  all  things  here  below,  till  your 
hearts  be  so  throughly  convinced  and  persuaded  of  the  vanity  of  them, 
as  to  trample  upon  them,  and  make  them  a  footstool  for  Christ  to  get 
up,  and  ride  in  a  holy  triumph  in  your  hearts  3 

Chrysostom  said  once,  '  That  if  he  were  the  fittest  in  the  world  to 
preach  a  sermon  to  the  whole  world,  gathered  together  in  one  congre- 
gation, and  had  some  high  mountain  for  his  pulpit,  from  whence  he 
might  have  a  prospect  of  all  the  world  in  his  view,  and  were  furnished 
with  a  voice  of  brass,  a  voice  as  loud  as  the  trumpets  of  the  arch- 
angel, that  all  the  world  might  hear  him,  he  would  choose  to  preach 
upon  no  other  text  than  that  in  the  Psalms,'  O  mortal  men,  how  long 
will  ye  love  vanity,  and  follow  after  leasing  ?  Ps.  iv.  2. 

1  The  prior  in  Melancthon  rolled  his  hand  up  and  down  in  a  basinful  of  angels, 
thinking  thereby  to  have  charmed  his  gout,  but  it  would  not  do.  Nugas  the  Scythian, 
despising  the  rich  presents  and  ornaments  that  were  sent  unto  him  by  the  emperor  of 
Constantinople,  asked  whether  those  things  could  drive  away  calamities,  diseases,  or 
death. 

-  Gilemex,  king  of  Vandals,  led  in  triumph  by  Belisarius,  cried  out,  '  Vanity  of 
vanity,  all  is  vanity.'  The  fancy  of  Lucian,  who  placeth  Charon  on  the  top  of  an  high 
hill,  viewing  all  the  aft'airs  of  men  living,  and  looking  on  their  greatest  cities  as  little 
birds'  nests,  is  very  pleasant. 

*  Oh  the  imperfection,  the  ingratitude,  the  levity,  the  inconstancy,  the  perfidiousness 
of  those  creatures  we  most  servilely  affect.  Ah,  did  we  but  weigh  man's  pain  with  his 
payment,  his  crosses  with  his  mercies,  his  miseries  with  his  pleasures,  wo  should  (lien 
see  that  there  is  nothing  got  by  the  bargain,  and  conclude,  '  Vanity  of  vanities,  all  is 
vanity.' 


2  Cor.  II.  11.]  against  satan's  devices.  65 

Tell  me,  you  that  say  all  things  under  the  sun  are  vanity,  if  you  do 
really  believe  what  you  say,  why  do  you  spend  more  thoughts  and 
time  on  the  world,  than  you  do  on  Christ,  heaven,  and  your  immortal 
souls  ?  Why  do  you  then  neglect  your  duty  towards  God,  to  get  the 
world  ?  Why  do  you  then  so  eagerly  pursue  after  the  world,  and  are 
so  cold  in  your  pursuing  after  God,  Christ,  and  holiness  ?  Why  then 
are  your  hearts  so  exceedingly  raised,  when  the  world  comes  in,  and 
smiles  upon  you ;  and  so  much  dejected,  and  cast  down,  when  the 
world  frowns  upon  you,  and  with  Jonah's  gourd  withers  before  you  ? 

Remedy  (3).  The  third  remedy  against  the  device  of  Satan  is,  To 
divell  much  upon  the  uncertainty,  the  mutability,  and  inconstancy 
of  all  things  under  the  sun.  Man  himself  is  but  the  dream  of  a 
dream,  but  the  generation  of  a  fancy,  but  an  empty  vanity,  but  the 
curious  picture  of  nothing,  a  poor,  feeble,  dying  flash.  All  temporals 
are  as  transitory  as  a  hasty  headlong  current,  a  shadow,  a  ship,  a  bird, 
an  arrow,  a  post  that  passeth  by.  '  Why  shouldst  thou  set  thine  eyes 
upon  that  which  is  not  ?'  saith  Solomon,  Prov.  xxiii.  5.  And  saith  the 
apostle,  'The  fashion  of  this  world  passeth  away,'1  1  Cor.  vii.  31.  Heaven 
only  hath  a  foundation,  earth  hath  none,  '  but  is  hanged  upon  nothing,' 
as  Job  speaks,  xxvi.  7.  The  apostle  willed  Timothy  to  'charge  rich  men 
that  they  be  not  high-minded,  nor  put  their  trust  in  uncertain  riches,' 
1  Tim.  vi.  17.2  They  are  like  bad  servants,  whose  shoes  are  made  of 
running  leather,  and  will  never  tarry  long  with  one  master.3  As  a 
bird  hoppeth  from  tree  to  tree,  so  do  the  honours  and  riches  of  this 
world  from  man  to  man,  Let  Job  and  Nebuchadnezzar  testify  this 
truth,  who  fell  from  great  wealth  to  great  want.  No  man  can  promise 
himself  to  be  wealthy  till  night  ;  one  storm  at  sea,  one  coal  of  fire, 
one  false  friend,  one  unadvised  word,  one  false  witness,  may  make  thee 
a  beggar  and  a  prisoner  all  at  once.  All  the  riches  and  glory  of  this 
world  is  but  as  smoke  and  chaff  that  vanisheth  ;  'Asa  dream  and 
vision  in  the  night,  that  tarrieth  not/  Job  xx.  8.  '  As  if  a  hungry  man 
dreameth,  and  thinketh  that  he  eateth,  and  when  he  awaketh  his  soul 
is  empty  ;  and  like  a  thirsty  man  which  thinketh  he  drinketh,  and 
behold  when  he  is  awaked,  his  soul  is  faint,'  as  the  prophet  Isaiah  saith, 
chap.  xxix.  8.  Where  is  the  glory  of  Solomon  ?  the  sumptuous  build- 
ings of  Nebuchadnezzar  ?  the  nine  hundred  chariots  of  Sisera  ?  the 
power  of  Alexander  ?  the  authority  of  Augustus,  that  commanded  the 
whole  world  to  be  taxed  ?  Those  that  have  been  the  most  glorious, 
in  what  men  generally  account  glorious  and  excellent,  have  had  in- 
glorious ends  ;  as  Samson  for  strength,  Absalom  for  favour,  Ahithophel 
for  policy,  Haman  for  favour,  Asahel  for  swiftness,  Alexander  for  great 
conquest,  and  yet  after  twelve  years  poisoned.  The  same  you  may 
see  in  the  four  mighty  kingdoms,  the  Chaldean,  Persian,  Grecian,  and 

1  1  Cor.  vii.  31  intimateth,  that  there  is  nothing  of  any  firmness,  or  solid  consistence, 
in  the  creature. 

2  Riches  were  never  true  to  any  that  trusted  to  them  ;  they  have  deceived  men,  as 
Job's  brook  did  the  poor  travellers  in  the  summer  season. 

3  A  phrase  meaning,  he  is  given  to  rambling  about.  See  Halliwell  and  Wright  sub 
voce. — (jr. 

VOL.  I.  E 


GG  PRECIOUS  REMEDIES  [2  COR.  II.  11. 

Roman  :  how  soon  were  they  gone  and  forgotten  I1  Now  rich,  now 
poor,  now  full,  now  empty,  now  in  favour,  anon  out  of  favour,  now 
honourable,  now  despised,  now  health,  now  sickness,  now  strength, 
now  weakness.  Oh,  let  not  these  uncertain  things  keep  thee  from 
those  holy  services  and  heavenly  employments,  that  may  make  thee 
happy  for  ever,  and  render  thy  soul  eternally  blessed  and  at  ease, 
when  all  these  transitory  things  shall  bid  thy  soul  an  everlasting  fare- 
well.2 

Remedy  (4).  The  fourth  remedy  against  this  device  of  Satan  is, 
seriously  to  consider,  That  the  great  things  of  this  world  are  very 
hurtful  and  dangerous  to  the  outward  and  inward  man,  through 
the  corruptions  that  be  in  the  hearts  of  men.  Oh,  the  rest,  the  peace, 
the  comfort,  the  content  that  the  things  of  this  world  do  strip  many 
men  of!  Oh,  the  fears,  the  cares,  the  envy,  the  malice,  the  dangers, 
the  mischiefs,  that  they  subject  men  to  ! 3  They  oftentimes  make  men 
carnally  confident.4  The  rich  man's  riches  are  a  strong  tower  in  his 
imagination.  '  I  said  in  my  prosperity  I  should  never  be  moved/  Ps. 
xxx.  6.  They  often  swell  the  heart  with  pride,  and  make  men  forget 
God,  and  neglect  God,  and  despise  the  rock  of  their  salvation.  When 
Jeshurun  'waxed  fat,  and  was  grown  thick,  and  covered  with  fatness, 
then  he  forgot  God,  and  forsook  God  that  made  him,  and  lightly 
esteemed  the  rock  of  his  salvation/  as  Moses  spake,  Deut.  xxxii.  15. 
Ah,  the  time,  the  thoughts,  the  spirits,  that  the  things  of  the  world 
consume  and  spend  !  Oh,  how  do  they  hinder  the  actings  of  faith 
upon  God  !  how  do  they  interrupt  our  sweet  communion  with  God  ! 
how  do  they  abate  our  love  to  the  people  of  God  !  and  cool  our  love  to 
the  things  of  God  !  and  work  us  to  act  like  those  that  are  most  unlike 
to  God  !  Oh,  the  deadness,  the  barrenness  that  doth  attend  men 
under  great  outward  mercies  ! 5  Oh,  the  riches  of  the  world  chokes  the 
word  ;  that  men  live  under  the  most  soul-searching,  and  soul-enriching 
means  with  lean  souls.  Though  they  have  full  purses,  though  their 
chests  are  full  of  silver,  yet  their  hearts  are  empty  of  grace.  In 
Genesis  xiii.  2,  it  is  said,  that  '  Abraham  was  very  rich  in  cattle,  in 
silver,  and  in  gold.'  According  to  the  Hebrew  (Chabbedgh)  it  is 
'  Abraham  was  very  weary  ;'  to  shew  that  riches  are  a  heavy  burden, 
and  a  hindrance  many  times  to  heaven,  and  happiness.6 

1  The  most  renowned  Frederick  lost  all,  and  sued  to  be  made  but  sexton  of  the 
church  that  himself  had  built.  I  have  read  of  a  poor  fisherman,  who.  while  his  nets 
were  a-drying,  slept  upon  the  rock,  and  dreamed  that  he  was  made  a  king,  on  a  sudden 
starts  up,  and  leaping  for  joy,  fell  down  from  the  rock,  and  in  the  place  of  his  imaginary 
felicities  loses  his  little  portion  of  pleasures. 

2  The  pomp  of  this  world  John  com  pare  th  to  the  moon,  which  crescit  et  decrescit,  in- 
creaseth  and  decreaseth,  Apoc.  xii.  1. 

3  Henry  the  Second  hearing  Mentz  his  chief  city  to  be  taken,  used  this  blasphemous 
speech  :  I  shall  never,  saith  he,  love  God  any  more,  that  suffered  a  city  so  dear  to  me 
to  be  taken  from  me. 

4  When  one  presented  Antipater,  king  of  Macedonia,  with  a  book  treating  on  happi- 
ness, his  answer  was  (««  <r^oXa^s/),  I  have  no  leisure. 

•'  That  four  good  mothers  beget  four  bad  daughters :  great  familiarity  begets  con- 
tempt, truth  hatrod,  virtue  envy,  riches  ignorance  ;  a  French  proverb. 

6  Ponacrites  bestowed  five  talents  for  a  gift  upon  one  Anacreon,  who  for  two  nights 
after  was  so  troubled  with  care  how  to  keep  them,  and  how  to  bestow  them,  as  he 
carried  them  back  again  to  Ponacrites,  saying,  they  were  not  worth  the  pains  which  he 
hud  already  taken  for  them.     [_QUC17  Folycrutes  '? — G.] 


2  COE.  II.  11.]  AGAINST  SATAN'S  DEVICES.  67 

King  Henry  the  Fourth  asked  the  Duke  of  Alva  if  he  had  observed 
the  great  eclipse  of  the  sun,  which  had  lately  happened  ;  No,  said  the 
duke,  I  have  so  much  to  do  on  earth,  that  I  have  no  leisure  to  look 
up  to  heaven.  Ah,  that  this  were  not  true  of  most  professors  in  these 
days.  It  is  very  sad  to  think,  how  their  hearts  and  time  is  so  much 
taken  up  with  earthly  things,  that  they  have  scarce  any  leisure  to  look 
up  to  heaven,  or  to  look  after  Christ,  and  the  things  that  belong  to 
their  everlasting  peace. 

Riches,  though  well  got,  yet  are  but  like  to  manna ;  those  that 
gathered  less  had  no  want,  and  those  that  gathered  more,  it  was  but 
a  trouble  and  annoyance  to  them.  The  world  is  troublesome,  and  yet 
it  is  loved ;  what  would  it  be  if  it  were  peaceable  ?  You  embrace  it, 
though  it  be  filthy ;  what  would  you  do  if  it  were  beautiful  ?  You 
cannot  keep  your  hands  from  the  thorns  ;  how  earnest  would  you  be 
then  in  gathering  the  flowers  i1  The  world,  may  be  fitly  likened  to 
the  serpent  Scytale,  whereof  it  is  reported,  that  when  she  cannot  over- 
take the  flying  passengers,  she  doth  with  her  beautiful  colours  so 
astonish  and  amaze  them,  that  they  have  no  power  to  pass  away,  till 
she  hath  stung  them.2  Ah.  how  many  thousands  are  there  now  on 
earth,  that  have  found  this  true  by  experience,  that  have  spun  a  fair 
thread  to  strangle  themselves,  both  temporally  and  eternally,  by  being 
bewitched  by  the  beaut}''  and  bravery  of  this  world.3 

Remedy  (5).  The  fifth  remedy  against  this  device  of  Satan  is,  to 
consider,  That  all  the  felicity  of  this  world  is  mixed.  Our  light  is 
mixed  with  darkness,  our  joy  with  sorrow,  our  pleasures  with  pain, 
our  honour  with  dishonour,  our  riches  with  wants.  If  our  lights  be 
spiritual,  clear,  and  quick,  we  may  see  in  the  felicity  of  this  world  our 
wine  mixed  with  water,  our  honey  with  gall,  our  sugar  with  worm- 
wood, and  our  roses  with  prickles.4  Sorrow  attends  worldly  joy, 
danger  attends  worldly  safety,  loss  attends  worldly  labours,  tears 
attend  worldly  purposes.  As  to  these  things,  men's  hopes  are  vain, 
their  sorrow  certain  and  joy  feigned.  The  apostle  calls  this  world  'a 
sea  of  glass/  a  sea  for  the  trouble  of  it,  and  glass  for  the  brittleness 
and  bitterness  of  it.5  The  honours,  profits,  pleasures,  and  delights  of 
the  world  are  true  gardens  of  Adonis,  where  we  can  gather  nothing 
but  trivial  flowers,  surrounded  with  many  briers. 

Remedy  (6).  The  sixth  remedy  against  this  device  of  Satan  is,  To 
get  better  acquaintance  and  better  assurance  of  more  blessed  and 
glorious  things.6  That  which  raised  up  their  spirits,  Heb.  x.  and  xi., 
to  trample  upon  all  the  beauty,  bravery,  and  glory  of  the  world,  was 
the  acquaintance  with,  'and  assurance  of  better  and  more  durable 

1  A  recollection  of  Augustine. — G. 

*  Sicily  is  so  full  of  sweet  flowers  that  dogs  cannot  hunt  there.  And  what  do  all  the 
sweet  contents  of  this  world,  but  make  us  lose  the  scent  of  heaven  ! 

3  Scytale:  Solinus  cxxvii.,  xl. — G. 

4  Hark,  scholar,  said  the  harlot  to  Apuleius,  it  is  but  a  bitter  sweet  you  are  so  fond 
of.     Surely  all  the  things  of  this  world  are  but  bitter  sweets. 

5  Qu.  not  this  world?     Of.  Rev.  iv.  6,  xv.  2,  xxi.  18. — G. 

6  Let  heaven  be  a  man's  object,  and  earth  will  soon  be  his  abject.  Luther  being  at 
one  time  in  some  wants,  it  happened  that  a  good  sum  of  money  was  unexpectedly  sent 
him  by  a  nobleman  of  Germany,  at  which,  being  something  amazed,  he' said,  I  fear  that 
God  will  give  me  my  reward  here,  but  I  protest  I  will  not  be  so  satisfied. 


liS  PBECIOUS  REMEDIES  [2  COR.  II.  11. 

things.'  '  They  took  joyfully  the  spoiling  of  their  goods,  knowing  in 
themselves  that  they  bad  in  heaven  a  better  and  a  more  durable  sub- 
stance.' 'They  looked  for  a  house  that  had  foundations,  whoso  builder 
and  maker  was  God.'  'And  they  looked  for  another  country,  even  an 
heavenly/  'They  saw  him  that  was  invisible,  and  had  an  eye  to  the 
recompence  of  reward.'  And  this  made  them  count  all  the  glory  and 
bravery  of  this  world  to  be  too  poor  and  contemptible  for  them  to  set 
their  hearts  upon.  The  main  reason  why  men  doat  upon  the  world, 
and  damn  their  souls  to  get  the  world,  is,  because  they  are  not 
acquainted  with  a  greater  glory.  Men  ate  acorns,  till  they  were 
acquainted  with  the  use  of  wheat.  Ah,  were  men  more  acquainted 
with  what  union  and  communion  with  God  means,  what  it  is  to  have 
'a  new  name,  and  a  new  stone,  that  none  knows  but  he  that  hath  it,' 
Rev.  ii.  17;  did  they  but  taste  more  of  heaven,  and  live  more  in 
heaven,  and  had  more  glorious  hopes  of  going  to  heaven,  ah,  how 
easily  would  they  have  the  moon  under  their  feet. 

It  was  an  excellent  saying  of  Lewis  of  Bavyer,  emperor  of  Genrianv, 
Such  goods  are  worth  getting  and  owning,  as  will  not  sink  or  wash 
away  if  a  shipwreck  happen,  but  will  wade  and  swim  out  with  us.'1 
It  is  recorded  of  Lazarus,  that  after  his  resurrection  from  the  dead,  he 
was  never  seen  to  laugh,  his  thoughts  and  affections  were  so  fixed  in 
heaven,  though  his  body  was  on  earth,  and  therefore  he  could  not  but 
slight  temporal  things,  his  heart  being  so  bent  and  set  upon  eternals. 
There  are  goods  for  the  throne  of  grace,  as  God,  Christ,  the  Spirit, 
adoption,  justification,  remission  of  sin,  peace  with  God,  and  peace 
with  conscience  ;  and  there  are  goods  of  the  footstool,  as  honours, 
riches,  the  favour  of  creatures,  and  other  comforts  and  accommoda- 
tions of  this  life.  Now  he  that  hath  acquaintance  with,  and  assurance 
of  the  goods  of  the  throne,  will  easily  trample  upon  the  goods  of  the 
footstool  Ah  that  you  would  make  it  your  business,  your  work,  to 
mind  more,  and  make  sure  more  to  your  own  souls,  the  great  things 
of  eternity,  that  will  yield  you  joy  in  life  and  peace  in  death,  and  a 
crown  of  righteousness  in  the  day  of  Christ's  appearing,  and  that  will 
lift  up  your  souls  above  all  the  beauty  and  bravery  of  this  bewitching 
world,  that  will  raise  your  feet  above  other  men's  heads.  When  a 
man  comes  to  be  assured  of  a  crown,  a  sceptre,  the  royal  robes,  &c, 
he  then  begins  to  have  low,  mean,  and  contemptible  thoughts  of  those 
things  that  before  he  highly  prized.  So  will  assurance  of  more  great 
.oid  glorious  things  breed  in  the  soul  a  holy  scorn  and  contempt  of  all 
these  poor,  mean  things,  which  the  soul  before  did  value  above  God, 
Christ,  ami  heaven,  &c. 

Remedy  (7).  The  seventh  remedy  against  tins  device  of  Satan  is, 
seriously  to  consider,  That  true  ha pmness  and  satisfaction  is  not  to 
be  had  in  the  enjoyment  of  worldly  </ood.  True  happiness  is  too  big 
and  too  glorious  a  thing  to  be  found  in  anything  below  that  God  that 

1  fli'j'iisinodi  comparandce  sunt  opes  qnce  cum  naufrago  simul  enutent.  There  is,  saith 
Augustine,  bona  throni,  goods  of  the  throne  ;  and  there  are  bona  scabclli,  goods  of  the 
footstool.  When  Basil  was  tempted  with  money  and  preferment,  saith  ho,  Give  roe 
money  that  may  last  for  ever,  and  glory  that  may  eternally  flourish  ;  for  the  fashion  of 
this  world  paaaeth  away,  as  the  waters  of  a  river  that  runs  by  a  city. 


2  Cor.  II.  11.]  against  satan's  devices.  Of) 

is  a  Christian's  summum  bonurri;  chiefest  good.1  The  blessed  angels, 
those  glistering  courtiers,  have  all  felicities  and  blessedness,  and  yet 
have  they  neither  gold,  nor  silver,  nor  jewels,  nor  none  of  the  beauty 
and  bravery  of  this  world.  Certainly  if  happiness  was  to  be  found  in 
these  things,  the  Lord  Jesus,  who  is  the  right  and  royal  heir  of  all 
things,  would  have  exchanged  his  cradle  for  a  crown ;  his  birth  cham- 
ber, a  stable,  for  a  royal  palace  ;  his  poverty  for  plenty  ;  his  despised 
followers  for  shining  courtiers ;  and  his  mean  provisions  for  the  choicest 
delicates,  &c.  Certainly  happiness  lies  not  in  those  things  that  a  man 
may  enjoy,  and  yet  be  miserable  for  ever.  Now  a  man  may  be  great 
and  graceless  with  Pharaoh,  honourable  and  damnable  with  Saul,  rich 
and  miserable  with  Dives,  &c. :  therefore  happiness  lies  not  in  these 
things.  Certainly  happiness  lies  not  in  those  things  that  cannot 
comfort  a  man  upon  a  dying  bed.  Is  it  honours,  riches,  or  friends, 
&c,  that  can  comfort  thee  when  thou  comest  to  die  ?  Or  is  it  not 
rather  faith  in  the  blood  of  Christ,  the  witness  of  the  Spirit  of 
Christ,  the  sense  and  feeling  of  the  love  and  favour  of  Christ,  and  the 
hopes  of  eternally  reigning  with  Christ  ?  Can  happiness  lie  in  those 
things  that  cannot  give  us  health,  or  strength,  or  ease,  or  a  good  night's 
rest,  or  an  hour's  sleep,  or  a  good  stomach  ?  Why,  all  the  honours, 
riches,  and  delights  of  this  world  cannot  give  these  poor  things  to  us, 
therefore  certainly  happiness  lies  not  in  the  enjoyment  of  them,  &c.2 
And  surely  happiness  is  not  to  be  found  in  those  things  that  cannot 
satisfy  the  souls  of  men.  Now  none  of  these  things  can  satisfy  the 
soul  of  man.  '  He  that  loveth  silver  shall  not  be  satisfied  with  silver, 
nor  he  that  loveth  abundance  with  increase  ;  this  is  also  vanity,'  said 
the  wise  man,  Eccles.  v.  10.  The  barren  womb,  the  horse  leech's 
daughter,  the  grave  and  hell,  will  as  soon  be  satisfied,  as  the  soul  of 
man  will  by  the  enjoyment  of  any  worldly  good.  Some  one  thing  or 
other  will  be  for  ever  wanting  to  that  soul  that  hath  none  but  outward 
good  to  live  upon.  You  may  as  soon  fill  a  bag  with  wisdom,  a  chest 
with  virtue,  or  a  circle  with  a  triangle,  as  the  heart  of  man  with  any- 
thing here  below.  A  man  may  have  enough  of  the  world  to  sink  him, 
but  he  can  never  have  enough  to  satisfy  him,  &c. 

Remedy  (8).  The  eighth  remedy  against  this  device  of  Satan  is, 
solemnly  to  consider,  Of  the  dignity  of  the  soul.  Oh,  the  soul  of  man 
is  more  worth  than  a  thousand  worlds  !  It  is  the  greatest  abasing  of 
it  that  can  be  to  let  it  doat  upon  a  little  shining  earth,  upon  a  little 
painted  beauty  and  fading  glory,  when  it  is  capable  of  union  with 
Christ,  of  communion  with  God,  and  of  enjoying  the  eternal  vision  of 
God. 

Seneca  could  say,  '  I  am  too  great,  and  born  to  greater  things,  than 
that  I  should  be  a  slave  to  my  body.'3      Oh  !  do  you  say  my  soul  is 

1  True  happiness  lies  only  in  our  enjoyment  of  a  suitable  good,  a  pure  good,  a  total 
good,  and  an  eternal  good  ;  and  God  is  only  such  a  good,  and  such  a  good  can  only 
satisfy  the  soul  of  man.  Philosophers  could  say,  that  he  was  never  a  happy  man  that 
might  afterwards  become  miserable. 

12  Gregory  the  Great  used  to  say,  He  is  poor  whose  soul  is  void  of  grace,  not  whose 
coffers  are  empty  of  money.  Anima  rationalis  cceteris  omnibus  occupari  potest ,  impleri  non 
potest;  the  reasonable  soul  may  be  busied  about  other  things,  but  it  cannot  be  filled 
with  them.  3  Epistle  xiv. — G. 


70  PRECIOUS  REMEDIES  [2  COR.  II.  11. 

too  great,  and  born  to  greater  things,  than  that  I  should  confine  it  to 
a  heap  of  white  and  yellow  earth.1 

I  have  been  the  longer  upon  the  remedies  that  may  help  us  against 
this  dangerous  device  of  Satan,  because  he  doth  usually  more  hurt  to 
the  souls  of  nun  by  this  device  than  he  doth  by  all  other  devices. 
For  a  close,  I  wish,  as  once  Chrysostom  did,  that  that  sentence,  Eccles. 
ii.  11,  'Then  I  looked  on  all  the  works  that  my  hands  had  wrought, 
and  on  the  labour  that  I  had  laboured  to  do,  and  behold  all  was  vanity 
and  vexation  of  spirit,  and  there  was  no  profit  under  the  sun,'  were 
engraven  on  the  door-posts  into  which  you  enter,  on  the  tables  where 
you  sit,  on  the  dishes  out  of  which  you  eat,  on  the  cups  out  of  which 
you  drink,  on  the  bed-steads  where  you  lie,  on  the  walls  of  the  house 
where  you  dwell,  on  the  garments  which  you  wear,  on  the  heads  of 
the  horses  on  which  you  ride,  and  on  the  foreheads  of  all  them  whom 
you  meet,  that  your  souls  may  not,  by  the  beauty  and  bravery  of  the 
world,  be  kept  off  from  those  holy  and  heavenly  services  that  may 
render  you  blessed  while  you  live,  and  happy  when  you  die  ;  that  you 
may  breathe  out  your  last  into  his  bosom  who  lives  for  ever,  and  who 
will  make  them  happy  for  ever  that  prefer  Christ's  spirituals  and 
eternals  above  all  temporal  transitory  things. 

Device  (2.)  The  second  device  that  Satan  hath  to  draw  the  soul 
from  holy  duties,  and  to  keep  them  off  from  religious  services,  is, 
By  presenting  to  them  the  danger,  the  losses,  and  the  sufferings 
that  do  attend  the  'performance  of  such  and  such,  religious  ser- 
vices. By  this  device  Satan  kept  close  those  that  believed  on 
Christ  from  confessing  of  Christ:  in  John  xii.  42,  'Nevertheless  among 
the  chief  rulers  also  many  believed  on  him  ;  but  because  of  the  Pha- 
risees they  did  not  confess  him,  lest  they  should  be  put  out  of  the 
synagogue.'  I  would  walk  in  all  the  ways  of  God,  I  would  give  up 
myself  to  the  strictest  way  of  holiness,  but  I  am  afraid  dangers  will 
attend  me  on  the  one  hand,  and  losses,  and  happily  such  and  such 
sufferings  on  the  other  hand,  saith  many  a  man.  Oh,  how  should  we 
help  ourselves  against  this  temptation  and  device  of  Satan  ! 

Now  the  remedies  against  this  device  of  Satan  are  these  that 
follow. 

Remedy  (1).  The  first  remedy  against  this  device  of  Satan  is  to  con- 
sider, That  all  the  troubles  and  afflictions  that  you  meet  with  in  a 
way  of  righteousness  shall  never  hurt  you,  they  shall  never  harm  you. 
'  And  who  is  he  that  shall  harm  you,  if  you  be  followers  of  that  which 
is  good?'  saith  the  apostle,  i.e.  none  shall  harm  you,  1  Pet.  iii.  13.2 
Natural  conscience  cannot  but  do  homage  to  the  image  of  God  stamped 
upon  the  natures,  words,  works,  and  life  of  the  godly  ;  as  we  may  see 
in  the  carriage  of  Nebuchadnezzar  and  Darius  towards  Daniel.     All 

1  Plutarch  tells  of  Themistoclcs,  that  he  accounted  it  not  to  stand  with  his  state  to 
stoop  clown  to  take  up  the  spoils  the  enemies  had  scattered  in  flight;  but  saith  to  one 
of  his  followers,  &6v«.<ra.i  <rv,  yao  ovk  u  ti$fn<rroxkh;,  You  may,  for  you  are  not  Themistocles. 
Oh  what  a  sad  thing  it  is  that  a  heathen  should  set  his  feet  upon  those  very  things 
that  most  professors  set  their  hearts,  and  for  the  gain  of  which,  with  Balaam,  many  ruu 
the  hazard  of  losing  their  immortal  souls  for  ever. 

8  Nemo  pruprie  laiditur  nisi  a  seipso,  Nobody  is  properly  hurt  but  by  himself,  and 
his  own  fault. 


2  Cor.  II  11.]  against  satan's  devices.  71 

afflictions  and  troubles  that  do  attend  men  in  a  way  of  righteousness 
can  never  rob  them  of  their  treasure,  of  their  jewels.  They  may  rob 
them  of  some  light  slight  things,  as  the  sword  that  is  by  their  side,  or 
the  stick  in  their  hand,  or  of  the  flowers  or  ribbons  that  be  in  their 
hats.1  The  treasures  of  a  saint  are  the  presence  of  God,  the  favour  of 
God,  union  and  communion  with  God,  the  pardon  of  sin,  the  joy  of  the 
Spirit,  the  peace  of  conscience,  which  are  jewels  that  none  can  give 
but  Christ,  nor  none  can  take  away  but  Christ.  Now  why  should  a 
gracious  soul  keep  off  from  a  way  of  holiness  because  of  afflictions, 
when  no  afflictions  can  strip  a  man  of  his  heavenly  jewels,  which  are 
his  ornaments  and  his  safety  here,  and  will  be  his  happiness  and  glory 
hereafter  ?  Why  should  that  man  be  afraid,  or  troubled  for  storms  at 
sea,  whose  treasures  are  sure  in  a  friend's  hand  upon  land  ?  Why,  a 
believer's  treasure  is  always  safe  in  the  hands  of  Christ ;  his  life  is 
safe,  his  soul  is  safe,  his  grace  is  safe,  his  comfort  is  safe,  and  his  crown 
is  safe  in  the  hand  of  Christ.2  '  I  know  him  in  whom  I  have  believed, 
and  that  he  is  able  to  keep  that  which  I  have  committed  unto  him 
until  that  day,'  saith  the  apostle,  2  Tim.  i.  12.  The  child's  most  pre- 
cious things  are  most  secure  in  his  father's  hands ;  so  are  our  souls, 
our  graces,  and  our  comforts  in  the  hand  of  Christ. 

Remedy  (2).  The  second  remedy  against  this  device  of  Satan  is  to 
consider,  That  other  precious  saints  that  were  shining  lights  on  earth, 
and  are  noiv  triumphing  in  heaven,  have  held  on  in  religious  ser- 
vices, notwithstanding  all  the  troubles  and  dangers  that  have  sur- 
rounded them?  Nehemiah  and  Ezra  were  surrounded  with  dangers 
on  the  left  hand  and  on  the  right,  and  yet,  in  the  face  of  all,  they  hold 
on  building  the  temple  and  the  wall  of  Jerusalem.  So  Daniel,  and 
those  precious  worthies,  Ps.  xliv.  19,  20,  under  the  want  of  outward 
encouragements,  and  in  the  face  of  a  world  of  very  great  discourage- 
ment?, their  souls  clave  to  God  and  his  ways.  '  Though  they  were  sore 
broken  in  the  place  of  dragons,  and  covered  with  the  shadow  of  death, 
yea,  though  they  were  all  the  day  long  counted  as  sheep  for  the 
slaughter,  yet  their  hearts  were  not  turned  back,  neither  did  their 
steps  decline  from  his  ways.'  Though  bonds  and  imprisonments  did 
attend  Paul  and  the  rest  of  the  apostles  in  every  place,  yet  they  held 
on  in  the  work  and  service  of  the  Lord ;  and  why,  then,  should  you 
degenerate  from  their  worthy  examples,  which  is  your  duty  and  your 
glory  to  follow  ?  2  Cor.  vi.  5,  Heb.  xi.  36. 

Remedy  (3).  The  third  remedy  against  this  device  of  Satan  is, 

1  Gordius,  that  blessed  martyr,  accounted  it  a  loss  to  him  not  to  suffer  many  kinds  of 
tortures.  He  saith  tortures  are  hut  tradings  with  God  for  glory.  The  greater  the 
combat  is,  the  greater  is  the  following  reward.  [For  above  of  Gordius,  cf.  Clarke's 
'  Martyrologie,'  1677  folio,  pages  54,  55. — G.] 

2  That  was  a  notable  speech  of  Luther,  Let  him  that  died  for  my  soul  see  to  the 
salvation  of  it. 

3  Wil.  Fowler  (martyr)  said  that  heaven  should  as  soon  fall  as  I  will  forsake  my 
profession,  or  budge  in  the  least  degree  from  it.  So  Santus  being  under  as  great  tor- 
ments as  you  have  read  of,  cries  out,  Christianus  sum,  I  am  a  Christian.  No  torments 
could  work  him  to  decline  the  service  of  God.  I  might  produce  a  cloud  of  witnesses ; 
but  if  those  do  not  work  you  to  be  noble  and  brave,  1  am  afraid  more  will  not  [For 
Fowler  see  Clarke's  '  Martyrologie,'  as  before,  pp.  450,  451,  and  for  Sanctus  [not  Santus] 
page  81. — G.] 


72  PRECIOUS  REMEDIES  [2  COR.  II.  11. 

solemnly  to  consider,  That  all  the  troubles  and  dangers  that  do 
attend  the  performance  of  all  hoi//  duties  and  heavenly  services  are 
but  temporal  and  momentary,  but  the  neglect  of  them  may  lay  thee 
open  to  all  temporal,  spiritual,  and  eternal  dangers.  '  How  shall 
we  escape,  it'  we  neglect  so  great  salvation?'  J  lei),  ii.  3.  He  saith 
not,  it  we  reject  or  renounce  so  great  salvation.  No  ;  but  if  we  neglect, 
or  shift  off  so  great  salvation,  how  shall  we  escape?1  That  is,  we 
cannot  by  any  way,  or  means,  or  device  in  the  world,  escape.  Divine 
justice  will  be  above  us,  in  spite  of  our  very  souls.  The  doing  of  such 
and  such  heavenly  services  may  lay  you  open  to  the  frowns  of  nun, 
but  the  neglect  of  them  will  lay  you  open  to  the  frowns  of  God  ;  the 
doing  of  them  may  render  you  contemptible  in  the  eves  of  men, 
but  the  neglect  of  them  may  render  you  contemptible  in  the  eyes  of 
God  ;  the  doing  of  them  may  be  the  loss  of  thy  estate,  but  the  neglect 
of  them  may  be  the  loss  of  God,  Christ,  heaven,  and  thy  soul  tor  ever; 
the  doing  of  them  may  shut  thee  out  from  some  outward  temporal 
contents,  the  neglect  of  them  may  shut  thee  out  from  that  excellent 
matchless  glory  Hhat  eye  hath  not  seen,  nor  ear  heard,  neither  hath 
it  entered  into  the  heart  of  men,'  Isa.  lxiv.  4.  Remember  this,  there 
is  no  man  that  breathes  but  shall  suffer  more  by  neglecting  those  holy 
and  heavenly  services  that  God  commands,  commends,  and  rewards, 
than  possibly  he  can  suffer  by  doing  of  them.2 

Remedy  (4).  The  fourth  remedy  against  this  device  of  Satan  is,  to 
consider,  That  God,  knows  hoiv  to  deliver  from  troubles  by  troubles, 
from  afflictions  by  afflict  ions,  from  dangers  by  dangers.  God,  by 
lesser  troubles  and  afflictions,  doth  oftentimes  deliver  his  people  from 
greater,  so  that  they  shall  say,  We  had  perished,  if  we  had  not 
perished  ;3  we  had  been  undone,  if  we  had  not  been  undone  ;  we  had 
been  in  danger,  if  we  had  not  been  in  clanger.  God  will  so  order  the 
afflictions  that  befall  you  in  the  way  of  righteousness,  that  your  souls 
shall  sa}',  We  would  not  for  all  the  world  but  that  we  had  met  with 
such  and  such  troubles  and  afflictions  ;  for  surely,  had  not  these  be- 
fallen us,  it  would  have  been  worse  and  worse  with  us.  Oh  the  carnal 
security,  pride,  formalitjr,  dead-heartedness,  lukewarmness,  censorious- 
ness,  and  earthliness  that  God  hath  cured  us  of,  by  the  trouble  and 
dangers  that  we  have  met  with  in  the  ways  and  services  of  the  Lord  ! 

I  remember  a  story  of  a  godly  man,  that  as  he  was  going  to  take 
shipping  for  France,  he  broke  his  leg ;  and  it  pleased  Providence  so  to 
order  it,  that  the  ship  that  he  should  have  gone  in,  at  that  very  instant 
was  cast  away,  and  not  a  man  saved  ;  so  by  breaking  a  bone,  his  life 
was  saved.4  So  the  Lord  many  times  breaks  our  bones,  but  it  is  in 
order  to  the  saving  of  our  lives  and  our  souls  for  ever.  He  gives  us 
a  portion  that  makes  us  heart-sick,  but  it  is  in  order  to  the  making  us 
perfectly  well,  and  to  the  purging  of  us  from  those  ill  humours  that 

1  Kpixbtravrts.     Disregard,  not  care  for  it. 

-  Francis  Xavorias  [Xavkr.— G.J  counselled  Jolm  the.  Third,  king  of  Portugal,  to 
meditate  every  day  a  quarter  of  an  hour  upon  that  text,  '  What  shall  it  profit  a  man  to 
Lain  the  whole  world,  and  lose  his  soul !'  8  Periissem  nisi  periissom. 

4  The  'breaking  of  his  leg'  on  the  way  saved  the  life  of  the  saintly  Bernard  Gilpin 
from  being  sacrificed  by  Bonner.  See  Memoir  of  Dr  Airay,  prefixed  to  his  ' Philippians,' 
in  the  series  of  '  Commentaries  '  issued  by  the  Publisher  of  this. — G. 


2  Cor.  II.  11.]  against  satan's  devices.  73 

have  made  our  heads  ache,  and  God's  heart  ache,  and  our  souls  sick, 
and  heavy  to  the  death,  &c.  Oh  therefore  let  no  danger  or  misery 
hinder  thee  from  thy  duty.1 

Remedy  (5).  The  fifth  remedy  against  this  device  of  Satan  is, 
solemnly  to  consider,  That  you  shall  gain  more  in  the  service  of  God, 
and  by  walking  in  righteous  and  holy  ways,  though  troubles  and 
afflictions  should  attend  you,  than  you  can  possibly  suffer,  or  lose, 
by  your  being  found  in  the  service  of  God.  '  Godliness  is  great  gain/ 
1  Tim.  vi.  6.  Oh,  the  joy,  the  peace,  the  comfort,  the  rest,  that  saints 
meet  with  in  the  ways  and  service  of  God  !  They  find  that  religious 
services  are  not  empty  things,  but  things  in  which  God  is  pleased  to 
discover  his  beauty  and  glory  to  their  souls.  '  My  soul  thirsts  for 
God,'  saith  David,  '  that  I  might  see  thy  beauty  and  thy  glory,  as  I 
have  seen  thee  in  thy  sanctuary,'  Ps.  lxiii.  2.  Oh,  the  sweet  looks, 
the  sweet  words,  the  sweet  hints,  the  sweet  joggings,  the  sweet  in- 
fluences, the  sweet  love-letters,  that  gracious  souls  have  from  heaven, 
when  they  wait  upon  God  in  holy  and  heavenly  services,  the  least  of 
which  will  darken  and  outweigh  all  the  bravery  and  glory  of  this 
world,  and  richly  recompense  the  soul  for  all  the  troubles,  afflictions, 
and  dangers  that  have  attended  it  in  the  service  of  God.2  Oh,  the  saints 
can  say  under  all  their  troubles  and  afflictions,  that  they  have  meat 
to  eat,  and  drink  to  drink,  that  the  world  knows  not  of ;  that  they 
have  such  incomes,  such  refreshments.,  such  warmings,  &c,  that  they 
would  not  exchange  for  all  the  honours,  riches,  and  dainties  of  this 
world.  Ah,  let  but  a  Christian  compare  his  external  losses  with  his 
spiritual,  internal,  and  external  gain,  and  he  shall  find,  that  for  every 
penny  that  he  loses  in  the  service  of  God,  he  gains  a  pound  ;  and  for 
every  pound  that  he  loses,  he  gains  a  hundred  ;  for  every  hundred 
lost,  he  gains  a  thousand.  We  lose  pins  in  his  service,  and  find  pearls; 
we  lose  the  favour  of  the  creature,  and  peace  with  the  creature,  and 
haply  the  comforts  and  contents  of  the  creature,  and  we  gain  the 
favour  of  God,  peace  with  conscience,  and  the  comforts  and  contents 
of  a  better  life.  Ah,  did  the  men  of  this  world  know  the  sweet  that 
saints  enjoy  in  afflictions,  they  would  rather  choose  Manasseh's  iron  chain 
than  his  golden  crown  ;  they  would  rather  be  Paul  a  prisoner,  than 
Paul  rapt  up  in  the  third  heaven.  For  '  light  afflictions/  they  shall 
have  '  a  weight  of  glory  /  for  a  few  afflictions,  they  shall  have  these 
joys,  pleasures,  and  contents,  that  are  as  the  stars  of  heaven,  or  as  the 
sands  of  the  sea  that  cannot  be  numbered  ;  for  momentary  afflictions, 
they  shall  have  an  eternal  crown  of  glory.3     'It  is  but  winking,  and 

1  Non  essem  ego  salvus  nisi  ista  periissent.— Anaxagoras-  Had  not  these  tilings 
perished,  I  could  not  have  been  safe,  said  this  phliosopher,  when  he  saw  great  posses- 
sions that  he  had  lost. 

2  Tertul  [Han],  in  his  book  to  the  martyrs,  hath  an  apt  saying  {Negotiatio  est  aliquid 
amitlere  ut  major  a  lucrerls),  i.e.  that's  right  and  good  merchandise,  when  something  is 
parted  with  to  gain  more.  He  applieth  it  to  their  sufferings,  wherein,  though  the  flesh 
lost  something,  yet  the  spirit  got  much  more. 

3  When  the  noble  General  Zedislaus  had  lost  his  hand  in  the  wars  of  the  king  of 
Poland,  the  king  sent  him  a  golden  hand  for  it.  What  we  lose  in  Christ's  service  he 
will  make  up,  by  giving  us  some  golden  mercies.  Though  the  cross  be  bitter,  yet  it  is 
but  short ;  a  little  storm,  as  one  said  of  Julian's  persecution,  and  an  eternal  calm  follows. 


74  PRECIOUS  REMEDIES  [2  CoR.  II.  11. 

thou  slmlt  be  in  heaven  presently/ said  the  martyr.1  Oh,  therefore, 
let  not  afflictions  or  troubles  work  thee  to  shun  the  ways  of  God,  or  to 
quit  thai  service  that  should  be  dearer  to  thee  than  a  world,  yea,  than 
thy  very  life,  &c. 

The  third  device  that  Satan  hath  to  hinder  souls  from  holy  and 
heavenly  services,  and  from  religious  performances,  is, 

Device  (3).  By  presenti/ng  to  the  soul  the  difficulty  of  jMrformi/ng 
them.  Saith  Satan,  it  is  so  hard  and  difficult  a  thing  to  pray  as  thou 
Bhouldst,  and  to  wait  on  God  as  thou  shouldst,  and  to  walk  with  God 
as  thou  shouldst,  and  to  be  lively,  warm,  and  active  in  the  communion 
of  saints,  as  thou  shouldst,  that  you  were  better  ten  thousand  times 
to  neglect  them,  than  to  meddle  with  them  ;  and  doubtless  by  this  de- 
vice Satan  hath  and  doth  keep  off  thousands  from  waiting  on  God,  and 
from  giving  to  him  that  service  that  is  due  to  his  name. 

Now,  the  remedies  against  this  device  of  Satan  are  these : 

Remedy  (1).  The  first  remedy  against  this  device  of  Satan  is,  To 
dwell  more  upon  the  necessity  of  the  service  and  duty,  titan  on  the 
difficulty  that  doth  attend  the  duty.  You  should  reason  thus  with 
your  souls  :  O  our  souls,  though  such  and  such  services  be  hard  and 
difficult,  yet  are  they  not  exceeding  necessary  for  the  honour  of  God, 
and  the  keeping  up  his  name  in  the  world,  and  the  keeping  under  of 
sin,  and  the  strengthening  of  weak  graces,  and  so  the  reviving  of  lan- 
guishing comforts,  and  for  the  keeping  clear  and  bright  your  blessed 
evidences,  and  for  the  scattering  of  your  fears,  and  for  the  raising  of 
your  hopes,  and  for  the  gladding  the  hearts  of  the  righteous,  and 
stopping  the  mouths  of  unrighteous  souls,  who  are  ready  to  take  all 
advantages  to  blaspheme  the  name  of  God,  and  throw  dirt  and  con- 
tempt upon  his  people  and  ways.  Oh,  never  leave  thinking  on  the 
necessity  of  this  and  that  duty,  till  your  souls  be  lifted  up  far  above 
all  the  difficulties  that  do  attend  religious  duties.2 

Remedy  (2).  The  second  remedy  against  this  device  of  Satan  is, 
solemnly  to  consider,  That  the  Lord  Jesus  will  make  his  services  easy 
to  you,  by  the  sweet  discovery  of  himself  to  your  souls,  whilst  you  are 
in  his  service.  '  Thou  meetest  him  that  rejoiceth  and  worketh  right- 
eousness, those  that  remember  thee  in  thy  ways,'  as  the  prophet 
Isaiah  saith,  Isa.  lxiv.  5.3  If  meeting  with  God,  who  is  goodness  it- 
self, beauty  itself,  strength  itself,  glory  itself,  will  not  sweeten  his 
service  to  thy  soul,  nothing  in  heaven  or  earth  will. 

Jacob's  meeting  with  Rachel,  and  enjoying  of  Rachel,  made  his 
hard  service  to  be  easy  and  delightful  to  him  ;  and  will  not  the  soul's 
enjoying  of  God,  and  meeting  with  God,  render  his  service  to  be  much 
more  easy  and  delightful?    Doubtless  it  will.    The  Lord  will  give  that 

1  Paulisper  0  senex,  oculos  claude,  nam  statim  lumen  Dei  videbis.— Sozomen,  lib.  ii. 
cap.  ii. — G. 

-  The  necessity  of  doing  your  duty  appears  by  tins,  that  you  are  his  servants  by  a 
threefold  right  ;  you  are  his  servants  (jure  creationis,  jure  suslentationis,  jure  redemptiunu) 
by  right  of  creation,  ami  by  right  of  sustentation,  aud  by  right  of  redemption. 

:l  nyjD,  Paganta,  is  diversely  taken  ;  but  most  take  the  word  here,  to  meet  a  soul  with 
those  bowels  of  love  and  tenderneSB  as  the  fattier  of  the  prodigal  met  the  prodigal  with. 
God  is  lJaler  miserationum,  ho  i3  all  bowels  ;  he  is  swift  to  shew  mercy,  as  he  is  slow 
to  anger. 


2  Cor.  II.  11.]  against  satan's  devices.  75 

sweet  assistance  by  his  Spirit  and  grace,  as  shall  make  his  service 
joyous  and  not  grievous,  a  delight  and  not  a  burden,  a  heaven  and 
not  a  hell,  to  believing  souls.1  The  confidence  of  this  divine  assistance 
raised  up  Nehemiah's  spirit  far  above  all  those  difficulties  and  dis- 
couragements that  did  attend  him  in  the  work  and  service  of  the 
Lord,  as  you  may  see  in  Nehemiah  ii.  19,  20,  '  But  when  Sanballat 
the  Horonite,  and  Tobiah  the  servant,  the  Ammonite,  and  Geshem 
the  Arabian,  heard  it,  they  laughed  us  to  scorn,  and  despised  us,  and 
said,  What  is  this  thing  that  ye  do  1  will  ye  rebel  against  the  king  ? 
Then  answered  I  them,  and  said  unto  them,  The  God  of  heaven,  he 
will  prosper  us  ;  therefore  we  his  servants  will  arise  and  build  :  but 
you  have  no  right,  nor  portion,  nor  memorial,  in  Jerusalem/  Ah,  souls, 
while  you  are  in  the  very  service  of  the  Lord,  you  shall  find  by  ex- 
perience, that  the  God  of  heaven  will  prosper  you,  and  support  you, 
and  encourage  and  strengthen  you,  and  carry  you  through  the  hardest 
service,  with  the  greatest  sweetness  and  cheerfulness  that  can  be. 
Remember  this,  that  God  will  suit  your  strength  to  your  work,  and 
in  the  hardest  service  you  shall  have  the  choicest  assistance. 

Remedy  (3).  The  third  remedy  against  this  device  of  Satan  is,  To 
dwell  upon  the  hard  and  difficult  things  that  the  Lord  Jesus  hath 
passed  through  for  your  temporal,  spiritual,  and  eternal  good.  Ah, 
what  a  sea  of  blood,  a  sea  of  wrath,  of  sin,  of  sorrow  and  misery,  did 
the  Lord  Jesus  wade  through  for  your  internal  and  eternal  good  ! 2 
Christ  did  not  plead,  This  cross  is  too  heavy  for  me  to  bear;  this  wrath 
is  too  great  for  me  to  lie  under ;  this  cup,  which  hath  in  it  all  the  in- 
gredients of  divine  displeasure,  is  too  bitter  for  me  to  sup  off,3  how  much 
more  to  drink  the  very  dregs  of  it  ?  No,  Christ  stands  not  upon  this; 
he  pleads  not  the  difficulty  of  the  service,  but  resolutely  and  bravely 
wades  through  all,  as  the  prophet  Isaiah  shews:  'The  Lord  God  hath 
opened  my  ear,  and  I  was  not  rebellious,  neither  turned  away  my  back. 
I  gave  my  back  to  the  smiters,  and  my  cheeks  to  them  that  plucked 
off  the  hair  ;  I  hid  not  my  face  from  shame  and  spitting/  chap.  1.  6. 
Christ  makes  nothing  of  his  Father's  wrath,  the  burden  of  your  sins, 
the  malice  of  Satan,  and  the  rage  of  the  world,  but  sweetly  and  trium- 
phantly passes  through  all.  Ah,  souls  !  if  this  consideration  will  not 
raise  up  your  spirits  above  all  the  discouragements  that  you  meet  with, 
to  own  Christ  and  his  service,  and  to  stick  and  cleave  to  Christ  and 
his  service,  I  am  afraid  nothing  will.  A  soul  not  stirred  by  this,  not 
raised  and  lifted  up  by  this,  to  be  resolute  and  brave  in  the  service  of 
God,  notwithstanding  all  dangers  and  difficulties,  is  a  soul  left  of  God 
to  much  blindness  and  hardness.4 

1  Luther  speaks  excellently  to  Melancthon,  who  was  apt  to  be  discouraged  with  doubts 
and  difficulties,  and  fear  from  foes,  and  to  cease  the  service  they  had  undertaken.  '  If 
the  work  be  not  good,  why  did  we  ever  own  it  ?  If  it  be  good,  why  should  we  ever  de- 
cline it  ?  Why,  saith  he,  should  we  fear  the  conquered  world,  that  have  Christ  the 
conqueror  on  our  side '  ?  [From  the  Reformer's  Letters  during  the  diet  of  Augsburg,  a.d. 
1530.     Cf.  D'Aubigne,  Hist,  of  Ref. ;  c.  xiv.  §  10,  c.  6.— G.] 

2  It  is  not  fit,  since  the  Head  was  crowned  with  thorns,  that  the  members  should  be 
crowned  with  rosebuds,  saith  Zanch[ius].  3  Qu.  'sip  of? — Ed. 

4  Godfrey  of  Bullen  [Bouillon],  first  king  of  Jerusalem,  refused  to  be  crowned  with 
a  crown  of  gold,  saying,  it  became  not  a  Christian  there  to  wear  a  crown  of  gold,  where 
Christ  for  our  salvation  had  sometime  worn  a  crown  of  thorns.     [Cf.  Tasso. — G.] 


76  PRECIOUS  REMEDIES  [2  COR  II.  11. 

Remedy  (4).  The  fourth  remedy  against  this  device  of  Satan  is  to 
consider,  That  religious  duties,  holy  and  heavenly  exercises,  are  only 
difficult  to  the  worse,  to  the  ignoble,  part  of  a  saint.  They  are  not 
to  the  noble  and  better  part  of  a  saint,  to  the  noble  part,  the  soul, 
and  the  renewed  affections  of  a  saint.  Holy  exercises  are  a  heavenly 
pleasure  and  recreation,  as  the  apostle  speaks:  'I  delight  in  the  law 
of  God,  alter  the  inward  man  :  with  my  mind  I  serve  the  law  of  God, 
though  with  my  flesh  the  law  of  sin,'  Rom.  vii.  22.  To  the  noble  part 
of  a  saint,  ( Ihrist's  'yoke  is  easy,  and  his  burden  is  light,'  Mat.  xi.  :>().' 
All  the  commands  and  ways  of  Christ  (even  those  that  tend  to  the 
] lulling  out  of  right  eyes  and  cutting  off  of  right  hands)  are  joyous, 
and  not  grievous,  to  the  noble  part  of  a  saint.2  All  the  ways  and  ser- 
vices of  Christ  are  pleasantness,  in  the  abstract,  to  the  better  part  of 
a  saint.  A  saiut,  so  far  as  he  is  renewed,  is  always  best  when  he  sees 
must  of  God,  when  he  tastes  most  of  God,  when  he  is  highest  in  his 
enjoyments  of  God,  and  most  warm  and  lively  in  the  service  of  God. 
Oh,  saith  the  noble  part  of  a  saint,  that  it  might  be  always  thus!  Oh 
that  my  strength  were  the  strength  of  stones,  and  my  flesh  as  brass, 
that  my  worser  part  might  be  more  serviceable  to  my  noble  part,  that 
I  might  act  by  an  untired  power  in  that  service,  that  is  a  pleasure,  a 
paradise,  to  me. 

Remedy  (5).  The  fifth  remedy  against  this  device  of  Satan  is, 
solemnly  to  consider,  That  great  reward  and  glorious  recommence 
that  doth  attend  those  that  cleave  to  the  service  of  the  Lord  in 
the  face  of  all  difficulties  and  discouragements.  Though  the  work 
be  hard,  yet  the  wages  is  great.  Heaven  will  make  amends  for  all. 
Ay,  one  hour's  being  in  heaven  will  abundantly  recompense  you  for 
cleaving  to  the  Lord  and  his  ways  in  the  face  of  all  difficulties.  This 
carried  the  apostle  through  the  greatest  difficulties.  He  had  an  eye 
'  to  the  recompence  of  reward  ;'  he  looked  for  '  a  house  that  had  founda- 
tions, whoso  builder  and  maker  was  God,'  and  for  'a  heavenly  country.' 
Yea,  this  bore  up  the  spirit  of  Christ  in  the  face  of  all  difficulties  and 
discouragements  :  '  Looking  unto  Jesus,  the  author  and  finisher  of  our 
faith  ;  who,  for  the  joy  that  was  set  before  him,  endured  the  cross, 
despising  the  shame,  and  is  set  down  at  the  right  hand  of  the  throne 
of  God,'Heb.  xii.  2.3 

Christians  that  would  hold  on  in  the  service  of  the  Lord,  must  look 
more  upon  the  crown  than  upon  the  cross,  more  upon  their  future 
glory  than  their  present  misery,  more  upon  their  encouragements  than 
upon  their  discouragements.  God's  very  service  is  wages  ;  his  ways 
are  strewed  with  roses,  and  paved  'with  joy  that  is  unspeakable  and 
full  of  glory/  and  with  'peace  that  passeth  understanding.'  Some 
degree  of  comfort  follows  every  good  action,  as  heat  accompanies  fire, 

1  xzwr'f,  ie-  my  yoke  is  a  benign,  a  gracious,  a  pleasant,  a  good,  and  a  gainful  yoke, 
<  pposed  to  Tovroo:,  painful,  tedious. 

2  As  every  Bower  hath  its  sweet  savour,  so  every  good  duty  carries  meat  in  the  mouth, 

i  in  the  performance  of  it. 
8  Basil  Bpeaka  of  some  martyrs  that  were  cast  out  all  night  naked  in  a  cold,  frosty  time, 
ami  were  to  I":  burned  the  next  day,  how  they  comforted  themselves  in  this  manner: 
'I  lie  winter  is  sharp,  bul  paradise  is  sweet ;  here  we  shiver  for  cold,  but  the  bosom  of 
A.1  raham  will  make  amends  for  all. 


2  Cor.  II.  11.]  against  satan's  devices.  77 

as  beams  and  influences  issue  from  the  sun  :  '  Moreover,  by  them  is 
thy  servant  warned,  and  in  keeping  of  them  there  is  great  reward,' 
Ps.  xix.  11.  Not  only  for  keeping,  but  in  keeping  of  them,  there  is 
great  reward.1  The  joy,  the  rest,  the  refreshing,  the  comforts,  the  con- 
tents, the  smiles,  the  incomes2  that  saints  now  enjoy  in  the  ways  of 
God,  are  so  precious  and  glorious  in  their  eyes,  that  they  would  not 
exchange  them  for  ten  thousand  worlds.  Ah  !  if  the  vails3  be  thus 
sweet  and  glorious  before  pay-day  comes,  what  will  be  that  glory  that 
Christ  will  crown  his  saints  with  for  cleaving  to  his  service  in  the  face 
of  all  difficulties  ;  when  he  shall  say  to  his  Father,  'Lo,  here  am  I,  and 
the  children  which  thou  hast  given  me,'  Isa.  viii.  18.  If  there  be  so 
much  to  be  had  in  a  wilderness,  what  then  shall  be  had  in  para- 
dise %  &c. 

The  fourth  device  that  Satan  hath  to  keep  souls  off  from  holy  exer- 
cises, from  religious  services,  is, 

Device,  (4).  By  working  them  to  make  false  inferences  from  those 
blessed  and  glorious  things  that  Christ  hath  done.  As  that  Jesus 
Christ  hath  done  all  for  us,  therefore  there  is  nothing  for  us  to  do  but 
to  joy  and  rejoice.  He  hath  perfectly  justified  us,  and  fulfilled  the 
law,  and  satisfied  divine  justice,  and  pacified  his  Father's  wrath,  and 
is  gone  to  heaven  to  prepare  a  place  for  us,  and  in  the  mean  time  to 
intercede  for  us  ;  and  therefore  away  with  praying,  and  mourning, 
and  hearing,  &c.  Ah  !  what  a  world  of  professors  hath  Satan  drawn 
in  these  days  from  religious  services,  by  working  them  to  make  such 
sad,  wild,  and  strange  inferences  from  the  sweet  and  excellent  things 
that  the  Lord  Jesus  hath  done  for  his  beloved  ones. 

Now,  the  remedies  against  this  device  are  these  : 

Remedy  (1).  The  first  remedy  against  this  device  of  Satan  is,  To 
dwell  as  muck  on  those  scriptures  that  shew  you,  the  duties  and 
services  that  Christ  requires  of  you,  as  upon  those  scriptures  that 
declare  to  you  the  precious  and  glorious  things  that  Christ  hath  clone 
for  you.*  It  is  a  sad  and  dangerous  thing  to  have  two  eyes  to  behold 
our  dignity  and  privileges,  and  not  one  to  see  our  duties  and  services.  I 
should  look  with  one  eye  upon  the  choice  and  excellent  things  that  Christ 
hath  done  for  me,  to  raise  up  my  heart  to  love  Christ  with  the  purest 
love,  and  to  joy  in  Christ  with  the  strongest  joy,  and  to  lift  up  Christ 
above  all,  who  hath  made  himself  to  be  my  all ';  and  I  should  look  with 
the  other  eye  upon  those  services  and  duties  that  the  Scriptures  require 
of  those  for  whom  Christ  hath  done  such  blessed  things,  as  upon  that 
of  the  apostle  :  '  What,  know  ye  not  that  your  body  is  the  temple  of 
the  Holy  Ghost,  which  is  in  you,  which  ye  have  of  God  ?  and  ye  are  not 
your  own  :  for  ye  are  bought  with  a  price  ;  therefore  glorify  God  in 
your  body,  and  in  your  spirit,  which  are  God:s,'  1  Cor.  vi.  19,  20. 
And  that :  '  Therefore,  my  beloved  brethren,  be  ye  stedfast,  unmoveable, 
always  abounding  in  the  work  of  the  Lord,  knowing  that  your  labour 

1  This  is  prcemium  ante  prcemiitm,  a  sure  reward  of  well  doing ;  in  doing  thereof,  not 
only  for  doing  thereof,  there  is  great  reward,  Ps.  xix.  11. 

2  '  In-comings.' — G.  3  '  Gratuities.' — G. 

4  Tertullian  hath  this  expression  of  the  Scriptures  :  Adoro  pleniludinem  Scripturarum, 
I  adore  the  fulness  of  the  Scripture.  Gregory  calls  the  Scripture,  Cor  et  animam  Dei, 
the  heart  and  soul  of  God;  and  who  will  not  then  dwell  in  it  ? 


78  PRECIOUS  REMEDIES  [2  COR.  II.  11. 

is  not  in  vain  in  the  Lord/  1  Cor.  xv.  58.  And  that :  'And  let  us  not 
be  weary  in  well-doing,  for  in  due  season  we  shall  reap  if  we  faint  not,' 
GaL  vi.  9.  And  that  of  the  apostle  :  'Rejoice  always,'  1  Thes.  v.  16, 
and  'Pray  without  ceasing,'  1  Thes.  v.  17.  And  that  in  the  Philip- 
pians,  '  \Vork  out  your  own  salvation  with  fear  and  trembling/  ii.  12  ; 
and  that,  'This  do  till  I  come,'  1  Tim.  iv.  13;  and  that,  'Let  us 
consider  one  another,  to  provoke  one  another  to  love,  and  to  good 
works,  not  forsaking  the  assembling  of  ourselves  together,  as  the  manner 
of  Borne  is,  but  exhorting  one  another,  and  so  much  the  more  as  you 
see  the  day  approaching/  Heb.  x.  24,  25.  Now,  a  soul  that  would  not 
be  drawn  away  by  this  device  of  Satan,  he  must  not  look  with  asquint 
eye  upon  these  blessed  scriptures,  and  abundance  more  of  like  import, 
but  he  must  dwell  upon  them  ;  he  must  make  these  scriptures  to  be 
his  chiefest  and  his  choicest  companions,  and  this  will  be  a  happy 
means  to  keep  him  close  to  Christ  and  his  service  in  these  times, 
wherein  many  turn  their  backs  upon  Christ,  under  pretence  of  being 
interested  in  the  great  glorious  things  that  have  been  acted  by  Christ, 
&c.' 

Remedy  (2).  The  second  remedy  against  this  device  of  Satan  is,  to 
consider,  That  the  great  and  glorious  things  that  Jesus  Christ  hath 
dona,  and  is  a-doing  for  us,  should  be  so  far  from  taking  us  of 
from  religious  services  and  pious  performances,  that  they  should  be 
the  greatest  motives  and  encouragements  to  the  performance  of  them 
that  may  be,  as  the  Scriptures  do  abundantly  evidence.  I  will  only 
instance  in  some,  as  that,  '  That  we,  being  delivered  out  of  the  hands 
of  our  enemies,  might  serve  him  without  fear,  in  holiness  and  right- 
teousness  before  him  all  the  days  of  our  lives/  1  Peter  ii.  9,  Luke 
i.  7-i,  75.  Christ  hath  freed  you  from  all  your  enemies,  from  the 
curse  of  the  law,  the  predominant  damnatory  power  of  sin,  the  wrath 
of  God,  the  sting  of  death,  and  the  torments  of  hell  ;  but  what  is  the 
end  and  design  of  Christ  in  doing  these  great  and  marvellous  things 
for  his  people  ?  It  is  not  that  we  should  throw  off  duties  of  righteous- 
ness and  holiness,  but  that  their  hearts  may  be  the  more  free  and 
sweet  in  all  holy  duties  and  heavenly  services.2  So  the  apostle,  '  I  will 
be  their  God,  and  they  shall  be  my  people  :'  '  And  I  will  be  a  Father 
unto  you,  and  ye  shall  be  my  sons  and  daughters,  smith  the  Lord 
Almighty.'  Mark  what  follows:  'Having  therefore  these  promises, 
dearly  beloved,  let  us  cleanse  ourselves  from  all  filthiness  of  the  flesh 
and  spirit,  perfecting  holiness  in  the  fear  of  the  Lord/  2  Cor.  vi.  17,  18, 
chap.  vii.  1  compared.  And  again  :  '  The  grace  of  God  that  bringeth 
salvation  hath  appeared  to  all  men,  teaching  us  that,  denying  all 
ungodliness  and  worldly  lusts,  we  should  live  soberly,  righteously,  and 
yodly  in  this  present  world,  looking  for  that  blessed  hope,  and  the 
glorious  appearing  of  the  great  God  and  our  Saviour  Jesus  Christ,  who 
gave  himself  fur  us,  that  he  might  redeem  us  from  all  iniquity,  and 

1  The  Jews  were  much  in  turning  over  the  leaves  of  the  Scripture,  but  they  did  not 
weigh  the  matter  of  them:  John  v.  39,   'You  search  the  Scriptures.' ■  Greek  there 

.im  ih  to  be  indicative  rather  than  imperative. 

9  This  I  am  sure  of,  that  all  man's  happiness  here  is  his  holiness,  and  his  holiness 
shall  hereafter  be  his  happiness.  Christ  hath  therefore  broke  the  devil's  yoke  from  oif 
our  necks,  that  his  Father  might  have  better  service  from  our  hearts. 


2  COR.  II.  11.]  AGAINST  SATAN'S  DEVICES.  79 

purify  us  unto  himself  a  peculiar  people,  zealous  of  good  works/  Titus 
ii.  12-14.  Ah,  souls  !  I  know  no  such  arguments  to  work  you  to  a 
lively  and  constant  performance  of  all  heavenly  services,  like  those  that 
are  drawn  from  the  consideration  of  the  great  and  glorious  things  that 
Christ  hath  done  for  you  ;  and  if  such  arguments  will  not  take  you 
and  win  upon  you,  I  do  think  the  throwing  of  hell  fire  in  your  faces 
will  never  do  it.1 

Remedy  (3).  The  third  remedy  against  this  device  of  Satan  is, 
seriously  to  consider,  That  those  precious  souls  which  Jesus  Christ 
hath  done  and  suffered  as  much  for  as  he  hath  for  you,  have  been 
exceeding  active  and  lively  in  all  religious  services  and  heavenly 
performances.2  He  did  as  much  and  suffered  as  much  for  David  as  for 
you,  and  yet  who  more  in  praying  and  praising  God  than  David  ? 
'  Seven  times  a  day  will  I  praise  the  Lord,'  Ps.  cxix.  174.  Who  more 
in  the  studying  and  meditating  on  the  word  than  David  ?  'The  law  is 
my  meditation  day  and  night/  Ps.  cxix.  97.  The  same  truth  you  may 
run  and  read  in  Jacob,  Moses,  Job,  Daniel,  and  in  the  rest  of  the  holy 
prophets  and  apostles,  for  whom  Christ  hath  done  as  much  for  as  for 
you.  Ah,  how  have  all  those  worthies  abounded  in  works  of  righteous- 
ness and  holiness,  to  the  praise  of  free  grace  ?  Certainly  Satan  hath 
got  the  upper  hand  of  those  souls  that  do  argue  thus.  Christ  hath 
done  such  and  such  glorious  things  for  us,  therefore  we  need  not  make 
any  care  and  conscience  of  doing  such  and  such  religious  services  as 
men  say  the  word  calls  for.  If  this  logic  be  not  from  hell,  what  is  ? 
Ah,  were  the  holy  prophets  and  apostles  alive  to  hear  such  logic  come 
out  of  the  mouths  of  such  as  profess  themselves  to  be  interested  in  the 
great  and  glorious  things  that  Jesus  Christ  hatb  done  for  his  chosen 
ones,  how  would  they  blush  to  look  upon  such  souls  !  and  how  would 
their  hearts  grieve  and  break  within  them  to  hear  the  language  and  to 
observe  the  actings  of  such  souls.3 

Remedy  (4).  The  fourth  remedy  against  this  device  of  Satan  is, 
seriously  to  consider  this,  That  those  that  do  not  walk  in  the  ways 
of  righteousness  and  holiness,  that  do  not  wait  upon  God  in  the 
several  duties  and  services  that  are  commanded  by  him,  cannot  have 
that  evidence  to  their  own  souls  of  their  righteousness  before  God,  of 
their  fellowship  and  communion  with  God,  of  their  blessedness  here, 
and  their  happiness  hereafter,  as  those  souls  have,  that  love  and  de- 
light in  the  ways  of  the  Lord,  that  are  always  best  when  they  are 
most  in  the  works  and  service  of  the  Lord}     '  Little  children/  saith 

1  Tace,  lingua ;  loquere,  vita,  talk  not  of  a  good  life,  hut  let  thy  life  speak.  Your  actions 
in  passing  pass  not  away  ;  for  every  good  work  is  a  grain  of  seed  for  eternal  life. 

2  The  saints'  motto  in  all  ages  hath  been  Laboremus,  let  us  be  doing.  God  love?. 
Curristas,  not  Quairistas,  the  runner,  not  the  questioner  or  disputer,  saith  Luther. 

3  The  day  is  at  hand  when  God  will  require  of  men,  Nonquidlegerint,  sedquid  egerint. 
nee  quid  dixcrint,  sed  quomodo  vixeriat.  He  that  talks  of  heaven,  but  doth  not  the  will  of 
God,  is  like  him  that  gazed  upon  the  moon,  but  fell  into  the  pit. 

4  Certainly  it, is  one  thing  to  judge  by  our  graces,  another  thing  to  rest  or  put 
our  trust  in  them.  There  is  a  great  deal  of  difference  betwixt  declaring  and  de- 
serving. As  David's  daughters  were  known  by  their  garments  of  divers  colours,  so 
are  God's  children  by  their  piety  and  sanctity.  A  Christian's  emblem  should  be  an 
house  walking  towards  heaven.  High  words  surely  make  a  man  neither  holy  nor 
just ;  but  a  virtuous  life,  a  circumspect  walking,  makes  him  dear  to  God.  A  tree 
that  is  not  fruitful  is  for  the  fire.     Christianity  is  not  a  talking,  but  a  walking  with 


80  PRECIOUS  REMEDIES  [2  COR.  II.  11. 

the  apostle,  'lit  do  man  deceive  you:  he  that  doth  righteousness  is 
righteous,  even  as  be  is  righteous,'  1  John  iii.  7.  '  In  this,'  saith  the 
same  apostle,  '  the  children  of  God  are  manifest,  and  the  children  of 
the  devil  ;  whosoever  doth  not  righteousness  is  not  of  God,  neither  he 
that  loveth  qoI  his  brother,'  ver.  10.  '  If  ye  know  that  he  is  righteous/ 
Baith  t  he  same  apostle,  '  ye  know  that  every  one  that  dotli  righteousness, 
is  born  <>f  him.  He  that  saith,  I  know  him,  and  keepeth  not  his  com- 
mandments,  is  a  liar,  and  the  truth  is  not  in  him.  But  whosoever 
keepeth  Ins  word,  in  him  verily  is  the  love  of  God  perfected:  hereby 
know  wo  that  we  are  in  him.  He  that  saith  he  abideth  in  him,  ought 
himself  also  to  walk,  even  as  he  walked/  '  If  we  say  that  we  have 
fellowship  with  him,  and  walk  in  darkness,  we  lie,  and  do  not  the 
truth  ;  hut  it'  we  walk  in  the  light,  as  he  is  in  the  light,  Ave  have  fel- 
lowship one  with  another ;  and  the  blood  of  Jesus  Christ  cleanseth  us 
from  all  sin/  saith  the  same  apostle,  1  John  ii.  4-G,  and  i.  G,  7.  So 
James  ii.  14,  '20,  '  What  cloth  it  profit,  my  brethren,  though  a  man 
say  he  hath  faith,  and  have  no  works  ;  can  faith  save  him  V  i.  o.  it 
cannot.  'For  as  the  body  without  spirit  is  dead,  so  faith  without 
works  is  dead  also.'  To  look  after  holy  and  heavenly  works,  is  the  best 
way  to  preserve  the  soul  from  being  deceived  and  deluded  by  Satan's 
delusions,  and  by  sudden  flashes  of  joy  and  comfort ;  holy  works  being 
a  more  sensible1  and  constant  pledge  of  the  precious  Spirit,  begetting 
and  maintaining  in  the  soul  more  solid,  pure,  clear,  strong,  and  lasting 
joy.  Ah  souls  !  As  you  would  have  in  yourselves  a  constant  and  a 
blessed  evidence  of  your  fellowship  with  the  Father  and  the  Son,  and 
of  the  truth  of  grace,  and  of  your  future  happiness,  look  that  you 
cleave  close  to  holy  services ;  and  that  you  turn  not  your  backs  upon 
religious  duties. 

Remedy  (5).  The  fifth  remedy  against  this  device  of  Satan  is, 
solemnly  to  consider,  That  there  are  other  choice  and  glorious  ends 
for  ll/>'  saint's  performance  of  relicjioiis  duties,  than  for  the  justifying 
of  their  persons  before  God,  erfortheir  satisfying  of  the  law  or  justice 
of  God,  or  for  the  purchasing  of  the  pardon  of  sin,  &c.  viz.,  totestify 
their  justification.2  '  A  good  tree  cannot  but  bring  forth  good  fruits/ 
Mat.  vii.  17,  to  testify  their  love  to  God,  and  their  sincere  obedience  to 
the  commands  of  God  ;  to  testify  their  deliverance  from  spiritual  bond- 
age, to  evidence  the  indwellings  of  the  Spirit,  to  stop  the  mouths  of  the 
worst  of  men,  and  to  glad  those  righteous  souls  that  God  would  not  have 
sadded.  These,  and  abundance  of  other  choice  ends  there  be,  why 
those  that  have  an  interest  in  the  glorious  doings  of  Christ,  should, 
notwithstanding  that,  keep  close  to  the  holy  duties  and  religiqus  ser- 
vices that  are  commanded  by  Christ.  And  if  these  considerations 
will  not  prevail  with  you,  to  wait  upon  God  in  holy  and   heavenly 

God,  who  will  not  be  put  off  with  words  ;  if  lie  miss  of  fruit,  lie  will  fake  up  his  axe, 
and  then  tin'  soul  is  cut  off  for  ever. — [Query,  '  horse' ?  But  prefixed  to  a  volume  of 
1656,  called  'Sacred  Principles,  Services  and  Soliloquies,  or  a  Manual  of  Devotions,' 
is  a  singular  frontispiece,  having  this  very  emblem  of  a 'house'  ascending  upward,  re- 
presentative, as  explained  in  quaint  accompanying  verse,  of  the  Church.  So  that  the 
mixed  metaphor  belongs  to  the  period. — G.]  1  '  Conscious.' — G. 

2  It  is  a  precious  truth,  never  to  he  forgotten.  Quod  non  actilus,  sed  finibus  pensanlur 
officio,,  that  duties  are  esteemed  not  by  their  acts,  but  by  their  cuds. 


2  Cor.  II.  11.]  against  satan's  devices.  81 

duties.  I  am  afraid  if  one  should  rise  from  the  dead,  his  arguments 
would  not  win  upon  you,  but  you  would  hold  on  in  your  sins,  and  ne- 
glect his  service,  though  you  lost  your  souls  for  ever,  &C.1 

The  fifth  device  Satan  hath  to  draw  souls  off  from  religious  ser- 
vices, and  to  keep  souls  off  from  holy  duties,  is, 

Device  (5).  By  'presenting  to  them  the  'paucity  and  poverty  of  those 
that  walk  in  the  ways  of  God,  that  hold  on  in  religious  practices. 
Saith  Satan,  Do  not  you  see  that  those  that  walk  in  such  and  such 
religious  ways  are  the  poorest,  the  meanest,  and  the  most  despicable 
persons  in  the  world  ?  This  took  with  them  in  John  vii.  47-49,  '  Then 
answered  the  pharisees,  Are  ye  also  deceived  ?  Have  any  of  the  rulers, 
or  of  the  pharisees,  believed  on  him  ?  But  this  people  who  knoweth 
not  the  law  are  cursed/ 

Now  the  remedies  against  this  device  are  these  that  follow  : 

Remedy  (1).  The  first  remedy  against  this  device  of  Satan  is,  to 
consider,  That  though  they  are  outwardly  poor,  yet  they  are  in- 
wardly rich.  Though  they  are  poor  in  temporals,  yet  they  are  rich 
in  spirituals.2  The  worth  and  riches  of  the  saints  is  inward.  '  The 
King's  daughter  is  all  glorious  within/  Ps.  xlv.  13.  '  Hearken,  my 
beloved  brethren,  hath  not  God  chosen  the  poor  of  this  world,  rich  in 
faith,  and  heirs  of  the  kingdom  which  he  hath  promised  to  them  that 
love  him  ?'  saith  James  ii.  5.  '  I  know  thy  poverty,  but  thou  art  rich,' 
saith  John  to  the  church  of  Smyrna,'  Rev.  ii.  4.  What  though  they 
have  little  in  possession,  yet  they  have  a  glorious  kingdom  in  rever- 
sion. '  Fear  not,  little  flock,  it  is  your  Father's  pleasure  to  give  you  a 
kingdom,'  Luke  xii.  32.  Though  saints  have  little  in  hand,  yet  they 
have  much  in  hope.  You  count  those  happy,  in  a  worldly  sense,  that 
have  much  in  reversion,  though  they  have  little  in  possession;  and  will 
you  count  the  saints  miserable  because  they  have  little  in  hand,  little 
in  possession,  though  they  have  a  glorious  kingdom  in  reversion  of 
this  ?  I  am  sure  the  poorest  saint  that  breathes  will  not  exchange, 
were  it  in  his  power,  that  which  he  hath  in  hope  and  in  reversion,  for 
the  possession  of  as  many  worlds  as  there  be  stars  in  heaven,  or  sands 
in  the  sea,  &c. 

Remedy  (2).  The  second  remedy  against  this  device  of  Satan  is, 
to  consider,  That  in  all  ages  God  hath  had  some  that  have  been  great, 
rich,  wise,  and  honourable,  that  have  chosen  his  ways,  and  cleaved 
to  his  service  in  the  face  of  all  difficulties.  Though  not  many  wise 
men,  yet  some  wise  men  ;  and  though  not  many  mighty,  yet  some 
mighty  have  ;  and  though  not  many  noble,  yet  some  noble  have. 
Witness  Abraham,  and  Jacob,  and  Job,  and  several  kings,  and  others 
that  the  Scriptures  speak  of.  And  ah  !  how  many  have  we  among 
ourselves,  whose  souls  have  cleaved  to  the  Lord,  and  who  have  swum 
to  his  service  through  the  blood  of  the  slain,  and  who  have  not  counted 

1  Finis  movet  ad  agendum,  the  end  moves  to  doing.  Tene  mensuram  et  respice  finem, 
keep  thyself  within  compass,  and  have  an  eye  always  to  the  end  of  thy  life  and  actions, 
was  Maximilian  the  emperor's  motto. 

2  Do  not  you  see,  saith  Chrysostom,  the  places  where  treasures  are  hid,  are  rough 
and  overgrown  with  thorns  ?  Do  not  the  naturalists  tell  you,  that  the  mountains  that 
are  hig  with  gold  within,  are  bare  of  grass  without  ?  Saints  have,  as  scholars,  poor  com- 
mons here,  because  they  must  3tudy  hard  to  go  to  heaven. 

VOL.  I.  F 


82  PRECIOUS  REMEDIES  [2  COR.  II.  11. 

their  lives  dear  unto  them,  that  they  and  others  might  enjoy  the  holy 
things  of  Christ,  according  to  the  mind  and  heart  of  Christ,  &C.1 

Remedy  (3).  The  third  remedy  against  this  device  of  Satan  is, 
solemnly  to  consider,  That  the  spiritual  riches  of  the  poorest  saints 
do  infinitely  transcend  the  temporal  riches  of  all  the  wicked  men  in 
the  world ;  their  spiritual  riches  do  satisfy  them ;  they  can  sit 
down  satisfied  with  the  riches  of  grace  that  be  in  Christ,  without 
honours,  and  without  riches,  &c.2  '  He  that  drinks  of  that  water  that 
I  shall  give  him,  shall  thirst  no  more,'  John  iv.  13.  The  riches  of 
poor  saints  are  durable  ;  they  will  bed  and  board  with  them  ;  they 
will  go  to  the  prison,  to  a  sickbed,  to  a  grave,  yea,  to  heaven  with 
them.  The  spiritual  riches  of  poor  saints  are  as  wine  to  cheer  them, 
and  as  bread  to  strengthen  them,  and  as  cloth  to  warm  them,  and  as 
armour  to  protect  them.  Now,  all  you  that  know  anything,  do  know 
that  the  riches  of  this  world  cannot  satisfy  the  souls  of  men,  and  they 
are  as  fading  as  a  flower,  or  as  the  owners  of  them  are,  &c.5 

Remedy  (4).  The  fourth  remedy  against  this  device  is,  seriously  to 
consider,  That  though  the  saints,  considered  comparatively,  are  few; 
though  they  be  'a  little,  little  flock,'  'a  remnant,'  'a  garden  enclosed,' 
'  a  spring  shut  up,  a  fountain  sealed;'  though  they  are  as  '  the  sum- 
mer gleanings;'  thoughthey  are  '  one  of  a  city,  and  two  of  a  tribe  ;'*■ 
though  they  be  but  a  handful  to  a  house  fid,  a  spark  to  a  flame,  a  drop 
to  the  ocean,  yet  consider  them  simply  in  themselves,  and  so  they  are 
an  innumerable  number  that  cannot  be  numbered.  As  John  speaketh : 
'  After  this  I  beheld,  and  lo,  a  great  multitude  which  no  man  could 
number,  of  all  nations,  and  kindreds,  and  peoples,  and  tongues,  stood 
before  the  throne,  and  before  the  Lamb,  clothed  with  white  robes,  and 
palms  in  their  hands,'  Rev.  vii.  9.  So  Matthew  speaks  :  '  And  I  say 
unto  you,  that  many  shall  come  from  the  east  and  west,  and  shall  sit 
down  with  Abraham,  Isaac,  and  Jacob  in  the  kingdom  of  heaven,'  Mat. 
viii.  11.  So  Paul :  '  But  ye  are  come  unto  mount  Sion,  and  unto  the 
city  of  the  living  God,  the  heavenly  Jerusalem,  and  to  an  innumerable 
company  of  angels,  to  the  general  assembly  and  church  of  the  first- 
born, which  are  written  in  heaven,  and  to  God  the  judge  of  all,  and  to 
the  spirits  of  just  men  made  perfect/  Heb.  xii.  22.8 

Remedy  (5).  The  fifth  remedy  against  this  device  of  Satan  is,  seriously 
to  consider,  That  it  will  be  but  as  a  day  before  these  poor  despised  saints 
shall  shine  brighter  than  the  sun  in  his  glory.  It  will  not  be  long 
before  you  will  wish,  Oh  !  that  we  were  now  among  the  poor,  mean  de- 
spised ones  in  the  day  that  God  comes  to  make  up  his  jewels  !  It  will 
not  be  long  before  these  poor  few  saints  shall  be  lifted  up  upon  their 
thrones  to  judge  the  multitude,  the  world,  as  the  apostle  speaks  :  '  Know 
ye  not  that  the  saints  shall  judge  the  world  ?'  1  Cor.  vi.  2.  And  in  that 

1  Good  nobles,  saith  one,  are  like  black  swans ;  and  [are]  tbinly  scattered  in  the  fir- 
mament of  a  State,  even  like  stars  of  the  first  magnitude  ;  yet  some  God  hath  had  in 
all  apes,  as  might  be  shewed  out  of  histories. 

*  Alexander's  vast  mind  inquired  if  there  were  any  moro  worlds  to  conquer. 

*  Crassus  was  so  rich  that  he  maintained  an  army  with  his  own  revenues  ;  yet  he, 
his  great  army,  with  his  son  and  heir,  fell  together,  and  left  his  great  estate  to  others. 

*  Luke  xii.  32,  Isaiah  i.  9,  Canticles  iv.  12,  Judges  viii.  2,  and  Jeremiah  iii.  14.— G. 
6  When  Fulgentius  saw  the  nobility  of  Rome  sit  mounted  in  their  bravery,  it  mounted 

his  meditations  to  the  heavenly  Jerusalom. 


2  Cor.  II.  11.]  against  satan's  devices.  83 

day,  oh  !  how  will  the  great  and  the  rich,  the  learned  and  the  noble, 
wish  that  they  had  lived  and  spent  their  days  with  these  few  poor  con- 
temptible creatures  in  the  service  of  the  Lord !  Oh !  how  will  this 
wicked  world  curse  the  day  that  ever  they  had  such  base  thoughts  of 
the  poor  mean  saints,  and  that  their  poverty  became  a  stumbling-block 
to  keep  them  off  from  the  ways  of  sanctity.1 

I  have  read  of  Ingo,  an  ancient  king  of  the  Draves,  who,  making  a 
stately  feast,  appointed  his  nobles,  at  that  time  pagans,  to  sit  in  the 
hall  below,  and  commanded  certain  poor  Christians  to  be  brought  up 
into  his  presence-chamber,  to  sit  with  him  at  his  table,  to  eat  and  drink 
of  his  kingly  cheer ;  at  which  many  wondering,  he  said,  '  He  accounted 
Christians,  though  never  so  poor,  a  greater  ornament  to  his  table,  and 
more  worthy  of  his  company,  than  the  greatest  peers  unconverted  to 
the  Christian  faith  ;  for  when  these  might  be  thrust  down  to  hell, 
those  might  be  his  consorts  and  fellow-princes  in  heaven.'  You  know 
how  to  apply  it.  Although  you  see  the  stars  sometimes  by  their  re- 
flections in  a  puddle,  or  in  the  bottom  of  a  well,  ay,  in  a  stinking- 
ditch,  yet  the  stars  have  their  situation  in  heaven.  So,  though  you 
see  a  godly  man  in  a  poor,  miserable,  low,  despised  condition  for  the 
things  of  this  world,  yet  he  is  fixed  in  heaven,  in  the  region  of  heaven : 
'  Who  hath  raised  us  up,'  saith  the  apostle,  •  and  made  us  sit  together 
in  heavenly  places  in  Christ  Jesus.'  Oh  !  therefore,  say  to  your  own 
souls,  when  they  begin  to  decline  the  ways  of  Sion  because  of  the 
poverty  and  paucity  of  those  that  walk  in  them,  The  day  is  at  hand 
when  those  few,  poor,  despised  saints  shall  shine  in  glory,  when  they 
shall  judge  this  world,  and  when  all  the  wicked  of  this  world  will  wish 
that  they  were  in  their  condition,  and  would  give  ten  thousand  worlds, 
were  it  in  their  power,  that  they  might  but  have  the  honour  and  hap- 
piness to  wait  upon  those  whom  for  their  poverty  and  paucity  they 
have  neglected  and  despised  in  this  world. 

Remedy  (6).  The  sixth  remedy  against  this  device  of  Satan  is, 
solemnly  to  consider,  That  there  will  come  a  time,  even  in  this  life, 
in  this  world,  when  the  reproach  and  contempt  that  is  now  cast  upon 
the  ways  of  God,  by  reason  of  the  poverty  and  paucity  of  those  that 
walk  in  those  ways,  shall  be  quite  taken  away,  by  his  making  them 
the  head  that  have  days  without  number  been  the  tail,  and  by  his 
raising  them  up  to  much  outward  riches,  prosperity,  and  glory,  who 
have  been  as  the  outcast  because  of  their  poverty  and  paucity.2    John, 

1  Mr  Fox  being  once  asked  whether  he  knew  a  certain  poor  man  who  had  received 
succour  of  him  in  time  of  trouble,  he  answered,  I  remember  him  well.  1  tell  you  I 
forget  lords  and  ladies  to  remember  such.  So  will  God  deal  by  his  poor  saints.  He  will 
forget  the  great  and  mighty  ones  of  the  world  to  remember  his  few  poor  despised  ones. 
Though  John  the  Baptist  was  poor  in  the  world,  yet  the  Holy  Ghost  calls  him  the  greatest 
that  was  born  of  woman.  Ah,  poor  saints,  men  that  know  not  your  worth,  cannot  have 
such  low  thoughts  of  you,  but  the  Lord  will  have  as  high. 

*  These  following  scriptures  do  abundantly  confirm  this  truth:  Jer.  xxxi.  12;  Isa. 
xxx.  23,  lxii.  8,  9  ;  Joel  ii.  23,  24  ;  Micah  iv.  6  ;  Amos  ix.  13,  14  ;  Zech.  viii.  12  ;  Isa. 
xli.  18, 19,  lv.  13,  lxvi.  6,  7,  lxv.  21,  22,  lxi.  4,  lx.  10  ;  Ezek.  xxxvi.  10.  Only  take  these 
two  cautions:  1.  That  in  these  times  the  saints'  chiefest  comforts,  delights,  and  con- 
tents will  consist  in  their  more  clear,  full,  and  constant  enjoyment  of  God.  2.  That 
they  shall  have  such  abundant  measure  of  the  Spirit  poured  out  upon  them,  that  their 
riches  and  outward  glory  shall  not  be  snares  unto  them,  but  golden  steps  to  a  richer 
living  in  God. 


84  PRECIOUS  REMEDIES  [2  COR.  II.  11. 

speaking  of  the  glory  of  the  church,  the  new  Jerusalem  that  came 
down  from  heaven,  Rev.  xxi.  24,  tells  us,  'That  the  nations  of-  them 
which  are  saved  shall  walk  in  the  light  of  it,  and  the  kings  of  the 
earth  do  bring  their  glory  into  it.'  So  the  prophet  Isaiah,  '  They  shall 
bring  their  sons  from  far,  and  their  silver  and  their  gold  with  them. 
For  brass  I  will  bring  gold,  and  for  iron  I  will  bring  silver,  and  for 
wood  brass,  and  for  stones  iron,'  chap.  lx.  17.  And  so  the  prophet 
Zechariah  speaks:  chap.  xiv.  14,  'And  the  wealth  of  all  the  heathen 
round  about  shall  be  gathered  together,  gold,  and  silver,  and  apparel, 
in  great  abundance.'  The  Lord  hath  promised  that  '  the  meek  shall 
inherit  the  earth,'  Mat.  v.  5  ;  and  '  heaven  and  earth  shall  pass  away, 
before  one  jot  or  one  tittle  of  his  word  shall  pass  unfulfilled,'  ver.  18. 
Ah,  poor  saints !  now  some  thrust  sore  at  you,  others  look  a-squint 
upon  you,  others  shut  the  door  against  you,  others  turn  their  backs 
upon  you,  aud  most  of  men  (except  it  be  a  few  that  live  much  in  God, 
and  are  filled  with  the  riches  of  Christ)  do  either  neglect  you  or 
despise  you  because  of  your  poverty  ;  but  the  day  is  coming  when  you 
shall  be  lifted  up  above  the  dunghill,  when  you  shall  change  poverty 
for  riches,  your  rags  for  robes,  your  reproach  for  a  crown  of  honour, 
your  infamy  for  glory,  even  in  this  world. 

And  this  is  not  all,  but  God  will  also  mightily  increase  the  number 
of  his  chosen  ones,  multitudes  shall  be  converted  to  him  :  '  Who  hath 
heard  such  a  thing?  who  hath  seen  such  things?  shall  the  earth  be 
made  to  bring  forth  in  one  day  ?  or  shall  a  nation  be  born  at  once  ? 
for  as  soon  as  Sion  travailed,  she  brought  forth  children.  And  they 
shall  bring  all  your  brethren  for  an  offering  unto  the  Lord,  out  of  all 
nations,  upon  horses,  and  in  chariots,  in  litters,  and  upon  mules,  and 
upon  swift  beasts,  to  my  holy  mountain  Jerusalem,  saith  the  Lord ; 
as  the  children  of  Israel  bring  an  offering  in  a  clean  vessel  into  the 
house  of  the  Lord,'  Isa.  lxvi.  8,  19,  20.  Doth  not  the  Scripture  say, 
that  '  the  kingdoms  of  this  world  must  become  the  kingdoms  of  our 
Lord'?  Rev.  xi.  15.  Hath  not  God  given  to  Christ  'the  heathen,  and 
the  uttermost  parts  of  the  earth  for  his  possession'?  Ps.  ii.  8.  Hath 
not  the  Lord  said,  that  in  '  the  last  days  the  mountain  of  the  Lord's 
house  shall  be  lifted  up  above  the  hills,  and  shall  be  established  in  the 
top  of  the  mountains,  and  all  nations  shall  flow  unto  it,'  Isa.  ii.  2  and 
liv.  14  and  lxi.  9.  Pray,  read,  and  meditate  upon  Isa.  lx.  and  lxvi.  and 
ii.  1-5,  and  there  you  shall  find  the  multitudes  that  shall  be  converted 
to  Christ.  And  oh  !  that  you  would  be  mighty  in  believing  ;  and,  in 
wrestling  with  God,  that  he  would  hasten  the  day  of  his  glory,  that 
the  reproach  that  is  now  upon  his  people  and  wa}rs  may  cease  ! 

The  sixth  device  that  Satan  hath  to  keep  souls  off  from  religious 
services  is, 

Device  (6).  By  presenting  before  them  the  examples  of  the  greatest 
part  of  the  world,  that  walk  in  the  ways  of  their  own  hearts,  <<  u<l  that 
make  light  and  slight  of  the  ways  of  the  Lord.1  Why,  saith  Satan, 
do  not  you  see  that  the  great  and  the  rich,  the  noble  and  the  honour- 
able, the  learned  and  the  wise,  even  the  greatest  number  of  men,  never 
trouble  themselves  about  such  and  such  ways,  and  why  then  should 

1  John  vii.  48,  49,  1  Cor.  i.  20,  28,  Micah  vii.  2-4. 


2  COR.  II.  11.]  AGAINST  SATAN'S  DEVICES.  85 

you  be  singular  and  nice  ?  You  were  far  better  do  as  the  most 
do,  &c. 

Now,  the  remedies  against  this  device  are  these  : 

Remedy  (1).  The  first  remedy  against  this  device  of  Satan  is, 
solemnly  to  consider  Of  those  scriptures  that  make  directly  against 
following  the  sinful  examines  of  men.  As  that  in  Exodus,  '  Thou 
shalt  not  follow  a  multitude  to  do  evil,  neither  shalt  thou  speak  in  a 
cause  to  decline  after  many  to  wrest  judgment/  chap,  xxiii.  2.  The 
multitude  generally  are  ignorant,  and  know  not  the  way  of  the  Lord, 
therefore  they  speak  evil  of  that  they  know  not.  They  are  envious 
and  maliciously  bent  against  the  service  and  way  of  God,  and  there- 
fore they  cannot  speak  well  of  the  ways  of  God  :  '  This  way  is  every- 
where spoken  against,'  saith  they,  Acts  xxviii.  22.  So  in  Num.  xvi.  21, 
'  Separate  from  them,  and  come  out  from  among  them.'  So  the  apostle, 
'  Have  no  fellowship  with  the  unfruitful  works  of  darkness,'  Eph.  v.  1J. 
So  Solomon,  '  Enter  not  into  the  way  of  the  wicked ;  forsake  the  foolish, 
and  live,'  Pro  v.  iv.  14  and  ix.  6.  They  that  walk  with  the  most  shall 
perish  with  the  most.1  They  that  do  as  the  most  shall  ere  long  suffer 
with  the  most.  They  that  live  as  the  most,  must  die  with  the  most, 
and  to  hell  with  the  most. 

Remedy  (2).  The  second  remedy  against  this  device  of  Satan  is, 
seriously  to  consider,  That  if  you  will  sin  with  the  multitude,  all  the 
angels  in  heaven  and  men  on  earth  cannot  keep  you  from  suffering 
with  the  multitude.  If  you  will  be  wicked  with  them,  you  must  un- 
avoidably be  miserable  with  them.2  Say  to  thy  soul,  0  my  soul !  if 
thou  wilt  sin  with  the  multitude,  thou  must  be  shut  out  of  heaven  with 
the  multitude,  thou  must  be  cast  down  to  hell  with  the  multitude  : 
'And  I  heard  a  voice  from  heaven  saying,  Come  out  of  her,  my  people, 
that  ye  be  not  partakers  of  her  sins,  and  that  ye  receive  not  of  her 
plagues,'  Rev.  xviii.  4.  Come  out  in  affection,  in  action,  and  in  habi- 
tation, for  else  the  infection  of  sin  will  bring  upon  you  the  infliction 
of  punishment.  So  saith  the  wise  man,  '  He  that  walketh  with  wise 
men  shall  be  wise,  but  a  companion  of  fools  shall  be  destroyed,'  or  as 
the  Hebrew  hath  it,  '  shall  be  broken  in  pieces,'  Prov.  xiii.  20.3  Mul- 
titudes may  help  thee  into  sin,  yea,  one  may  draw  thee  into  sin,  but  it 
is  not  multitudes  that  can  help  thee  to  escape  punishments  ;  as  you 
may  see  in  Moses  and  Aaron,  that  were  provoked  to  sin  by  the  multi- 
tude, but  were  shut  out  of  the  pleasant  land,  and  fell  by  a  hand  of 
justice  as  well  as  others. 

Remedy  (3).  The  third  remedy  against  this  device  of  Satan  is, 
solemnly  to  consider,  The  worth  and  excellency  of  thy  immortal  soul. 
Thy  soul  is  a  jewel  more  worth  than  heaven  and  earth.  The  loss  of 
thy  soul  is  incomparable,  irreparable,  and  irrecoverable  ;  if  that  be 
lost,  all  is  lost,  and  thou  art  undone  for  ever.  Is  it  madness  and  folly 
in  a  man  to  kill  himself  for  company,  and  is  it  not  greater  madness 
or  folly  to  break  the  neck  of  thy  soul,  and  to  damn  it  for  company  ? 

1  The  way  to  hell  is  broad  and  well  beaten.  The  way  to  be  undone  for  ever  is  to 
do  as  the  most  do.  ,  Argumentum  lurpissimum  est  turba.  the  multitude  is  the  weakest  and 
worst  argument,  saith  Seneca.     \De  Vita  Beata,  ii. — G.] 

2  Sin  and  punishment  are  linked  together  with  chains  of  adamant.  Of  sin  we  may 
say  as  Isidore  doth  of  the  serpent,  Tot  dolor es  quot  colores,  so  many  colours,  so  mauy 
dolours.  3  yiT,  Jeroange,  from  VD,  Ruange,  to  be  naught. 


86  PRECIOUS  REMEDIES  [2  COR.  II.  11. 

Suspect  that  way  wherein  thou  seest  multitudes  to  walk ;  the  multi- 
tude being  a  stream  that  thou  must  row  hard  against,  or  thou  wilt  be 
carried  into  that  gulf  out  of  which  angels  cannot  deliver  thee.  Is  it 
not  better  to  walk  in  a  straight  way  alone,  than  to  wander  into  crooked 
ways  with  company  ?  Sure  it  is  better  to  go  to  heaven  alone  than  to 
hell  with  company. 

I  might  add  other  things,  but  these  may  suffice  for  the  present;  and 
I  am  afraid,  if  these  arguments  do  not  stir  you,  other  arguments  will 
work  but  little  upon  you.1 

The  seventh  device  that  Satan  hath  to  keep  souls  off  from  holy  ex- 
ercises, from  religious  services,  is, 

Device  (7).  By  casting  in  a  multitude  of  vain  thoughts,  whilst 
the  soul  is  in  seeking  of  God,  or  in  waiting  on  God ;  and  by  this 
device  he  hath  cooled  some  men's  spirits  in  heavenly  services,  and 
taken  off,  at  least  for  a  time,  many  precious  souls  from  religious  per- 
formances. I  have  no  heart  to  hear,  nor  no  heart  to  pray,  nor  no 
delight  in  reading,  nor  in  the  society  of  the  saints,  &c.  Satan  doth  so 
dog  and  follow  my  soul,  and  is  still  a-casting  in  such  a  multitude  of 
vain  thoughts  concerning  God,  the  world,  and  my  own  soul,  &c,  that 
I  even  tremble  to  think  of  waiting  upon  God  in  any  religious  service. 
Oh  !  the  vain  thoughts  that  Satan  casts  in  do  so  distaste  my  soul,  and 
so  grieve,  vex,  perplex,  and  distract  my  soul,  that  they  even  make  me 
weary  of  holy  duties,  yea,  of  my  very  life.  Oh  !  I  cannot  be  so  raised 
and  ravished,  so  heated  and  melted,  so  quickened  aud  enlarged,  so 
comforted  and  refreshed,  as  I  should  be,  as  I  might  be,  and  as  I  would 
be  in  religious  services,  by  reason  of  that  multitude  of  vain  thoughts, 
that  Satan  is  injecting  or  casting  into  my  soul,  &c.2 

Now,  the  remedies  against  this  device  of  Satan  are  these  : 

Remedy  (1).  The  first  remedy  against  this  device  of  Satan  is,  To 
have  your  hearts  strongly  affected  with  the  greatness,  holinesss, 
majesty,  and  glory  of  that  God  before  whom  you  stand,  and  with 
whom  your  souls  do  converse  in  religious  services.  Oh  !  let  your  souls 
be  greatly  affected  with  the  presence,  purity,  and  majesty  of  that  God 
before  whom  thou  standest.  A  man  would  be  afraid  of  playing  with 
a  feather,  when  he  is  speaking  with  a  king.  Ah  !  when  men  have 
poor,  low,  light,  slight,  &c,  thoughts  of  God,  in  their  drawing  near  to 
God,  they  tempt  the  devil  to  bestir  himself,  and  to  cast  in  a  multitude 
of  vain  thoughts  to  disturb  and  distract  the  soul  in  its  waiting  on  God. 
There  is  nothing  that  will  contribute  so  much  to  the  keeping  out  of 
vain  thoughts,  as  to  look  upon  God  as  an  omniscient  God,  an  omni- 
present God,  an  omnipotent  God,  a  God  full  of  all  glorious  perfections, 
a  God  whose  majesty,  purity,  and  glory  will  not  suffer  him  to  behold 
the  least  iniquity.3  The  reason  why  the  blessed  saints  and  glorious 
angels  in  heaven  have  not  so  much  as  one  vain  thought  is,  because 

1  What  wise  man  would  fetch  gold  out  of  a  fiery  crucible,  hazard  his  immortal  soul, 
to  gain  the  world,  by  following  a  multitude  in  those  steps  that  lead  to  the  chambers  of 
death  and  darkness '? 

-  Vellem  servire  Domino,  sed  cogitatioms  non  patiuntur ;  Lord,  now  how  fain  would  I 
serve  thee,  and  vain  thoughts  will  not  suffer  me  ! 

3  When  1'ompey  could  not  keep  his  soldiers  in  the  camp  by  persuasion,  he  cast  him- 
self all  along  in  the  narrow  passage  that  led  out  of  it,  and  bid  them  go  if  you  will,  but 
you  must  first  trample  upon  your  general ;  and  the  thoughts  of  this  overcame  them. 
You  are  wise,  and  know  how  to  apply  it  to  the  point  in  hand. 


2  Cor.  II.  11.]  against  satan's  devices.  87 

they  are  greatly  affected  with  the  greatness,  holiness,  majesty,  purity, 
and  glory  of  God. 

Remedy  (2).  The  second  remedy  against  this  device  of  Satan  is,  To 
be  peremptory  in  religious  services,  notwithstanding  all  those  wan- 
dering thoughts  the  soul  is  troubled  with.  This  will  be  a  sweet  help 
against  them  :  for  the  soul  to  be  resolute  in  waiting  on  God,  whether 
it  be  troubled  with  vain  thoughts  or  not  ;x  to  say,  Well  I  will  pray 
still,  and  hear  still,  and  meditate  still,  and  keep  fellowship  with  the 
saints  still.  Many  precious  souls  can  say  from  experience,  that  when 
their  souls  have  been  peremptory  in  their  waiting  on  God,  that  Satan 
hath  left  them,  and  hath  not  been  so  busy  in  vexing  their  souls  with 
vain  thoughts.  When  Satan  perceives  that  all  those  trifling  vain 
thoughts  that  he  casts  into  the  soul  do  but  vex  the  soul  into  greater 
diligence,  carefulness,  watchfulness,  and  peremptoriness  in  holy  and 
heavenly  services,  and  that  the  soul  loses  nothing  of  his  zeal,  piety, 
and  devotion,  but  doubles  his  care,  diligence,  and  earnestness,  he  often 
ceases  to  interpose  his  trifles  and  vain  thoughts,  as  he  ceased  to  tempt 
Christ,  when  Christ  was  peremptory  in  resisting  his  temptations. 

Remedy  (3).  The  third  remedy  against  this  device  of  Satan  is,  to 
consider  this,  That  those  vain  and  trifling  thoughts  that  are  cast  into 
our  souls,  when  we  are  waiting  upon  God  in  this  or  that  religious 
service,  if  they  be  not  cherished  and  indulged,  but  abhorred,  resisted, 
and  disclaimed,  they  are  not  sins  upon  our  souls,  though  they  may 
be  troubles  to  our  minds  ;  they  shall  not  be  put  upon  our  accounts, 
nor  keep  mercies  and  blessings  from  being  enjoyed  by  ^ls.  When  a 
soul  in  uprightness  can  look  God  in  the  face,  and  say,  Lord,  when  I 
approach  near  unto  thee,  there  be  a  world  of  vain  thoughts  crowd 
in  upon  me,  that  do  disturb  my  soul,  and  weaken  my  faith,  and  lessen 
my  comfort  and  spiritual  strength.  Oh,  these  are  my  clog,  my  burden, 
my  torment,  my  hell  !  Oh,  do  justice  upon  these,  free  me  from  these, 
that  I  may  serve  thee  with  more  freeness,  singleness,  spiritual ness,  and 
sweetness  of  spirit.2  These  thoughts  may  vex  that  soul,  but  they  shall 
not  harm  that  soul,  nor  keep  a  blessing  from  that  soul.  If  vain 
thoughts  resisted  and  lamented  could  stop  the  current  of  mercy,  and 
render  a  soul  unhappy,  there  would  be  none  on  earth  that  should  ever 
taste  of  mercy,  or  be  everlastingly  happy. 

Remedy  (4).  The  fourth  remedy  against  this  device  of  Satan  is, 
solemnly  to  consider,  That  watching  against  sinful  thoughts,  resist- 
ing of  sinful  thoughts,  lamenting  and  weeping  over  sinful  thoughts, 
carries  with  it  the  siveetest  and  strongest  evidence  of  the  truth  and 
power  of  grace,  and  of  (he  sincerity  of  your  hearts,  and  is  the  readiest 
and  the  surest  way  to  be  rid  of  them,  Ps.  cxxxix.  23.  Many  low  and 
carnal  considerations  may  work  men  to  watch  their  words,  their  lives, 
their  actions  ;  as  hope  of  gain,  or  to  please  friends,  or  to  get  a  name  in 
the  world,  and  many  other  such  like  considerations.    Oh  !  but  to  watch 

1  It  is  a  rule  in  the  civil  law,  Nee  videtur  actum,  si  quid  supersit  quod  agatur,  nothing 
seems  to  be  done,  if  there  remains  aught  to  be  done.  Si  dixisti,  Sufficit,  periisli,  if  once 
thou  sayest  it  is  enough,  thou  art  undone,  saith  Augustine. 

*  It  is  not  Satan  casting  in  of  vain  thoughts  that  can  keep  mercy  from  the  soul,  or 
undo  the  soul,  but  the  lodging  and  cherishing  of  vain  thoughts:  '  0  Jerusalem,  how  long 
shall  vain  thoughts  lodge  within  thee?'  Jer.  iv.  14;  Heb.  *  in  the  midst  of  thee.'  They 
pass  through  the  best  hearts,  they  are  lodged  and  cherished  only  in  the  worst  hearts. 


88  PRECIOUS  REMEDIES  [2  COR.  II.  11. 

our  thoughts,  to  weep  and  lament  over  them,  &c.,  this  must  needs 
be  from  some  noble,  spiritual,  and  internal  principle,  as  love  to  God,  a 
holy  fear  of  God,  a  holy  care  and  delight  to  please  the  Lord,  &C.1  The 
schools  do  well  observe,  that  outward  sins  are  of  greater  infamy,  majoris 
infamiai;  but  inward  heart  sins  are  of  greater  guilt,  majoris  reatus; 
as  we  see  in  the  devil's.  There  is  nothing  that  so  speaks  out  a  man  to  be 
thoroughly  and  kindly  wrought  upon,  as  his  having  his  thoughts  to  be 
•  brought  into  obedience,'  as  the  apostle  speaks,  2  Cor.  x.  4,  5.  Grace  is 
grown  up  to  a  very  great  height  in  that  soul  where  it  prevails,  to  the 
subduing  of  those  vain  thoughts  that  walk  up  and  down  in  the  soul.2 
Well !  though  you  cannot  be  rid  of  them,  yet  make  resistance  and  opposi- 
tion against  the  first  risings  of  them.  When  sinful  thoughts  arise,  then 
think  thus,  The  Lord  takes  notice  of  these  thoughts  ;  '  he  knows  them 
afar  off,'  as  the  Psalmist  speaks,  Ps.  xxxviii.  G.  He  knew  Herod's 
bloody  thoughts,  and  Judas  his  betraying  thoughts,  and  the  Pharisees' 
cruel  and  blasphemous  thoughts  afar  off.3  Oh  !  think  thus  :  All  these 
sinful  thoughts,  they  defile  and  pollute  the  soul,  they  deface  and  spoil 
much  of  the  inward  beauty  and  glory  of  the  soul.  If  I  commit  this 
or  that  sin,  to  which  my  thoughts  incline  me,  then  either  I  must  re- 
pent or  not  repent;  if  I  repent,  it  will  cost  me  more  grief,  sorrow, 
shame,  heart-breaking,  and  soul-bleeding,  before  my  conscience  will 
be  quieted,  divine  justice  pacified,  my  comfort  and  joy  restored,  my 
evidences  cleared,  and  my  pardon  in  the  court  of  conscience  sealed, 
than  the  imagined  profit  or  seeming  sensual  pleasure  can  be  v\orth  : 
'  What  fruit  had  you  in  those  things  whereof  you  are  now  ashamed,' 
Rom.  vi.  21. * 

If  I  never  repent,  oh  !  then  my  sinful  thoughts  will  be  scorpions  that 
will  eternally  vex  me,  the  rods  that  will  eternally  lash  me,  the  thorns 
that  will  everlastingly  prick  me,  the  dagger  that  will  be  eternally 
a-stabbing  me,  the  worm  that  will  be  for  ever  a-gnawing  me  !  Oh  ! 
therefore,  watch  against  them,  be  constant  in  resisting  them,  and  in 
lamenting  and  weeping  over  them,  and  then  they  shall  not  hurt  thee, 
though  they  may  for  a  time  trouble  thee.  And  remember  this,  he 
that  doth  this  doth  more  than  the  most  glistering  and  blustering 
hypocrite  in  the  world  doth.5 

Remedy  (5).  The  fifth  remedy  against  this  device  of  Satan  is,  To 
labour  more  and  more  to  be  filled  with  tlie  fulness  of  God,  and  to  be 
enriched  with  all  spiritual  and  heavenly  things.  What  is  the  reason 
that  the  angels  in  heaven  have  not  so  much  as  an  idle  thought  ?  It 
is  because  they  are  filled  with  the  fulness  of  God,  Eph.  iii.  19.6  Take 
it  for  an  experienced  truth,  the  more  the  soul  is  filled  with  the  fulness 
of  God  and  enriched  with  spiritual  and  heavenly  things,  the  less  room 

1  Thoughts  are  the  first-born,  the  blossoms  of  the  soul,  the  beginning  of  our  strength, 
whether  for  good  or  evil,  and  they  are  the  greatest  evidences  for  or  against  a  man  that 
can  be. 

2  Ps.  exxxix.  23  ;  Isa.  lix.  7,  lxvi.  18  ;  Mat.  ix.  4.  xii.  25. 

8  Zeno,  a  wise  heathen,  affirmed  God  even  beheld  the  thoughts.    Mat  xv.  15-18. 

4  Tears  instead  of  gems  were  tho  ornaments  of  David's  bed  when  lie  had 'sinned; 
and  b  I  they  must  be  thine,  or  else  thou  must  lie  down  in  the  bed  of  sorrow  forever. 

5  Inward  bleeding  kills  man  J  a  man  ;  so  will  sinful  thoughts,  if  not  repented  of. 

6  The  words  are  an  Hebraism.  The,  Hebrews,  when  they  would  set  out  many  ex- 
cellent things,  they  add  the  name  of  God  to  it:  city  of  God,  cedars  of  God,  wrestlings  of 
God.     So  here,  '  That  ye  may  be  tilled  with  the  fulness  of  God.' 


2  Cor  11.11]  against  sat  an  's  devices.  89 

there  is  in  that  soul  for  vain  thoughts.  The  fuller  the  vessel  is  of  wine, 
the  less  room  there  is  for  water.  Oh,  then,  lay  up  much  of  God,  of 
Christ,  of  precious  promises,  and  choice  experiences  in  your  hearts,  and 
then  you  will  be  less  troubled  with  vain  thoughts.  '  A  good  man,  out 
of  the  good  treasure  of  his  heart,  bringeth  forth  good  things,'  Mat. 
xii.  35. 

Remedy  (6).  The  sixth  remedy  against  this  device  of  Satan  is,  To 
keep  up  holy  and  spiritual  affections  ;  for  such  as  your  affections 
are,  such  will  be  your  thoughts.  '  Oh  how  I  love  thy  law  !  it  is  my 
meditation  all  the  day,'  Ps.  cxix.  97.  What  we  love  most,  we  most 
muse  upon.  '  When  I  awake,  I  am  still  with  thee/  Ps.  cxxxix.,  &c. 
That  which  we  much  like,  we  shall  much  mind.  They  that  are  fre- 
quent in  their  love  to  God  and  his  law,  will  be  frequent  in  thinking  of 
God  and  his  law :  a  child  will  not  forget  his  mother. 

Remedy  (7).  The  seventh  remedy  against  this  device  of  Satan  is, 
To  avoid  multiplicity  of  worldly  business.  Oh  let  not  the  world 
take  up  your  hearts  and  thoughts  at  other  times.  Souls  that  are  torn 
in  pieces  with  the  cares  of  the  world  will  be  always  vexed  and  tor- 
mented with  vain  thoughts  in  all  their  approaches  to  God.1  Vain 
thoughts  will  be  still  crowding  in  upon  him  that  lives  in  a  crowd  of 
business.  The  stars  which  have  least  circuit  are  nearest  the  pole  ; 
and  men  that  are  least  perplexed  with  business  are  commonly  nearest 
to  God. 

The  eighth  device  that  Satan  hath  to  hinder  souls  from  religious 
services,  from  holy  performances,  is, 

Device  (8).  By  working  them  to  rest  in  their  performances ;  to 
rest  in  prayer,  and  to  rest  in  hearing,  reading,  and  the  communion 
of  saints,  &c.  And  when  Satan  hath  drawn  the  soul  to  rest  upon  the 
service  done,  then  he  will  help  the  soul  to  reason  thus :  Why,  thou 
Avert  as  good  never  pray,  as  to  pray  and  rest  in  prayer ;  as  good  never 
hear,  as  to  hear  and  rest  in  hearing  ;  as  good  never  be  in  the  com- 
munion of  saints,  as  to  rest  in  the  communion  of  saints.  And  by  this 
device  he  stops  many  souls  in  their  heavenly  race,  and  takes  off  poor 
souls  from  those  services  that  should  be  their  joy  and  crown,  Isa. 
lviii.  1-3,  Zech.  vii.  4-6,  Mat,  vi.  2,  Rom.  i.  7. 

Now  the  remedies  against  this  device  are  these  : 

Remedy  (1).  The  first  remedy  against  this  device  of  Satan  is,  To 
dwell  much  upon  the  imperfections  and  weaknesses  that  do  attend 
your  choicest  services.  Oh  the  spots,  the  blots,  the  blemishes  that  are 
to  be  seen  on  the  face  of  our  fairest  duties  ! 2  When  thou  hast  done 
all  thou  canst,  thou  hast  need  to  close  up  all  with  this,  '  Oh  enter  not 
into  judgment  with  thy  servant,  O  Lord,'  Ps.  cxliii.  2,  for  the  weak- 
nesses that  cleave  to  my  best  services.  We  may  all  say  with  the 
church,  '  All  our  righteousnesses  are  as  a  menstruous  cloth/  Isa.  lxiv.  6. 
If  God  should  be  strict  to  mark  what  is  done  amiss  in  our  best  actions, 
we  are  undone.  Oh  the  water  that  is  mingled  with  our  wine,  the 
dross  that  cleaves  unto  our  gold  ! 

1  2  Tim.  ii.  4,  l^vxtxtrat,  is  entangled  ;  it  is  a  comparison  which  St  Paul  borroweth 
from  the  custom  of  the  Roman  empire,  wherein  soldiers  were  forbidden  to  be  proctors 
of  other  men's  causes,  to  undertake  husbandry  or  merchandise. 

2  Pride  and  high  confidence  is  most  apt  to  creep  in  upon  duties  well  done,  saith  one. 


90  PRECIOUS  REMEDIES  [2  COR.  II.  11. 

Remedy  (2).  The  second  remedy  against  this  device  of  Satan  is,  to 
consider  The  impotence  and  inability  of  any  of  your  best  services, 
divinely  to  comfort,  refresh,  and  bear  your  souls  up  from  faint- 
ing, and  sinking  in  the  days  of  trouble,  when  darkness  is  round 
about  you,  when  God  shall  say  to  you,  as  he  did  once  to  the  Israelites, 
1  Go  and  cry  unto  the  gods  that  you  have  chosen  ;  let  them  save  you 
in  the  time  of  your  tribulation,'  Judges  x.  J  4.  So,  when  God  shall  say 
in  the  day  of  your  troubles,  Go  to  your  prayers,  to  your  hearing,  and 
to  your  fasting,  &c,  and  see  if  they  can  help  you,  if  they  can  support 
you,  if  they  can  deliver  you.1  If  God  in  that  day  doth  but  withhold 
the  influence  of  his  grace,  thy  former  services  will  be  but  poor  cordials 
to  comfort  thee  ;  and  then  thou  must  and  will  cry  out,  Oh,  'none  but 
Christ,  none  but  Christ.'  Oh  my  prayers  are  not  Christ,  my  hearing 
is  not  Christ,  my  fasting  is  not  Christ,  &c.  Oh  !  one  smile  of  Christ, 
one  glimpse  of  Christ,  one  good  word  from  Christ,  one  nod  of  love  from 
Christ  in  the  day  of  trouble  and  darkness,  will  more  revive  and  refresh 
the  soul  than  all  your  former  services,  in  which  your  souls  rested,  as  if 
they  were  the  bosom  of  Christ,  which  should  be  the  only  centre  of  our 
souls.  Christ  is  the  crown  of  crowns,  the  glory  of  glories,  and  the 
heaven  of  heavens. 

Remedy  (3).  The  third  remedy  against  this  device  of  Satan  is, 
solemnly  to  consider,  That  good  things  rested  upon  will  as  certainly 
undo  us,  and  everlastingly  destroy  us,  as  the  greatest  enormities  that 
can  be  committed  by  us.  Those  souls  that  after  they  have  done  all, 
do  not  look  up  so  high  as  Christ,  and  rest,  and  centre  alone  in  Christ, 
laying  down  their  services  at  the  footstool  of  Christ,  must  lie  down  in 
sorrow  ;  their  bread  is  prepared  for  them  in  hell.  '  Behold,  all  ye  that 
kindle  a  fire,  compass  yourselves  with  the  sparks :  and  walk  in  the 
light  of  your  fire,  and  in  the  sparks  ye  have  kindled.  This  shall  ye 
have  at  mine  hands  ;  ye  shall  lie  down  in  sorrow,'  Isa.  1. 11.  Is  it  good 
dwelling  with  everlasting  burnings,  with  a  devouring  fire  ?  If  it  be, 
why  then  rest  in  your  duties  still ;  if  otherwise,  then  see  that  you 
centre  only  in  the  bosom  of  Christ. 

Remedy  (4).  The  fourth  remedy  against  this  device  of  Satan  is,  To 
dwell  much  upon  the  necessity  and  excellency  of  that  resting-p)lace 
that  God  hath  provided  for  you.  Above  all  other  resting-places  him- 
self is  your  resting-place  ;  his  free  mercy  and  love  is  your  resting-place  ; 
the  pure,  glorious,  matchless,  and  spotless  righteousness  of  Christ  is 
your  resting-place.  Ah  !  it  is  sad  to  think,  that  most  men  have  for- 
gotten their  resting-place,  as  the  Lord  complains:  'My  people  have  been 
as  lost  sheep,  their  shepherds  have  caused  them  to  go  astray,  and  have 
turned  them  away  to  the  mountains :  they  are  gone  from  mountain 
to  hill,  and  forgotten  their  resting-place/ J er.  1.  6.  So  poor  souls  that 
see  not  the  excellency  of  that  resting-place  that  God  hath  appointed 
for  their  souls  to  lie  down  in,  they  wander  from  mountain  to  hill,  from 
one  duty  to  another,  and  here  they  will  rest  and  there  they  will  rest ; 
but  souls  that  see  the  excellency  of  that  resting-place  that  God  hath 
provided  for  them,  they  will  say,  Farewell  prayer,  farewell  hearing, 
farewell  fasting,  &c,  I  will  rest  no  more  in  you,  but  now  I  will  rest 

1  Omne  bonum  in  summo  bono,  all  good  ia  in  the  cbiefcst  good.  Nee  Christus,  nee 
caelum  patitur  hyperbolem. 


2  Cor.  II  11.]  against  satan's  devices.  91 

only  in  the  bosom  of  Christ,  the  love  of  Christ,  the  righteousness  of 
Christ. 

III.  The  third  thing  to  be  shewed  is, 

The  several  devices  that  Satan  hath  to  keep  souls  in  a  sad,  doubt- 
ing, questioning,  and  uncomfortable  condition. 

Though  he  can  never  rob  a  believer  of  his  crown,  yet  such  is  his 
malice  and  envy,  that  he  will  leave  no  stone  unturned,  no  means  un- 
attempted,  to  rob  them  of  their  comfort  and  peace,  to  make  their  life 
a  burden  and  a  hell  unto  them,  to  cause  them  to  spend  their  days  in 
sorrow  and  mourning,  in  sighing  and  complaining,  in  doubting  and 
questioning.  Surely  we  have  no  interest  in  Christ ;  our  graces  are  not 
true,  our  hopes  are  the  hopes  of  hypocrites ;  our  confidence  is  our 
presumption,  our  enjoyments  are  our  delusions,  &C1 

I  shall  shew  you  this  in  some  particulars,  &c. 

Device  1.  The  first  device  that  Satan  hath  to  keep  souls  in  a  sad, 
doubting,  and  questioning  condition,  and  so  making  their  life  a  hell, 
is,  By  causing  them  to  be  still  poring  and  musing  upon  sin,  to 
mind  their  sins  more  than  their  Saviour;  yea,  so  to  mind  their  sins 
as  to  forget,  yea,  to  neglect  their  Saviour;  that,  as  the  Psalmist  speaks, 
■  The  Lord  is  not  in  all  their  thoughts,'  Ps.  x.  4.  Their  eyes  are  so 
fixed  upon  their  disease,  that  they  cannot  see  the  remedy,  though  it 
be  near ;  and  they  do  so  muse  upon  their  debts,  that  they  have  neither 
mind  nor  heart  to  think  of  their  Surety,  &c.2 

Now  the  remedies  against  this  device  are  these. 

Remedy  (1).  The  first  remedy  is  for  weak  believers  to  consider, 
That  though  Jesus  Christ  hath  not  freed  them  from  the  presence  of 
sin,  yet  he  hath  freed  them  from  the  damnatory  power  of  sin.  It  is 
most  true  that  sin  and  grace  were  never  born  together,  neither  shall 
sin  and  grace  die  together ;  yet  while  a  believer  breathes  in  this 
world,  they  must  live  together,  they  must  keep  house  together. 
Christ  in  this  life  will  not  free  any  believer  from  the  presence  of  any 
one  sin,  though  he  doth  free  every  believer  from  the  damning  power 
of  every  sin.  '  There  is  no  condemnation  to  them  that  are  in  Christ 
Jesus,  who  walk  not  after  the  flesh,  but  after  the  Spirit,'  Rom.  viii.  1. 
The  law  cannot  condemn  a  believer,  for  Christ  hath  fulfilled  it  for 
him  ;  divine  justice  cannot  condemn  him,  for  that  Christ  hath  satis- 
fied ;  his  sins  cannot  condemn  him,  for  they  in  the  blood  of  Christ  are 
pardoned  ;  and  his  own  conscience,  upon  righteous  grounds,  cannot 
condemn  him,  because  Christ,  that  is  greater  than  his  conscience,  hath 
acquitted  him.3 
Remedy  (2).  The  second  remedy  against  this  device  of  Satan  is,  to 

1  Blessed  Bradford,  in  one  of  his  epistles,  saith  thus,  '  0  Lord,  sometime  methinks  I 
feel  it  so  with  me,  as  if  there  were  no  difference  between  my  heart  and  the  wicked.  I 
have  a  blind  mind  as  they,  a  stout,  stubborn,  rebellious  hard  heart  as  they,'  and  so  he 
goes  on,  &c  [A  frequent  plaint  by  this  holy  man.  See  his  '  Writings,'  consisting 
mainly  of  '  Letters,'  by  Townsend  (Parker  Society),  1853. — G.] 

2  A  Christian  should  wear  Christ  in  his  bosom  as  a  flower  of  delight,  for  he  is  a  wbole 
paradise  of  delight.  He  that  mind3  not  Christ  more  than  his  sin,  can  never  be  thankful 
aud  fruitful  as  he  should. 

8  Peccata  enim  non  nocent,  si  non  placent,  my  sins  hurt  me  not,  if  they  like  me  not. 
Sin  is  like  that  wild  fig-tree,  or  ivy  in  the  wall ;  cut  off  stump,  body,  bouph,  and 
branches,  yet  some  strings  or  other  will  sprout  out  again,  till  the  wall  be  plucked  down. 


92  PRFX'IOUS  REMEDIES  [2  COR.  II.  11. 

consider,  That  /hovgh  Jesus  Christ  hath  not  freed  you  from  the  mo- 
letit  i-)i()  a  ml  resin;/  /xnrer  if  sin,  yet  he  hath  freed  you  from  the  reign 
and  tluiiii  nioit  if  sin.  Thou  sayest  that  sin  doth  so  molest  and  vex 
thee,  that  thou  canst  not  think  of  God,  nor  go  to  God,  nor  speak  with 
God.1  Oh  !  but  remember  it  is  one  thing  for  sin  to  molest  and  vex 
thee,  and  another  thing  tor  sin  to  reign  and  have  dominion  over  thee. 
'  For  sin  shall  not  have  dominion  over  you,  for  ye  are  not  under  the 
law,  but  under  grace,'  Rom.  vi.  14-.  Sin  may  rebel,  but  it  shall  never 
reign  in  a  saint.  It  fareth  with  sin  in  the  regenerate  as  with  those 
beasts  that  Daniel  speaks  of,  'that  had  their  dominion  taken  away, 
yet  their  lives  were  prolonged  for  a  season  and  a  time,'  Dan.  vii.  12. 

Now  sin  reigns  in  the  soul  when  the  soul  willingly  and  readily 
obeys  it,  and  subjects  to  its  commands,  as  subjects  do  actively  obey 
and  embrace  the  commands  of  their  prince.  The  commands  of  a  king 
are  readily  embraced  and  obeyed  by  his  subjects,  but  the  commands 
of  a  tyrant  are  embraced  and  obeyed  unwillingly.  All  the  service 
that  is  done  to  a  tyrant  is  out  of  violence,  and  not  out  of  obedience. 
A  free  and  willing  subjection  to  the  commands  of  sin  speaks  out  the 
soul  to  be  under  the  reign  and  dominion  of  sin  ;  but  from  this  plague, 
this  hell,  Christ  frees  all  believers.2  Sin  cannot  say  of  a  believer  as 
the  centurion  said  of  his  servants,  '  I  bid  one  Go,  and  he  goeth ;  and  to 
another,  Come,  and  he  cometh ;  and  to  another,  Do  this,  and  he  doth  it,' 
Mat.  viii.  9.  No  !  the  heart  of  a  saint  riseth  against  the  commands  of 
sin ;  and  when  sin  would  carry  his  soul  to  the  devil,  he  hales  his  sin 
before  the  Lord,  and  cries  out  for  justice.  Lord  !  saith  the  believing 
soul,  sin  plays  the  tyrant,  the  devil  in  me ;  it  would  have  me  to  do 
that  which  makes  against  thy  holiness  as  well  as  against  my  happi- 
ness ;  against  thy  honour  and  glory,  as  my  comfort  and  peace  ;  there- 
fore do  me  justice,  thou  righteous  Judge  of  heaven  and  earth,  and  let 
this  tyrant  sin  die  for  it,  &c. 

Remedy  (3).  The  third  remedy  against  this  device  of  Satan  is, 
Constantly  to  keep  one  eye  upon  the  promises  of  remission  of  sin,  as 
well  as  the  otlter  eye  upon  the  inward  operations  of  sin.  This  is  the 
most  certain  truth,  that  God  would  graciously  pardon  those  sins  to 
his  people  that  he  will  not  in  this  life  fully  subdue  in  his  people. 
Paul  prays  thrice,  i.e.  often,  to  be  delivered  from  the  thorn  in  the 
flesh.  All  he  can  get  is,  '  My  grace  is  sufficient  for  thee/  2  Cor.  xii.  9; 
I  will  graciously  pardon  that  to  thee  that  I  will  not  conquer  in  thee, 
saith  God.  '  And  I  will  cleanse  them  from  all  their  iniquity,  whereby 
they  have  sinned  against  me,  and  whereby  they  have  transgressed 
against  inc.  I,  even  I,  am  he  that  blotteth  out  thy  transgressions  for 
mine  own  sake,  and  will  not  remember  thy  sins,'*  Jer.  xxxiii.  8,  Isa. 

1  The  primitive  Christians  chose  rather  to  be  thrown  to  lions  without  than  left  to 
within.  Ad  leones  may  is  quam  leonem,  saith  Tertullian.  [Often  in  his  famous 
'  Apology.'— G.] 

"  It  is  a  sign  that  sin  hath  not  gained  your  consent,  but  committed  a  rape  upon  your 
souls,  when  you  cry  out  to  God.  If  the  ravished  virgin  under  the  law  cried  out,  she  was 
guiltless,  Deut,  xxii.  27;  so  when  sin  plays  the  tyrant  over  the  soul,  and  the  soul 
cries  out,  it  is  guiltless  ;  those  sins  shall  not  be  charged  upon  the  soul. 

3  Isa.  xliv.  22,  Micah  vii.  18,  19,  Col.  ii.  13,  14.  The  promises  of  God  are  a  precious 
hook,  every  leaf  drops  myrrh  and  mercy.  Though  the  weak  Christian  cannot  open, 
read,  and  apply  them,  Christ  can  and  will  apply  them  to  their  souls.     nTV3,  an  Hebrew 


2  Cor.  II.  11.]  against  satan's  devices.  93 

xliii.  25.  Ah  !  you  lamenting  souls,  that  spend  your  days  in  sighing 
and  groaning  under  the  sense  and  burden  of  your  sins,  why  do  you 
deal  so  unkindly  with  God,  and  so  injuriously  with  your  own  souls,  as 
not  to  cast  an  eye  upon  those  precious  promises  of  remission  of  sin 
which  may  bear  up  and  refresh  your  spirits  in  the  darkest  night,  and 
under  the  heaviest  burden  of  sin  ? 

Remedy  (4).  The  fourth  remedy  against  this  device  of  Satan  is, 
To  look  upon  all  your  sins  as  charged  upon  the  account  of  Christ, 
as  debts  which  the  Lord  Jesus  hath  fully  satisfied;  and  indeed,  were 
there  but  one  farthing  of  that  debt  unpaid  that  Christ  was  engaged  to 
satisfy,  it  would  not  have  stood  with  the  unspotted  justice  of  God  to 
have  let  him  come  into  heaven  and  sit  down  at  his  own  right  hand. 
But  all  our  debts,  by  his  death,  being  discharged,  we  are  freed,  and  he 
is  exalted  to  sit  down  at  the  right  hand  of  his  Father,  which  is  the 
top  of  his  glory,  and  the  greatest  pledge  of  our  felicity :  '  For  he  hath 
made  him  to  be  sin  for  us  that  knew  no  sin,  that  we  might  be  made 
the  righteousness  of  God  in  him/  saith  the  apostle,  2  Cor.  v.  2 1.1  All 
our  sins  were  made  to  meet  upon  Christ,  as  that  evangelical  prophet 
hath  it :  '  He  was  wounded  for  our  transgressions,  he  was  bruised  for 
our  iniquities,  the  chastisement  of  our  peace  was  upon  him,  and  with 
his  stripes  we  are  healed.  All  we  like  sheep  have  gone  astray,  we 
have  turned  every  one  to  his  own  way,  and  the  Lord  hath  laid  on  him 
the  iniquity  of  us  all  \  or,  as  the  Hebrew  hath  it,  '  He  hath  made  the 
iniquity  of  us  all  to  meet  in  him,'  Isa.  liii.  5,  6.  In  law,  we  know  that 
all  the  debts  of  the  wife  are  charged  upon  the  husband.  Saith  the 
wife  to  one  and  to  another,  If  I  owe  you  anything,  go  to  my  husband. 
So  may  a  believer  say  to  the  law,  and  to  the  justice  of  God,  If  I  owe 
you  anything,  go  to  my  Christ,  who  hath  undertaken  for  me.  I  must 
not  sit  down  discouraged,  under  the  apprehension  of  those  debts,  that 
Christ,  to  the  utmost  farthing,  hath  fully  satisfied.  Would  it  not 
argue  much  weakness,  I  had  almost  said  much  madness,  for  a  debtor 
to  sit  down  discouraged  upon  his  looking  over  those  debts  that  his 
surety  hath  readily,  freely,  and  fully  satisfied  ?  The  sense  of  his  great 
love  should  engage  a  man  for  ever  to  love  and  honour  his  surety,  and 
to  bless  that  hand  that  hath  paid  the  debt,  and  crossed  the  books,  &c. 
But  to  sit  down  discouraged  when  the  debt  is  satisfied,  is  a  sin  that 
bespeaks  repentance.2 

Christ  hath  cleared  all  reckoning  betwixt  God  and  us.  You  re- 
member the  scapegoat.  Upon  his  head  all  the  iniquities  of  the  children 
of  Israel,  and  all  their  transgressions  in  all  their  sins,  were  confessed 
and  put,  and  the  goat  did  bear  upon  him  all  their  iniquities,  &c,  Lev. 
xvi.  21.  Why !  the  Lord  Jesus  is  that  blessed  scapegoat,  upon  whom 
all  our  sins  were  laid,  and  who  alone  hath  carried  '  our  sins  away  into 
the  land  of  forge tfulness,  where  they  shall  never  be  remembered  more/3 

participle,  and  notes  a  constant,  a  continued  act  of  God.  I,  I  am  he,  blotting  out  thy 
transgressions  to  day  and  to-morrow,  &c. 

1  Christ  was  peccatorum  maximus,  the  greatest  of  sinners  by  imputation  and  reputation. 

2  Christ  hath  the  greatest  worth  and  wealth  in  him.  As  the  worth  and  value  of  many 
pieces  of  silver  is  in  one  piece  of  gold,  so  all  the  excellencies  scattered  abroad  in  the 
creatures  are  united  in  Christ.  All  the  whole  volume  of  perfections  which  are  spread 
through  heaven  and  earth  are  epitomised  in  him. 

3  Christ  is  canalis  gratia,  the  channel  of  grace  from  God. 


94  PRECIOUS  REMEDIES  [2  COR.  II.  11. 

A  believer,  under  the  guilt  of  bis  sin,  may  look  the  Lord  in  the  face, 
and  sweetly  plead  thus  with  him :  It  is  true,  Lord,  I  owed  thee  much, 
but  thy  Sou  was  my  ransom,  my  redemption.  His  blood  was  the  price ; 
he  was  my  surety  and  undertook  to  answer  for  my  sins  ;  1  know  thou 
must  be  satisfied,  and  Christ  hath  satisfied  thee  to  the  utmost  farthing : 
not  for  himself,  for  what  sins  had  he  of  his  own  ?  but  for  me  ;  they  were 
my  debts  that  he  satisfied  for  ;  be  pleased  to  look  over  the  book,  and 
thou  shalt  fiud  that  it  is  crossed  by  thy  own  hand  upon  this  very  account, 
that  Christ  hath  suffered  and  satisfied  for  them.1 

Remedy  (5).  The  fifth  remedy  against  this  device  of  Satan  is,  solemnly 
to  consider,  Of  the  reasons  why  the  Lord  is  pleased  to  have  his  people 
exercised,  troubled,  and  vexed  with  the  operations  of  sinful  corrup- 
tions;  and  they  are  these  :  partly  to  keep  them  humble  and  low  in 
their  own  eyes  ;2  and  partly  to  put  them  upon  the  use  of  all  divine  helps, 
whereby  sin  may  be  subdued  and  mortified  ;  and  partly,  that  they  may 
live  upon  Christ  for  the  perfecting  the  work  of  sanctification  ;  and 
partly,  to  wean  them  from  things  below,  and  to  make  them  heart-sick 
of  their  absence  from  Christ,  and  to  maintain  in  them  bowels  of  com- 
passion towards  others  that  are  subject  to  the  same  infirmities  with 
them  ;  and  that  they  may  distinguish  between  a  state  of  grace  and  a 
state  of  glory,  and  that  heaven  may  be  more  sweet  to  them  in  the  close. 
Now  doth  the  Lord  upon  these  weighty  reasons  suffer  his  people  to  be 
exercised  and  molested  with  the  operations  of  sinful  corruptions  ?  Oh 
then,  let  no  believer  speak,  write,  or  conclude  bitter  things  against  his 
own  soul  and  comforts,  because  that  sin  troubles  and  vexes  his  righteous 
soul,  &c. ;  but  lay  his  hand  upon  his  mouth  and  be  silent,  because  the 
Lord  will  have  it  so,  upon  such  weighty  grounds  as  the  soul  is  not  able 
to  withstand.3 

Remedy  (6).  The  sixth  remedy  against  this  device  of  Satan  is,  solemnly 
to  consider,  That  believers  must  repent  for  their  being  discouraged  by 
their  sins.  Their  being  discouraged  by  their  sins  will  cost  them  many 
a  prayer,  many  a  tear,  and  many  a  groan  ;  and  that  because  their  dis- 
couragements under  sin  flow  from  ignorance  and  unbelief.  It  springs 
from  their  ignorance  of  the  richness,  freeness,  fulness,  and  everlasting- 
ness  of  God's  love  ;  and  from  their  ignorance  of  the  power,  glory,  suffi- 
ciency, and  efficacy  of  the  death  and  sufferings  of  the  Lord  Jesus  Christ ; 
and  from  their  ignorance  of  the  worth,  glory,  fulness,  largeness,  and 
completeness  of  the  righteousness  of  Jesus  Christ ;  and  from  their  ignor- 
ance of  that  real,  close,  spiritual,  glorious,  and  inseparable  union  that  is 
between  Christ  and  their  precious  souls.  Ah  !  did  precious  souls  know 
and  believe  the  truth  of  these  things  as  they  should,  they  would  not  sit 
down  dejected  and  overwhelmed  under  the  sense  and  operation  of  sin,  &c.4 

1  The  bloods  of  Abel,  for  so  the  Hebrew  hath  it,  as  if  the  blood  of  one  Abel  had  so 
many  tongues  as  drops,  cried  for  vengeance  against  sin ;  but  the  blood  of  Christ  cries 
louder  for  the  pardon  of  sin. 

*  Augustine  saith,  that  the  first,  second,  and  third  virtue  of  a  Christian  is  humility. 
[Cf.  under  Humilitas  in  Conf.,  aud  De  C.  D.  Epist.  56  ad  Diosc. — G.] 

3  Lilme  Blelammed,  we  therefore  learn,  that  we  may  teach,  is  a  proverb  among  the 
Rabbins.  After  the  Trojans  had  been  wandering  aud  tossing  up  and  down  the  Mediter- 
ranean sea,  as  soon  as  they  espied  Italy,  they  cried  out  with  exulting  joy,  Italy,  Italy  ! 
Ho  will  saints  when  they  come  to  heaven. 

*  God  never  gave  a  believer  a  new  heart  that  it  should  always  lie  a-bleeding,  and  that 
it  should  always  be  rent  and  torn  in  pieces  with  discouragements. 


2  COR.  II.  11.]  AGAINST  SATAN'S  DEVICES.  95 

The  second  device  that  Satan  hath  to  keep  souls  in  a  sad,  doubting, 
and  questioning  condition  is, 

Device  (2).  By  working  them  to  make  false  definitions  of  their 
graces.  Satan  knows,  that  as  false  definitions  of  sin  wrong  the  soul  one 
way,  so  false  definitions  of  grace  wrong  the  soul  another  way. 

I  will  instance  only  in  faith  :  Oh  how  doth  Satan  labour  might  and 
main  to  work  men  to  make  false  definitions  of  faith  !  Some  he  works 
to  define  faith  too  high,  as  that  it  is  a  full  assurance  of  the  love  of  God  to 
a  man's  soul  in  particular,  or  a  full  persuasion  of  the  pardon  and  remis- 
sion of  a  man's  own  sins  in  particular.  Saith  Satan,  What  dost  thou  talk 
of  faith  ?  Faith  is  an  assurance  of  the  love  of  God,  and  of  the  pardon 
of  sin  ;  and  this  thou  hast  not ;  thou  knowest  thou  art  far  off  from  this  ; 
therefore  thou  hast  no  faith.  And  by  drawing  men  to  make  such  a  false 
definition  of  faith,  he  keeps  them  in  a  sad,  doubting,  and  questioning 
condition,  and  makes  them  spend  their  days  in  sorrow  and  sighing,  so 
that  tears  are  their  drink,  and  sorrow  is  their  meat,  and  sighing  is  their 
work  all  the  day  long,  &c. 

The  philosophers  say  there  are  eight  degrees  of  heat ;  we  discern 
three.  Now,  if  a  man  should  define  heat  only  b}?  the  highest  degree, 
then  all  other  degrees  will  be  cast  out  from  being  heat.  So  if  men  shall 
define  faith  only  by  the  highest  degrees,  by  assurance  of  the  love  of 
God,  and  of  the  pardon  of  his  sins  in  particular,  what  will  become  of 
lesser  degrees  of  faith  ? 

If  a  man  should  define  a  man. to  be  a  living  man,  only  by  the  highest 
and  strongest  demonstrations  of  life,  as  laughing,  leaping,  running, 
working,  walking,  &c,  would  not  many  thousands  that  groan  under  in- 
ternal and  external  weaknesses,  and  that  cannot  laugh,  nor  leap,  nor 
run,  nor  work,  nor  walk,  be  found  dead  men  by  such  a  definition,  that 
yet  we  know  to  be  alive  ?  It  is  so  here,  and  you  know  how  to  apply 
it,  &c. 

Now  the  remedies  against  this  device  are  these  : 

Remedy  (1).  The  first  remedy  against  this  device  of  Satan  is,  solemnly 
to  consider,  That  there  may  be  true  faith,  yea,  great  measures  of  faith, 
where  there  is  no  assurance.  The  Canaanite  woman  in  the  Gospel 
had  strong  faith,  yet  no  assurance  that  we  read  of.  '  These  things  have 
I  written  unto  you,'  saith  John,  '  that  believe  on  the  name  of  the  Son 
of  God,  that  ye  may  know  that  ye  have  eternal  life,  and  that  ye  may 
believe  on  the  name  of  the  Son  of  God,'  1  John  v.  ]  3.  In  these  words 
you  see  that  they^did  believe,  and  had  eternal  life,  in  respect  of  the  pur- 
pose and  promise  of  God,  and  in  respect  of  the  seeds  and  beginnings  of 
it  in  their  souls,  and  in  respect  of  Christ  their  head,  who  sits  in  heaven 
as  a  public  person,  representing  all  his  chosen  ones,  '  Who  hath  raised 
us  up  together,  and  made  us  sit  together  in  heavenly  places  in  Christ 
Jesus,'  Eph.  ii.  6  ;  and  yet  they  did  not  know  that  they  had  eternal  life. 
It  is  one  thing  to  have  a  right  to  heaven,  and  another  thing  to  know  it; 
it  is  one  thing  to  be  beloved,  and  another  thing  for  a  man  to  know  that 
he  is  beloved.  It  is  one  thing  for  God  to  write  a  man's  name  in  the 
book  of  life,  and  another  thing  for  God  to  tell  a  man  that  his  name  is 
written  in  the  book  of  life  ;  and  to  say  to  him,  Luke  x.  20,  '  Rejoice,  be- 
cause thy  name  is  written  in  heaven.'  So  Paul,  '  In  whom  ye  also 
trusted,  after  ye  heard  the  word  of  truth,  the  gospel  of  your  salvation : 


96  PRECIOUS  REMEDIES  [2  COR.  II.  11. 

in  whom  also,  after  ye  believed,  ye  were  sealed  with  that  Holy  Spirit  of 
promise,'  Eph.  i.  1 3.  So  Micah :  '  Rejoice  not  against  me,  O  my  enemy : 
for  when  I  shall  fall,  I  shall  rise  ;  when  I  shall  sit  in  darkness,  the  Lord 
shall  be  a  light  unto  me.  I  will  bear  the  indignation  of  the  Lord,  be- 
cause I  have  sinned,'  &c.,  or,  'the  sad  countenance  of  God,'  as  the 
Hebrew  hath  it,  Micah  vii.  8,  9.  This  soul  had  no  assurance,  for  he  sits 
in  darkness,  and  was  under  the  sad  countenance  of  God;  and  yet  had 
strong  faith,  as  appears  in  those  words,  '  When  I  fall,  I  shall  rise  ;  when 
I  sit  in  darkness,  the  Lord  shall  be  a  light  unto  me.'  He  will  bring  me 
forth  to  the  Light,  and  I  shall  behold  his  righteousness.  And  let  this 
suffice  for  the  first  answer.1 

Remedy  (2).  The  second  remedy  against  this  device  of  Satan  is, 
solemnly  to  consider,  That  God  in  the  Scripture  doth  define  faith 
otherwise.  God  defines  faith  to  be  a  receiving  of  Christ — 'As  many  as 
received  him,  to  them  he  gave  this  privilege,  to  be  the  sons  of  God,* 
John  i.  12.  'To  as  many  as  believed  on  his  name,'  Acts  xi.  23 — to  be 
a  cleaving  of  the  soul  unto  God,  though  no  joy,  but  afflictions,  attend 
the  soul.  Yea,  the  Lord  defines  faith  to  be  a  coming  to  God  in  Christ, 
and  often  to  a  resting  and  staying,  rolling  of  the  soul  upon  Christ.  It 
is  safest  and  sweetest  to  define  as  God  defines,  both  vices  and  graces. 
This  is  the  only  way  to  settle  the  soul,  and  to  secure  it  against  the  wiles 
of  men  and  devils,  who  labour,  by  false  definitions  of  grace,  to  keep  pre- 
cious souls  in  a  doubting,  staggering,  and  languishing  condition,  and  so 
make  their  lives  a  burden,  a  hell,  unto,  them.2 

Remedy  (3).  The  third  remedy  against  this  device  of  Satan  is,  seri- 
ously to  consider  this,  That  there  may  be  true  faith  where  there  is  much 
doublings.  Witness  those  frequent  sayings  of  Christ  to  his  disciples, 
'  Why  are  ye  afraid,  O  ye  of  little  faith  ?'3  Persons  may  be  truly  be- 
lieving who  nevertheless  are  sometimes  doubting.  In  the  same  persons 
that  the  fore-mentioned  scriptures  speak  of,  you  may  see  their  faith  com- 
mended and  their  doubts  condemned,  which  doth  necessarily  suppose  a 
presence  of  both. 

Remedy  (4).  The  fourth  remedy  against  this  device  of  Satan  is, 
solemnly  to  consider,  That  assurance  is  an  effect  of  faith;  therefore 
it  cannot  be  faith.  The  cause  cannot  be  the  effect,  nor  the  root  the 
fruit.  As  the  effect  flows  from  the  cause,  the  fruit  from  the  root,  the 
stream  from  the  fountain,  so  doth  assurance  flow  from  faith.  This 
truth  I  shall  make  good  thus  : 

The  assurance  of  our  salvation  and  pardon  of  sin  doth  primarily  arise 
from  the  witness  of  the  Spirit  of  God  that  we  are  the  children  of  God, 
Eph.  i.  13 ;  and  the  Spirit  never  witnesseth  this  till  we  are  believers : 
'  For  we  are  sons  by  faith  in  Christ  Jesus,'  Gal.  iv.  6.  Therefore  assur- 
ance is  not  faith,  but  follows  it,  as  the  effect  follows  the  cause. 

Again,  no  man  can  be  assured  and  persuaded  of  his  salvation  till  he  be 
united  to  Christ,  till  he  be  ingrafted  into  Christ ;  and  a  man  cannot  be 
ingrafted  into  Christ  till  he  hath  faith.  He  must  first  be  ingrafted  into 
Christ  by  faith  before  he  can  have  assurance  of  his  salvation  ;  which 
doth  clearly  evidence,  that  assurance  is  not  faith,  but  an  effect  and  fruit 
of  faith,  &c. 

1  So  those  in  Isa.  1.  10  had  faith,  though  they  had  no  assurance. 

4  Mat.  xi.  23,  John  vi.  37,  Heb.  vii.  25,  26.     3  Mat.  vi.  30,  xiv.  31,  xvi.  8 ;  Luke  xii.  28. 


2  Cor.  II.  11.]  against  satan's  devices.  97 

Again,  faith  cannot  be  lost,  but  assurance  may  ;  therefore  assurance 
is  not  faith.1  Though  assurance  be  a  precious  flower  in  the  garden  of 
a  saint,  and  is  more  infinitely  sweet  and  delightful  to  the  soul  than  all 
outward  comforts  and  contents  ;  yet  it  is  but  a  flower  that  is  subject  to 
fade,  and  to  lose  its  freshness  and  beauty,  as  saints  by  sad  experience 
find,  &c. 

Again,  a  man  must  first  have  faith  before  he  can  have  assurance, 
therefore  assurance  is  not  faith.  And  that  a  man  must  first  have  faith 
before  he  can  have  assurance,  is  clear  by  this,  a  man  must  first  be  saved 
before  he  can  be  assured  of  his  salvation  ;  for  he  cannot  be  assured  of 
that  which  is  not.  And  a  man  must  first  have  a  saving  faith  before  he 
can  be  saved  by  faith,  for  he  cannot  be  saved  by  that  which  he  hath 
not ;  therefore  a  man  must  first  have  faith  before  he  can  have  assur- 
ance, and  so  it  roundly  follows  that  assurance  is  not  faith,  &c.2 

The  third  device  that  Satan  hath  to  keep  the  soul  in  a  sad,  doubting, 
and  questioning  condition  is, 

Device  (3).  By  vjorking  the  soul  to  make  false  inferences  from  the 
cross  actings  of  Providence.  Saith  Satan,  Dost  thou  not  see  how 
Providence  crosses  thy  prayers,  and  crosses  thy  desires,  thy  tears,  thy 
hopes,  thy  endeavours  ?3  Surely  if  his  love  were  towards  thee,  if  his 
soul  did  delight  and  take  pleasure  in  thee,  he  would  not  deal  thus  with 
thee,  &c. 

Now,  the  remedies  against  this  device  are  these  : 

Remedy  (1).  The  first  remedy  against  this  device  of  Satan  is, 
solemnly  to  consider,  That  many  things  may  be  cross  to  our  desires 
that  are  not  cross  to  our  good.  Abraham,  Jacob,  David,  Job,  Moses, 
Jeremiah,  Jonah,  Paul,  &c,  met  with  many  things  that  were  contrary 
to  their  desires  and  endeavours,  that  were  not  contrary  to  their  good  ; 
as  all  know  that  have  wisely  compared  their  desires,  and  endeavours  and 
God's  'actings  together.  Physic  often  works  contrary  to  the  patients' 
desires,  when  it  doth  not  work  contrary  to  their  good. 

I  remember  a  story  of  a  godly  man,  who  had  a  great  desire  to  go  to 
France,  and  as  he  was  going  to  take  shipping  he  broke  his  leg ;  and  it 
pleased  Providence  so  to  order  it,  that  the  ship  that  he  should  have 
gone  in  at  that  very  same  time  was  cast  away,  and  not  a  man  saved  ; 
and  so  by  breaking  a  bone  his  life  was  saved.  Though  Providence  did 
work  cross  to  his  desire,  yet  it  did  not  work  cross  to  his  good,  &c.4 

Remedy  (2).  The  second  remedy  against  this  device  of  Satan  is, 
solemnly  to  consider,  That  the  hand  of  God  may  be  against  a  mam, 
when  the  love  and  heart  of  God  is  much  set  upon  a  man.  No  man 
can  conclude  how  the  heart  of  God  stands  by  his  hand.  The  hand  of 
God  was  against  Ephraim,  and  yet  his  love,  his  heart,  was  dearly  set 
upon  Ephraim  :  '  I  have  surely  heard  Ephraim  bemoaning  himself  thus : 
Thou  hast  chastised  me,  and  I  was  chastised,  as  a  bullock  unaccustomed 

1  Ps.  li.  12,  xxx.  6,  7  ;  Cant.  v.  6  ;  Isa.  viii.  17. 

2  There  is  many  thousand  precious  souls,  of  whom  this  world  is  not  worthy,  that  have 
the  faith  of  reliance,  and  yet  want  assurance  and  the  effects  of  it ;  as  high  joy,  glorious 
peace,  and  vehement  longings  after  the  coming  of  Christ. 

3  Ps.  lxxvii.  7,  et  seq.,  xxxi.  1,  ult.,  lxxiii.  2,  23. 

4  The  Circumcellians  heing  not  aide  to  withstand  the  preaching  and  writing  of  Augus- 
tine, sought  his  destruction,  having  beset  the  way  he  was  to  go  to  his  visitation,  but  by 
God's  providence  he,  missing  his  way,  escaped  the  danger.     [See  ante,  Conf. — G.] 

VOL.  I.  G 


98  PRECIOUS  REMEDIES  [2  COR.  II.  11. 

to  the  yoke.  Turn  tliou  me,  and  I  shall  be  turned  ;  for  thou  art  the 
Lord  my  God.  Surely,  after  that  I  was  returned,  I  repented;  and  after 
that  I  was  instructed,  I  smote  upon  my  thigh  ;  I  was  ashamed,  yea, 
even  confounded,  because  I  did  hear  the  reproach  of  my  youth. 
Ephraim  is  my  dear  Son,  lie  is  a  pleasant  child;  for  since  I  spake 
against  him,  I  do  earnestly  remember  him  still.  Therefore  my  bowels 
are  troubled  for  him;  I  will  surely  have  mercy  upon  him,  saith  the 
Lord,'  Jer.  xxxi.  18-20.1 

God  can  look  sourly,  and  chide  bitterly,  and  strike  heavily,  even 
where  and  when  he  loves  dearly.  The  hand  of  God  was  very  much 
against  Job,  and  yet  his  love,  his  heart,  was  very  much  set  upon  Job, 
as  you  may  see  by  comparing  chaps,  i.  and  ii.  with  xli.  and  xlii.  The 
hand  of  God  was  sore  against  David  and  Jonah,  when  his  heart  was 
much  set  upon  them.  He  that  shall  conclude  that  the  heart  of  God  is 
against  those  that  his  hand  is  against,  will  condemn  the  generation  of 
the  just,  whom  God  unjustly  would  not  have  condemned. 

Remedy  (3).  The  third  remedy  against  this  device  of  Satan,  is,  to 
consider,  That  all  the  cross  providences  tin  it  befall  the  saints  arebut  in 
order  to  some  noble  good  that  God  doth  intend  to  prefer2  upon  them. 
Providence  wrought  cross  to  David's  desire,  in  taking  away  the  child 
sinfully  begotten,  but  yet  not  cross  to  more  noble  good  ;  for  was  it  not 
far  better  for  David  to  have  such  a  legitimate  heir  as  Solomon  was,  than 
that  a  bastard  should  wear  the  crown,  and  sway  the  sceptre  ? 

Joseph,  you  know,  was  sold  into  a  far  country  by  the  envy  and  malice 
of  his  brethren,  and  afterwards  imprisoned  because  he  would  not  be  a 
prisoner  to  his  mistress's  lusts  ;  yet  all  these  providences  did  wonder- 
fully conduce  to  his  advancement,  and  the  preservation  of  his  father's 
family,  which  was  then  the  visible  church  of  Christ.  It  was  so  handled 
by  a  noble  hand  of  providence,  that  what  they  sought  to  decline;'  they 
did  promote.  Joseph  was  therefore  sold  by  his  brethren  that  he  might 
not  be  worshipped,  and  yet  he  was  therefore  worshipped  because  he  was 
sold.4 

David  was  designed  to  a  kingdom,  but  oh !  the  straits,  troubles,  and 
deaths  that  he  rims  through  before  he  feels  the  weight  of  the  crown  ; 
and  all  this  was  but  in  order  to  the  sweetening  of  his  crown,  and  to  the 
settling  of  it  more  firmly  and  gloriously  upon  his  head.  God  did  so 
contrive  it  that  Jonah's  offence,  and  those  cross  actings  of  his  that  did 
attend  it,  should  advantage  that  end  which  the}7-  seemed  most  directly 
to  oppose.  Jonah  he  flies  to  Tarshish,  then  cast  into  the  sea,  then  saved 
by  a  miracle.  Then  the  mariners,  as  it  is  very  probable,  who  cast 
donah  into  the  sea,  declared  to  the  Ninevites  what  had  happened ;  there- 
fore he  must  be  a  man  sent  of  God,  and  that  his  threatenings  must  be 
believed  and  hearkened  to,  and  therefore  they  must  repent  and  humble 
themselvts,  that  the  wrath  threatened  might  not  be  executed,  &c.5 

Remedy  (4).    The  fourth  remedy  against  this  device  of  Satan   is, 

1  God's  providential  hand  may  be  with  persons  when  his  heart  is  Bet  againsl  them. 
Clod's  providential  hand  was  for  a  time  with  Saul,  Hainan,  Asshnr,  and  Jehu,  and  ye1  his 
heart  was  set  against  him.  '  No  man  knoweth  love  or  hatred  by  all  that  is  before  him,' 
Eccles.  ix.  1,  2.  2  =  confer. — G.  3  '  Lower'  =  injure. — G. 

*  Cf.  Genesis  xxxvii.  7,  &c. — G. 

■  The  motions  of  divine  providence  are  so  dark,  so  deep,  so  changeable,  that  the  wisest 
and  noblest  souls  cannot  toll  what  conclusions  to  make. 


2  Cor.  II.  11.]  against  satan's  devices.  09 

seriously  to  consider,  That  all  the  strange,  dark,  deep,  and  changeable 
providences  that  believers  meet  with,  shall  further  them  in  their  way  to 
heaven,  in  their  journey  to  happiness.  Divine  wisdom  and  love  will 
so  order  all  things  here  below,  that  they  shall  work  for  the  real,  internal, 
and  eternal  good  of  them  that  love  him.  All  the  rugged  providences 
that  David  met  with,  did  contribute  to  the  bringing  of  him  to  the 
throne  ;  and  all  the  rugged  providences  that  Daniel  and  the  '  three 
children'  met  with,  did  contribute  to  their  great  advancement.  So  all 
the  rugged  providences  that  believers  meet  with,  they  shall  all  contribute 
to  the  lifting  up  of  their  souls  above  all  things,  below  God.  As  the 
waters  lifted  up  Noah's  ark  nearer  heaven,  and  as  all  the  stones  that 
were  about  Stephen's  ears  did  but  knock  him  the  closer  to  Christ,  the 
corner-stone,  so  all  the  strange  rugged  providences  that  we  meet  with, 
they  shall  raise  us  nearer  heaven,  and  knock  us  nearer  to  Christ,  that 
precious  corner-stone.1 

The  fourth  device  that  Satan  hath  to  keep  souls  in  a  sad,  doubting, 
and  questioning  condition  is, 

Device  (4).  By  suggesting  to  them  that  their  graces  are  not  true,  but 
counterfeit,  Saith  Satan,  All  is  not  gold  that  glitters,  all  is  not  free 
grace  that  you  count  grace,  that  you  call  grace.  That  which  you  call 
faith  is  but  a  fancy,  and  that  which  you  call  zeal,  is  but  a  natural  heat 
and  passion  ;  and  that  light  you  have,  it  is  but  common,  it  is  short,  to 
what  many  have  attained  to  that  are  now  in  hell,  &c.  Satan  doth  not 
labour  more  mightily  to  persuade  hypocrites  that  their  graces  are  true 
when  they  are  counterfeit,  than  he  doth  to  persuade  precious  souls  that 
their  graces  are  counterfeit,  when  indeed  they  are  true,  and  such  as  will 
abide  the  touchstone  of  Christ,  &c.2 

Now  the  remedies  against  this  device  are  these : 

Remedy  (IV  The  first  remedy  against  this  device  of  Satan  is,  seriously 
to  consider,  Thai  grace  is  taken  two  ways. 

[1.]  It  is  taken  for  the  gracious  good-ivill  and  favour  of  God,  whereby 
he  is  pleased  of  his  own  free  love  to  accept  of  some  in  Christ  for  his  own. 
This,  some  call  the  first  grace,  because  it  is  the  fountain  of  all  other- 
graces,  and  the  spring  from  whence  they  flow,  and  it  is  therefore  called 
grace,  because  it  makes  a  man  gracious  with  God,  but  this  is  only  in 
God. 

[2.]  Grace  is  taken  for  the  gifts  of  grace,  and  they  are  of  two  sorts, 
common  or  special. 

Some  are  common  to  believers  and  hypocrites,  as  a  gift  of  knowledge, 
a  gift  of  prayer,  &c. 

Some  are  special  graces,  and  they  are  proper  and  peculiar  to  the 
saints,  as  faith,  humility,  meekness,  love,  patience,  &c,  Gal.  v,  22,  23. 

Remedy  (2).  The  second  remedy  against  this  device  of  Satan  is,  wisely 
to  consider,  The  differences  betwixt  renewing  grace  and,  restrawivng 
grace,  betwixt  sanctifying  grace  and  temporary  grace  ;  and  this  I  will 
shew  you  in  these  ten  particulars. 

[1.]  True  grace  makes  all  glorious  within  and  without :  'The  King's 

1  Orosius,  speaking  of  Valentinian,  saith  :  He  that  for  Christ's  name's  sake  had  lost  a 
tribuneship,  within  a  while  after  succeeded  his  persecutor  in  the  empire. 

2  Yet  it  must  be  granted  that  many  a  fair  flower  may  grow  out  of  a  stinking  root,  and 
many  sweet  dispositions  and  fair  actions  may  be  where  there  is  only  the  corrupt  root  of 
nature. 


100  PRECIOUS  REMEDI  IS  [2  COR.  II.  11. 

(laughter  18  all  glorious  within  ;  her  raiment  is  of  wrought  gold,'  Ps. 
xlv.  13.  True  grace  makes  the  understanding  glorious,  the  affections 
glorioua  It  casts  a  general  glory  upon  all  the  noble  parts  of  the  soul : 
'  The  King's  daughter  is  all  glorious  wilhin.'  And  as  it  makes  the  inside 
glorious,  bo  ii  makes  the  outside  glorious  :  'Her  clothing  is  of  wrought 
gold.'  It  makes  men  look  gloriously,  and  speak  gloriously,  and  walk 
and  act  gloriously,  so  that  vain  souls  shall  be  forced  to  say  that  these 
are  they  that  have  seen  Jesus.1  As  grace  is  a  fire  to  burn  up  and  con- 
sume the  dross  and  lilt  h  of  t  he  soul,  so  it  is  an  ornament  to  beautify  and 
adorn  the  soul.  True  grace  makes  all  new,  the  inside  new  and  the  out- 
aide  new  :  'If  any  man  be  in  Christ,  he  is  a  new  creature,'  2  Cor.  v.  17,2 
but  temporary  grace  doth  not  this.  True  grace  changes  the  very  nature 
of'  a  man.  floral  virtue  doth  only  restrain  or  chain  up  the  outward  man, 
it  doth  not  change  the  whole  man.  A  lion  in  a  grate  is  a  lion  still  ;  he 
is  restrained,  but  not  changed,  for  he  retains  his  lion-like  nature  still. 
So  temporary  graces  restrain  many  men  from  this  and  that  wickedness, 
but  it  doth  not  change  and  turn  their  hearts  from  wickedness.  But  now 
t  rue  grace,  that  turns  a  lion  into  a  lamb,  as  you  may  see  in  Paul,  Acts  ix., 
and  a  notorious  strumpet  into  a  blessed  and  glorious  penitent,  as  you 
may  see  in  Mary  Magdalene,  &c,  &c,  Luke  vii.3 

[2.]  The  objects  of  true  grace  are  supernatural.  True  grace  is  con- 
versant about  the  choicest  and  the  highest  objects,  about  the  most  soul- 
ennobling  and  soul-greatening  objects,  as  God,  Christ,  precious  promises 
that  are  more  worth  than  a  world,  and  a  kingdom  that  shakes  not,  a 
crown  of  glory  that  withers  not,  and  heavenly  treasures  that  rust  not. 
The  objects  of  temporary  grace  are  low  and  poor,  and  always  within  the 
compass  of  reason's  reach.4 

[&]  True  grace  enables  a  Christian,  when  he  is  hvmself,  to  do  spi- 
ritual actions  witli  reel  pleasure  a  ml  ih-l'ajht,  To  souls  truly  gracious, 
Christ's  yoke  'is  easy,  and  his  burden  is  light;'  'his  commandments 
are  not  grievous,  but  joyous.'  '  I  delight  in  the  law  of  God  after  the 
inward  man,'  saith  Paul.5  The  blessed  man  is  described  by  this,  that 
he  'delights  in  the  law  of  the  Lord,'  Ps.  i.  2.  '  It  is  joy  to  the  just  to 
do  judgment,'  saith  Solomon,  Prov.  xxi.  15.  To  a  gracious  soul,  'All 
the  ways  of  the  Lord  are  pleasantness,  and  his  paths  are  peace,  Prov. 
iii.  17  ;  but  to  souls  that  have  but  temporary  grace,  but  moral  virtues, 
religious  services  are  a  toil,  not  a  pleasure  ;  a  burden,  and  not  a  delight. 
'  Wherefore  have  we  fasted,'  say  they,  'and  thou  seest  not  ?  Wherefore 
have  we  afflicted  our  souls,  and  thou  takest  no  knowledge  ?'  Isa.  lviii.  3, 
&c.  '  Ye  have  said,'  say  those  in  Malachi,  '  It  is  vain  to  serve  God  ;  and 
what  profit  is  it  that  we  have  kept  his  ordinances,  and  that  we  have 
walked  mournfully  before  the  Lord  of  hosts?'  Mai.  iii.  14%  'When 
will  the  new  moon  be  gone,'  say  those  in  Amos,  '  that  we  may  sell  corn, 
and  the  Sabbath,  that  we  may  set  forth  wheat,  making  the  ephah  small, 

1  God  brings  not  a  pair  of  scales  to  weigh  our  grnces,  but  a  touchstone  to  try  oar  graces. 
Purity,  preciousness,  ami  holiness  is  stamped  upon  all  saving  graces,  Acts  xv.  9,  'J  P<  ter 
iv.  1,  Judo  20. 

-  Kaivn  ktiitis,  a  new  creation  :  new  Adam,  new  covenant,  new  paradise,  new  Lord,  new 
Law,  new  hearts,  and  new  creatures  go  together. 

•■  Ii  Beems  right  to  question  this  admittedly  common  mode  of  speaking  of  Mary  of  Mag- 
dala.     It  is  not  certain  thai  the  two  were  identical. — G. 

1  2  Cor.  iv.  18.  Prov.  xiv.     A  saint  hath  his  feet  where  other  rnenVheads  are,  Mat.  vi. 

5  Mat.  xi.  30  ;  1  John  v.  3 ;  Rom.  vii.  22. 


2  Cor.  II  11.]  against  satan's  devices.  101 

and  the  shekel  great,  and  falsifying  the  balances  by  deceit,'  Amos 
viii.  5. 

[4.]  True  grace  makes  a  man  most  careful,  and  most  fearful  of  his 
awn  heart}  It  makes  him  most  studious  about  his  own  heart,  inform- 
ing that,  examining  that,  and  watching  over  that  ;  but  temporary 
grace,  moral  virtues,  make  men  more  mindful  and  careful  of  others,  to 
instruct  them  and  counsel  them,  and  stir  up  them,  and  watch  over 
them,  &c.  Which  doth  with  open  mouth  demonstrate  that  their 
graces  are  not  saving  and  peculiar  to  saints,  but  that  they  are  tempo- 
rary, and  no  more  than  Judas,  Demas,  and  the  pharisees  had,  &c. 

[5. J  Grace  will  ivovk  a  man's  heart  to  love  and  cleave  to  the  strictest  and 
holiest  ways  and  tilings  of  God,  for  their  purity  and  sanctity,  in  the  face 
of  all  dangers  and  hardships.  '  Thy  word  is  very  pure,  therefore  thy 
servant  loveth  it/  Ps.  cxix.  140.  Others  love  it,  and  like  it,  and  follow 
it,  for  the  credit,  the  honour,  the  advantage  that  they  get  by  it  ;  but  I 
love  it  for  the  spiritual  beauty  and  purity  of  it.  So  the  psalmist,  '  All 
this  is  come  upon  us  ;  yet  have  we  not  forgotten  thee,  neither  have  we 
dealt  falsely  in  thy  covenant.  Our  heart  is  not  turned  back,  neither 
have  our  steps  declined  from  thy  way  :  though  thou  hast  sore  broken  us 
in  the  place  of  dragons,  and  covered  us  with  the  shadows  of  death,' 
Ps.  xliv.  17-19.  But  temporary  grace,  that  will  not  bear  up  the  soul 
against  all  oppositions  and  discouragements  in  the  ways  of  God,  as  is 
clear  by  their  apostasy  in  John  vi.  60,  66,  and  by  the  stony  grounds 
falling  away,  &c,  Mat.  xiii.  20,  21. 2 

[6.]  True  grace  will  enable  a  man  to  step  over  the  world's  crown,  to 
take  up  Christ's  cross ;  to  prefer  the  cross  of  Christ  above  the  glory  of 
this  world.  It  enabled  Abraham,  and  Moses,  and  Daniel,  with  those 
other  worthies  in  Heb.  xi.,  to  do  so. 

Godfrey  of  Bullen  [Bouillon],  first  king  of  Jerusalem,  refused  to  be 
crowned  with  a  crown  of  gold,  saying,  '  That  it  became  not  a  Christian 
there  to  wear  a  crown  of  gold,  where  Christ  had  worn  a  crown  of  thorns.' 
Oh  !  but  temporary  grace  cannot  work  the  soul  to  prefer  Christ's  cross 
above  the  world's  crown ;  but  when  these  two  meet,  a  temporary 
Christian  steps  over  Christ's  cross  to  take  up,  and  keep  up,  the  world's 
crown.  '  Demas  hath  forsaken  us  to  embrace  this  present  world,'  2  Tim. 
iv.  10.  So  the  young  man  in  the  Gospel  had  many  good  things  in  him  ; 
he  bid  fair  for  heaven,  and  came  near  to  heaven  ;  but  when  Christ  set 
his  cross  before  him,  he  steps  over  that  to  enjoy  the  world's  crown, 
Mat.  xix.  19-22.  When  Christ  bid  him,  'go  and  sell  all  that  he  had, 
and  give  to  the  poor,'  &c,  '  he  went  away  sorrowful,  for  he  had  great 
possessions.'  If  heaven  be  to  be  had  upon  no  other  terms,  Christ  may 
keep  his  heaven  to  himself,  he  will  have  none,  &c. 3 

[7.]  Sanctifying  grace,  renewing  grace,  puts  the  soul  upon  spiritual 
duties,  from  spiritual  and  intrinsecal  motives,  as  from  the  sense  of 
divine  love,  that  dotli  constrain  the  soul  to  wait  on  God,  and  to  act  for 

1  Ps.  li.  10,  and  cxix.  36,  80,  and  cxxxix.  23,  and  lxxxvi.  11. 

2  Grace  is  a  panoply  against  all  trouble,  and  a  paradise  of  all  pleasures. 

3  Few  are  of  Jerome's  mind,  that  had  rather  have  St  Paul's  coat  with  his  heavenly 
graces,  than  the  purple  of  kings  with  their  kingdoms.  The  king  of  Navarre  told  Beza, 
that  in  the  cause  of  religion  he  would  launch  no  further  into  their  sea,  than  he  might  be 
sure  to  return  safe  to  the  haven.  [Henry  IV.,  afterwards  the  Apostate  from  Protestant- 
ism.— G.] 


102  PRECIOUS  REMEDIES  [2  COR.  II.  it. 

God  ;x  and  the  sense  of  the  excellency  and  sweetness  of  communion 
with  God,  and  the  choice  and  precious  discoveries  that  the  soul  hath  for- 
merly  had  of  the  beauty  and  glory  to  [sic]  God,  whilst  it  hath  been  in  the 
Bervice  of  God.  The  good  looks,  the  good  words,  the  blessed  love-let- 
ters, the  glorious  kisses,  and  the  sweet  embraces  that  gracious  souls 
have  had  from  ( Ihrist  in  his  service,  do  provoke  and  move  them  to  wait 
upon  him  in  holy  duties.  Ah  !  hut  restraining  grace,  temporary  grace, 
that  puts  men  upon  religious  duties  only  from  external  motives,  as  the 
care  of  the  creature,  the  eye  of  the  creature,  the  rewards  of  the  creature, 
and  the  keeping  up  of  a  name  among  the  creatures,  and  a  thousand 
such  like  considerations,  as  you  may  see  in  Saul,  Jehu,  Judas,  Demas, 
and  the  scribes  and  pharisees,  &c.2 

The  abbot  in  Melancthon  lived  strictly,  and  walked  demurely,  and 
looked  humbly,  so  long  as  he  was  but  a  monk,  but  when,  by  his  seeming 
extraordinary  sanctity,  he  got  to  be  abbot,  he  grew  intolerable  proud 
and  insolent ;  and  being  asked  the  reason  of  it,  confessed,  '  That  his 
former  lowly  look  was  but  to  see  if  he  could  find  the  keys  of  the  abbey.' 
Such  poor,  low,  vain  motives  work  temporary  souls  to  all  the  service 
they  do  perform,  &c. 

[8.]  Saving  grace,  renewing  grace,  will  cause  a  man  to  follow  the 
Lord  fully  in  the  desertion  of  all  sin,  and  in  the  observation  of  all 
God's  precepts.  Joshua  and  Caleb  followed  the  Lord  fully,3  Num. 
xiv.  24  ;  Zacharias  and  Elizabeth  were  righteous  before  God,  and 
walked  in  all  the  commandments  and  ordinances  of  the  Lord  blame- 
less, Luke  i.  5,  6.  The  saints  in  the  Revelation  are  described  by  this, 
that  '  they  follow  the  Lamb  whithersoever  he  goes/  Rev.  xiv.  4  ;  but 
restraining  grace,  temporary  grace,  cannot  enable  a  man  to  follow  the 
Lord  fully.  All  that  temporary  grace  can  enable  a  man  to  do,  is  to 
follow  the  Lord  partially,  unevenly,  and  haltingly,  as  you  may  see  in 
Jehu,  Herod,  Judas,  and  the  scribes  and  pharisees,  who  paid  tithe  of 
'  mint,  and  anise,  and  cummin,  but  omitted  the  weighty  matters  of  the 
law,  judgment,  mercy,  and  faith,'  &c,  Mat.  xxiii.  23. 

True  grace  works  the  heart  to  the  hatred  of  all  sin,  and  to  the  love 
of  all  truth  ;  it  works  a  man  to  the  hatred  of  those  sins  that  for  his 
blood  he  cannot  conquer,  and  to  loathe  those  sins  that  he  would  give  all 
the  world  to  overcome,  Ps.  cxix.  104,  128.4  So  that  a  soul  truly 
gracious  can  say,  Though  there  be  no  one  sin  mortified  and  subdued  in 
me,  as  it  should,  and  as  I  would,  yet  every  sin  is  hated  and  loathed  by 
me.  So  a  soul  truly  gracious  can  say,  Though  I  do  not  obey  any  one 
command  as  I  should,  and  as  I  would,  yet  every  word  is  sweet,  every 
command  of  God  is  precious,  Ps.  cxix.  6,  119,  127,  167-  I  dearly  prize 
and  greatly  love  those  commands  that  I  cannot  obey ;  though  there  be 

1  As  what  I  have,  if  offered  to  thee,  pleaseth  not  thee.  0  Lord,  without  myself,  so  the 
good  things  we  have  from  thee,  though  they  may  refresh  us,  yet  they  satisy  us  not  with- 
out thyself. — J3ern[<ird]. 

*  It  is  an  excellent  speech  of  Bernard,  Bonus  es  Domine  animw  qucerenti ;  quid  in- 
venienti  ?  Good  art  thou,  O  Lord,  to  the-  soul  that  seeks  thee,  what  art  thou  then  to  the 
soul  that  finds  thee? 

3  n6du>  bath  fulfilled  after  me.  A  metaphor  taken  from  a  ship  under  sail,  that  is  strongly 
carried  with  the  wind,  as  fearing  neither  rocks  nor  sands. 

*  I  had  rather  go  to  hell  pure  from  sin,  than  to  heaven  polluted  with  that  filth,  saith 
Anselm.  Da  quod  juhes  et  juke  quod  vis,  Give  what  thou  commaudest,  and  command 
what  thuu  wilt.     [Augustine — GJ. 


2  Cor.  II.  11.]  against  satan's  devices.  10.3 

many  commands  that  I  cannot  in  a  strict  sense  fulfil,  yet  there  is  no 
command  I  would  not  fulfil,  that  I  do  not  exceedingly  love.  '  I  love 
thy  commandments  above  gold,  above  fine  gold  :'  '  My  soul  hath  kept 
thy  testimonies,  and  I  love  them  exceedingly,'  Ps.  cxix.  1 17,  and  xcix.  7. 

[9.]  True  grace  leads  the  soul  to  rest  in  Christ,  as  in  his  summum 
bonum,  chief  est  good.  It  works  the  soul  to  centre  in  Christ,  as  in  his 
highest  and  ultimate  end.  '  Whither  should  we  go  ?  thou  hast  the 
words  of  eternal  life,'  John  vi.  68.  '  My  beloved  is  white  and  ruddy, 
the  chiefest  of  ten  thousand  ;  I  found  him  whom  my  soul  loved,  I  held 
him  and  would  not  let  him  go,'  Cant.  v.  10,  iii.  4.  That  wisdom  a  believer 
hath  from  Christ,  it  leads  him  to  centre  in  the  wisdom  of  Christ,  1  Cor. 
i.  30  ;  and  that  love  the  soul  hath  from  Christ,  it  leads  the  soul  to 
centre  in  the  love  of  Christ ;  and  that  righteousness  the  soul  hath  from 
Christ,  it  leads  the  soul  to  rest  and  centre  in  the  righteousness  of 
Christ,  Philip,  iii.  9.1  True  grace  is  a  beam  of  Christ,  and  where  it  is, 
it  will  naturally  lead  the  soul  to  rest  in  Christ.  The  stream  doth  not 
more  naturally  lead  to  the  fountain,  nor  the  effect  to  the  cause,  than 
true  grace  leads  the  soul  to  Christ.  But  restraining  grace,  temporary 
grace,  works  the  soul  to  centre  and  rest  in  things  below  Christ.  Some- 
times it  works  the  soul  to  centre  in  the  praises  of  the  creature  ;  some- 
times to  rest  in  the  rewards  of  the  creature  :  '  Verily  they  have  their 
reward,'  saith  Christ,  Mat.  vi.  1,  2  :  and  so  in  an  hundred  other  things. 
&c,  Zech.  vii.  5,  6. 

[10.]  True  grace  will  enable  a  soul  to  sit  down  satisfied  and  con- 
tented with  the  naked  enjoyments  of  Christ.  The  enjoyment  of  Christ 
without  honour  will  satisfy  the  soul ;  the  enjoyment  of  Christ  without 
riches,  the  enjoyment  of  Christ  without  pleasures,  and  without  the 
smiles  of  creatures,  will  content  and  satisfy  the  soul.  '  It  is  enough  ; 
Joseph  is  alive,'  Gen.  xlv.  28.  So  saith  a  gracious  soul,  though  honour 
is  not,  and  riches  are  not,  and  health  is  not,  and  friends  are  not,  &c,  it 
is  enough  that  Christ  is,  that  he  reigns,  conquers,  and  triumphs. 
Christ  is  the  pot  of  manna,  the  cruse  of  oil,  a  bottomless  ocean  of  all 
comfort,  content,  and  satisfaction.  He  that  hath  him  wants  nothing ; 
he  that  wants  him  enjoys  nothing.2  '  Having  nothing,'  saith  Paul, 
'  and  yet  possessing  all  things,'  2  Cor.  vi.  10.  Oh  !  but  a  man  that  hath 
but  temporary  grace,  that  hath  but  restraining  grace,  cannot  sit  down 
satisfied  and  contented,  under  the  want  of  outward  comforts.3  Christ 
is  good  with  honours,  saith  such  a  soul ;  and  Christ  is  good  with  riches, 
and  Christ  is  good  with  pleasures,  and  he  is  good  with  such  and  such 
outward  contents.  I  must  have  Christ  and  the  world,  or  else  with  the 
young  man  in  the  Gospel,  in  spite  of  my  soul,  I  shall  forsake  Christ 
to  follow  the  world.  Ah  !  how  many  shining  professors  be  there  in  the 
world,  that  cannot  sit  down  satisfied  and  contented,  under  the  want  of 
this  or  that  outward  comfort  and  content,  but  are  like  bedlams,  fretting 

1  Grace  is  that  star  that  leads  to  Christ;  it  is  that  cloud  and  pillar  of  fire  that  leads  the 
soul  to  the  heavenly  Canaan,  where  Christ  sits  chief. 

2  Cut  cum  paupertate  bene  convenit,  pauper  non  est,  saith  Seneca,  a  contented  man  cannot 
be  a  poor  man.  [Epistle  i.  and  De  Constantia  Sapientis,  vi. — G].  ,    , 

8  Charles  the  Great  his  motto  was,  Christus  regnat,  vincit,  triumphat.  And  so  it  is  the 
saints.'  St  Austin  upon  Ps.  xii.  brings  in  God  rebuking  a  discontented  Christian  thiis  : 
What  is  thy  faith  ?  have  I  promised  thee  these  things  ?  What !  wert  thou  made  a  Christian 
that  thou  shouldst  flourish  here  in  this  world  ? 


104  PRECIOUS  REMEDIES  [2  COR.  II.  11. 

and  vexing,  raging  and  madding,1  as  if  there  were  no  God,  no  heaven, 
no  hell,  nor  no  Christ  to  make  up  all  such  outward  wants  to  souls. 
That  a  soul  truly  gracious  can  say,  in  having  nothing  I  have  all  things, 
because  ]  have  Christ;  having  therefore  all  things  in  him,  I  seek  no 
Other  reward,  for  he  is  the  universal  reward.  Such  a  soul  can  say, 
Nothing  is  sweet  to  me  without  the  enjoyment  of  Christ  in  it ;  honours, 
nor  riches,  nor  the  smiles  of  creatures,  are  not  sweet  to  me  no  farther 
than  I  see  Christ,  and  taste  Christ  in  them.2  The  confluence  of  all  out- 
ward good  cannot  make  a  heaven  of  glory  in  my  soul,  if  Christ,  who  is 
the  top  («!'  my  glory,  be  absent  ;  as  Absalom  said,  '  What  is  all  this  to 
me  so  long  as  J  cannot  see  the  king's  face  T  2  Sam.  xiv.  32.  So  saith  the 
soul,  why  do  you  tell  me  of  this  and  that  outward  comfort,  when  I  cannot 
see  his  face  whom  my  soul  loves  ?  Why,  my  honour  is  not  my  Christ, 
nor  riches  is  not  Christ,  nor  the  favour  of  the  creature  is  not  Christ  ; 
let  me  have  him,  and  let  the  men  of  this  world  take  the  world,  and 
divide  it  amongst  themselves  ;  I  prize  my  Christ  above  all,  I  would 
enjoy  my  Christ  above  all  other  things  in  the  world  ;  his  presence  will 
make  up  the  absence  of  all  other  comforts,  and  his  absence  will  darken 
and  embitter  all  my  comforts ;  so  that  my  comforts  will  neither  taste 
like  comforts,  nor  look  like  comforts,  nor  warm  like  comforts,  when  he 
that  should  comfort  my  soul  stands  afar  off,  &c,  Lam.  i.  16.  Christ  is 
all  and  in  all  to  souls  truly  gracious,  Col.  iii.  11.  We  have  all  things 
in  Christ,  and  Christ  is  all  things  to  a  Christian.  If  we  be  sick,  he  is 
a  physician  ;  if  we  thirst,  he  is  a  fountain  ;  if  our  sins  trouble  us,  he  is 
righteousness  ;  if  we  stand  in  need  of  help,  he  is  mighty  to  save  ;  if  we 
fear  death,  he  is  life  ;  if  we  be  in  darkness,  he  is  light ;  if  we  be  weak, 
he  is  strength  ;  if  we  be  in  poverty,  he  is  plenty ;  if  we  desire  heaven, 
he  is  the  way.  The  soul  cannot  say,  this  I  would  have,  and  that  I 
would  have  ;  but  saith  Christ,  it  is  in  me,  it  is  in  me  eminently,  per- 
fectly, eternally.3 

The  fifth  device  that  Satan  hath  to  keep  souls  in  a  sad,  doubting, 
and  questioning  condition  is, 

Device  (5).  By  suggesting  to  them,  TJait  that  conflict  that  is  in  th&m>\ 
is  not  a  conflict  that  is  only  in  saints,  but  such  a  conflict  that  is  to  be 
fun  iid  in  hypocrites  and  profane  souls;  when  the  truth  is,  there  is  as 
much  difference  betwixt  the  conflict  that  is  in  them,  and  that  which  is 
in  wicked  men,  as  there  is  betwixt  light  and  darkness,  betwixt  heaven 
and  hell.'4  And  the  truth  of  this  I  shall  evidence  to  you  in  the  follow- 
ing particulars  : 

[1.]  The  whole  frame  of  a  believer's  soul  is  aga/mst  si/n,.  Understand- 
ing, will,  and  affection,  all  the  powers  and  faculties  of  the  soul  are  m 

1  Goin<2;  about  as  '  mad.' — G. 

8  Content  is  the  deputy  of  outward  felicity,  and  supplies  the  place  whore  it  is  absent. 
As  the  .lews  throw  the  book  of  Esther  to  the  ground  before  they  read  it,  because  the 
name  of  God  is  nut  in  it,  us  the  Rabbins  have  observed;  so  do  saints  in  Bome  smse 
those  mercies  wherein  they  do  nut  read  Christ's  name,  and  see  Christ's  heart.  [With 
reference  to  the  throwing  down  of  the  book  of  Esther,  sit  Trapp's  quaint  remarks  on  it, 
under  Esther  i.  1. — <  1 1. 

3  Luther  said,  he  had  rather  bo  in  lull  with  Christ,  than  in  heaven  without  him. 
None  hut  Christ,  none  hut  Christ,  said  Lambert,  lifting  up  his  hands  and  his  fingers' 
end  flaming.     [Clarke's  '  Martyrologie,'  as  before,  sub  nomine. — G]. 

«  John  viii.  44,  the  devil  is  a  liar,  and  the  father  of  it.  The  devil's  breasts  (saith 
Luther)  are  very  fruitful  with  lies. 


2  Cor.  II.  11.]  against  satan's  devices.  105 

arms  against  sin.  A  covetous  man  may  condemn  covetousness,  and  yet  the 
frame  and  bent  of  his  heart  may  be  to  it ;  a  proud  person  may  condemn 
pride,  and  yet  the  frame  of  his  spirit  may  be  to  it ;  and  the  drunkard  may 
condemn  drunkenness,  and  yet  the  frame  of  his  spirit  may  be  to  it  ;  a 
man  may  condemn  stealing  and  lying,  and  yet  the  frame  of  his  heart 
may  be  to  it.1  '  Thou  that  preachest  a  man  should  not  steal,  dost  thou 
steal  ?  Thou  that  sayest  a  man  should  not  commit  adultery,  dost  thou 
commit  adultery?  thou  that  abhorrest  idols,  dost  thou  commit  sacrilege? 
Thou  that  makest  thy  boast  of  the  law,  through  breaking  the  law  dis- 
honourest  thou  God  V  Rom.  ii.  21-23.  But  a  saint's  will  is  against  it. 
'  The  evil  that  I  would  not  do,  that  I  do  ;'  and  his  affections  are  against 
it,  '  What  I  hate,  I  do/  Rom.  vii.  19,  20. 

[2.]  A  saint  conflicts  against  sin  universally,  the  least  as  ivell  as 
the  greatest ;  the  most  profitable  and  the  most  pleasing  sin,  as  well  as 
against  those  that  are  less  pleasing  and  profitable.  He  will  combat 
with  all,  though  he  cannot  conquer  one  as  he  should,  and  as  he  would. 
He  knows  that  all  sin  strikes  at  God's  holiness,  as  well  as  his  own  hap- 
piness ;  at  God's  glory,  as  well  as  at  his  soul's  comfort  and  peace.2 

He  knows  that  all  sin  is  hateful  to  God,  and  that  all  sinners  are 
traitors  to  the  crown  and  dignity  of  the  Lord  Jesus.  He  looks  upon 
one  sin,  and  sees  that  that  threw  down  Noah,  the  most  righteous  man 
in  the  world,  and  he  looks  upon  another  sin,  and  sees  that  that  cast 
down  Abraham,  the  greatest  believer  in  the  world,  and  he  looks  upon 
another  sin,  and  sees  that  that  threw  down  David,  the  best  king  in  the 
world,  and  he  looks  upon  another  sin,  and  sees  that  that  cast  down 
Paul,  the  greatest  apostle  in  the  world.  He  sees  that  one  sin  threw 
down  Samson,  the  strongest  man  in  the  world  ;  another  cast  down 
Solomon,  the  wisest  man  in  the  world  ;  and  another  Moses,  the  meekest 
man  in  the  world  ;  and  another  sin  cast  down  Job,  the  patientest  man 
in  the  world  ;  and  this  raiseth  a  holy  indignation  against  all,  so  that 
nothing  can  satisfy  and  content  his  soul  but  a  destruction  of  all  those 
lusts  and  vermin  that  vex  and  rack  his  righteous  soul.  It  will  not 
suffice  a  gracious  soul  to  see  justice  done  upon  one  sin,  but  he  cries  out 
for  justice  upon  all.  He  would  not  have  some  crucified  and  others 
spared,  but  cries  out,  Lord,  crucify  them  all,  crucify  them  all.  Oh  !  but 
now  the  conflict  that  is  in  wicked  men  is  partial;  they  frown  upon  one 
sin  and  smile  upon  another;  they  strike  at  some  sins  yet  stroke  others; 
they  thrust  some  out  of  doors  but  keep  others  close  in  their  bosoms ;  as 
you  may  see  in  Jehu,  Herod,  Judas,  Simon  Magus,  and  Demas.  Wicked 
men  strike  at  gross  sins,  such  as  are  not  only  against  the  law  of  God, 
but  against  the  laws  of  nature  and  nations,  but  make  nothing  of  less 
sins ;  as  vain  thoughts,  idle  words,    sinful  motions,   petty  oaths,  &c. 

1  It  was  a  good  saying  of  him  [Augustine,  Conf. — G-]  that  said,  Domine  libera  me  a 
malo  homine,  me  ipso,  Lord,  deliver  me  from  an  ill  man,  myself.  Austin  complains,  That 
men  do  not  tame  their  beasts  in  their  own  bosoms. 

2  Ps.  cxix.  104,  1  hate  every  false  way  ;  sindhi,  from  JO^',  which  signifies  to  hate  with 
a  deadly  and  irreconcileable  hatred.  He  knows  that  all  the  parts  of  the  old  man  hath, 
and  doth  play  the  part  of  a  treacherous  friend  and  a  friendly  traitor ;  therefore  he  strikes 
at  all.  The  greater  the  combat  is,  the  greater  shall  be  the  following  rewards,  saith  Ter- 
tullian.  True  hatred  is  *•£««  ™  ylvn,  against  the  whole  kind.  Plutarch  reports  of  one  who 
would  not  be  resolved  of  his  doubts,  because  he  would  not  lose  the  pleasure  in  seeking 
for  resolution.  So  wicked  men  will  not  be  rid  of  some  sins,  because  they  would  not  lose 
the  seeming  pleasure  of  sinning. 


106  PRECIOUS  REMEDIES  [2  COR.  II.  11. 

They  fight  against  those  sins  that  fight  against  their  honour,  profits, 
pleasures,  Ac,  but  make  truce  with  those  that  are  as  right  hand  and 
as  right  eyes  to  them,  &c. 

[3.]  The  conflict  l/i<(t  is  in  a  saint,  against  sin,  is  maintained  by 
several  arguments:  by  arguments  drawn  from  the  love  of  God,  the 
honour  of  God,  the  sweetness  and  communion  with  God,  and  from  the 
spiritual  and  heavenly  blessings  and  privileges  that  are  conferred  upon 
them  by  God,  and  from  arguments  drawn  from  the  blood  of  Christ,  the 
glory  of  ( Jurist,  the  eye  of  Christ,  the  kisses  of  Christ,  and  the  interces- 
sion ot  Christ,  and  from  arguments  drawn  from  the  earnest  of  the  Spirit, 
the  seal  of  the  Spirit,  the  witness  of  the  Spirit,  the  comforts  of  the 
Spirit.  Oh  !  but  the  conflict  that  is  in  wicked  men  is  from  low,  carnal, 
and  legal  arguments,  drawn  from  the  eye,  ear,  or  hand  of  the  creature, 
or  drawn  from  shame,  hell,  curses  of  the  law,  &c,  2  Cor.  xii.  7-9.1 

[4.]  The  conflict  that  is  in  saints  is  a  constant  conflict.  Though  sin 
and  grace  were  not  born  in  the  heart  of  a  saint  together,  and  though 
they  shall  not  die  together,  yet.  whilst  a  believer  lives,  they  must  con- 
flict together.  Paul  had  been  fourteen  years  converted,  when  he  cried 
out,  '  1  have  a  law  in  my  members  rebelling  against  the  law  of  my  mind, 
and  leading  me  captive  to  the  law  of  sin,'  Rom.  vii.  2,  3. 

Pietro  Candiano,  one  of  the  dukes  of  Venice,  died  fighting  against 
the  Nauratines  with  the  weapons  in  his  hands.  So  a  saint  lives  fight- 
ing and  dies  fighting,  he  stands  fighting'  and  falls  fighting,  with  his 
spiritual  weapons  in  his  hands.2  But  the  conflict  that  is  in  wicked  men 
is  inconstant :  now  they  fall  out  with  sin,  and  anon  they  fall  in  with  sin ; 
now  it  is  bitter,  anon  it  is  sweet ;  now  the  sinner  turns  from  his  sin, 
and  anon  he  turns  to  the  wallowing  in  sin,  as  the  swine  doth  to  the 
wallowing  in  the  mire,  2  Pet.  ii.  19,  20.  One  hour  you  shall  have  him 
praying  against  sin,  as  if  he  feared  it  more  than  hell,  and  the  next  hour 
you  shall  have  him  pursuing  after  sin,  as  if  there  were  no  God  to  punish 
him,  no  justice  to  damn  him,  no  hell  to  torment  him. 

[5.j  The  conflict  that  is  in  the  saints,  is  in  the  same  faculties ;  there 
is  the  judgment  against  the  judgment,  the  mind  against  the  mind,  the 
will  against  the  will,  the  affections  against  the  affections,  that  is,  the 
regenerate  part  against  the  unregenerate  part,  in  all  the  parts  of  the 
soul ;  but  now,  in  wicked  men,  the  conflict  is  not  in  the  same  faculties, 
but  between  the  conscience  and  the  will.  The  will  of  a  sinner  is  bent 
strongly  to  such  and  such  sins,  but  conscience  puts  in  and  tells  the 
sinner,  God  hath  made  me  his  deputy,  he  hath  given  me  a  power  to 
hang  and  draw,  to  examine,  scourge,  judge  and  condemn,  and  if  thou 
dost  such  and  such  wickedness,  I  shall  be  thy  jailor  and  tormenter.  I 
do  not  bear  the  rod  nor  the  sword  in  vain,  saith  conscience;  if  thou 
sinnest,  I  shall  do  my  office,  and  then  thy  life  will  be  a  hell:  and  this 
raises  a  tumult  in  the  soul.3 

1  Though  to  he  kept  from  sin  brings  comfort  to  us,  yet  for  us  to  oppose  sin  from  spi- 
ritual ami  heavenly  arguments,  ami  God  t<>  pardon  sin,  that  brings  most  glory  to  God. 

2  It  was  an  excellent  saying  of  Eusebius  Emesenus,  Our  fathers  overcame  the  torrents 
of  the  flames,  let  us  uverenine  tin;  fiery  darts  of  vices.  Consider  that  the  pleasure  and 
sweetness  that  follows  victory  over  sin,  is  a  thousand  times  beyond  that  seeming  sweet- 
ness that  is  in  sin. 

:)  A  heathen  could  say,  their  soul  is  in  a  mutiny;  a  wicked  man  is  not  friends  with 
himself,  he  and  his  conscience  are  at  difference. — Arisl[otlc]. 


2  Cor.  II.  11.]  against  sat  an  's  devices.  107 

[6.]  The  conflict  that  is  in  the  saints,  is  a  more  blessed,  successful, 
and  prevailing  conflict.  A  saint,  by  his  conflict  with  sin,  gains  ground 
upon  his  sin  :  '  They  that  are  Christ's/  saith  the  apostle,  '  have  crucified 
the  world  with  the  affections  and  lusts/  Gal.  v.  24<.  Christ  puts  to  his 
hand  and  helps  them  to  lead  captivity  captive,  and  to  set  their  feet  upon 
the  necks  of  those  lusts  that  have  formerly  trampled  upon  their  souls 
and  their  comforts.  As  the  house  of  Saul  grew  weaker  and  weaker, 
and  the  house  of  David  stronger  and  stronger,  so  the  Lord,  by  the  dis- 
coveries of  his  love,  and  by  the  influences  of  his  Spirit,  he  causeth  grace, 
the  nobler  part  of  a  saint,  to  grow  stronger  and  stronger,  and  corrup- 
tion, like  the  house  of  Saul,  to  grow  weaker  and  weaker.  But  sin  in  a 
wicked  heart  gets  ground,  and  grows  stronger  and  stronger,  notwith- 
standing all  his  conflicts.  His  heart  is  more  encouraged,  emboldened, 
and  hardened  in  away  of  sin,  as  you  may  see  in  the  Israelites,  Pharaoh, 
Jehu,  and  Judas,  who  doubtless  found  many  strange  conflicts,  tumults, 
and  mutinies  in  their  souls,  when  God  spake  such  bitter  things  against 
them,  and  did  such  justice  upon  them,  2  Tim.  iii.  13.1 

But  remember  this  by  way  of  caution  :  Though  Christ  hath  given 
sin  its  death -wound,  by  his  power,  Spirit,  death,  and  resurrection,  yet 
it  will  die  but  a  lingering  death.2  As  a  man  that  is  mortally  wounded 
dies  by  little  and  little,  so  doth  sin  in  the  heart  of  a  saint.  The  death 
of  Christ  on  the  cross  was  a  lingering  death,  so  the  death  of  sin  in  the 
soul  is  a  lingering  death  ;  now  it  dies  a  little,  and  anon  it  dies  a  little, 
&c,  as  the  psalmist  speaks,  '  Slay  them  not,  lest  my  people  forget :  scatter 
them  by  thy  power  ;  and  bring  them  down,  O  Lord  our  shield,'  Ps. 
lix.  11.  He  would  not  have  them  utterly  destroyed,  but  some  relics 
preserved  as  a  memorial.  So  God  dealeth  in  respect  of  sin ;  it  is  wounded 
and  brought  down,  but  not  wholly  slain  ;  something  is  still  left  as  a 
monument  of  divine  grace,  and  to  keep  us  humble,  wakeful,  and  watch- 
ful, and  that  our  armour  may  be  still  kept  on,  and  our  weapons  always 
in  our  hands. 

The  best  men's  souls  in  this  life  hang  between  the  flesh  and  the 
spirit,  as  it  were  like  Mahomet's  tomb  at  Mecca,  between  two  loadstones  ; 
like  Erasmus,  as  the  papists  paint  him,  betwixt  heaven  and  hell ;  like 
the  tribe  of  Manasseh,  half  on  this  side  of  Jordan,  in  the  land  of  the 
Amorites,  and  half  on  that  side,  in  the  Holy  Land  ;  yet,  in  the  issue, 
they  shall  overcome  the  flesh,  and  trample  upon  the  necks  of  their  spi- 
ritual enemies.3 

The  sixth  device  that  Satan  hath  to  keep  souls  in  a  sad,  doubting, 
questioning  condition  is, 

Device  (tj).  By  suggesting  to  the  soul,  that  surely  his  estate  is  not 

1  These  two,  grace  and  sin,  are  like  two  buckets  of  a  well,  when  one  is  up.  the  other  is 
down.  They  are  like  the  two  laurels  at  Rome,  when  one  flourishes  the  other  withers. 
The  more  grace  thrives  in  the  soul,  the  more  sin  dies  in  the  soul.  From  naught  they 
grow  to  be  very  naught,  and  from  very  naught  to  be  stark  naught.  Lactant[ius]  said  of 
Lucian,  Nee  Diis,  nee  hominibus  pepercit,  he  spared  neither  God  nor  man. 

2  Mortification  is  a  continued  act,  it  is  a  daily  dying  to  sin,  '  I  die  daily.'  A  crucified 
man  will  strive  and  struggle,  yet,  in  the  eyes  of  the  law,  and  in  the  account  of  all  that 
see  him,  lie  is  dead.     It  is  just  so  with  sin. 

3  There  is  no  such  pleasure,  saith  Cyprian,  as  to  have  overcome  an  offered  pleasure ; 
neither  is  there  any  greater  conquest  than  that  that  is  gotten  over  a  man's  corruptions. 
The  Romans  lost  many  a  battle,  and  yet  in  the  issue  were  conquerors  in  all  their  wars  ; 
it  is  just  so  with  the  saints. 


108  PilECIOUS  REMEDIES  [2  COR.  II.  11. 

good,  beca/use  he  cam/not  joy  cmd  rejoice  in  Christ  as  once  he  could ; 
/>  cause  he  hath  lost  that  comfort  cmd  joy  that  once  wax  m  his  spirit 
Saith  Satan,  Thou  knowest  the  time  was  when  thy  heart  was  much 
tallied  out  to  joying  and  rejoicing  in  Christ ;  thou  dost  not  forget  the 
time  when  thy  heart  used  to  be  full  of  joy  and  comfort;  but  now,  how 
ait  thou  fallen  in  thy  joys  and  comforts  !  Therefore,  thy  estate  is  not 
good  ;  thou  dost  but  deceive  thyself  to  think  that  ever  it  was  good,  for 
surely  if  it  had,  thy  joy  and  comfort  would  have  continued.  And  here- 
upon the  soul  is  apt  to  take  part  with  Satan,  and  say,  It  is  even  so  ;  I 
se     dl  is  naught,  and  I  have  but  deceived  my  own  soul,  &c. 

Now  the  remedies  against  this  device  are  these  : 

Remedy  (1).  The  first  remedy  against  this  device  of  Satan  is,  to  con- 
sider, Thai  /he  loss  of  comfort  is  a  separable  adjunct  from  grace.  The 
soul  may  be  full  of  holy  affections  when  it  is  empty  of  divine  consola- 
tions.1 There  may  be,  and  often  is,  true  grace,  yea,  much  grace,  where 
there  is  not  a  drop  of  comfort,  nor  dram  of  joy.  Comfort  is  not  of  the 
being,  but  of  the  well-being,  of  a  Christian.  God  hath  not  so  linked 
these  two  choice  lovers  together,  but  that  they  may  be  put  asunder. 
That  wisdom  that  is  from  above  will  never  work  a  man  to  reason  thus  : 
I  have  no  comfort,  therefore  I  have  no  grace  ;  I  have  lost  that  joy  that 
once  I  had,  therefore  my  condition  is  not  good,  was  never  good,  &c. 
But  it  will  enable  a  man  to  reason  thus  :  Though  my  comfort  is  gone, 
yet  the  God  of  my  comfort  abides  ;  though  my  joy  is  lost,  yet  the  seeds 
of  grace  remain.  The  best  men's  joys,  are  as  glass,  bright  and  brittle, 
and  evermore  in  danger  of  breaking.2 

Remedy  (2).  The  second  remedy  against  this  device  of  Satan  is, 
solemnly  to  consider,  That  /he  precious  thi/ngs  that  thou  still  enjoyest 
arc  for  better  than  the  joys  and  comforts  that  thou  Joist  lust.  Thy 
union  with  Christ,  thy  communion  with  Christ,  thy  sonship,  thy  saint- 
ship,  thy  heirship,  thou  still  enjoyest  by  Christ,  are  far  better  than  the 
comforts  thou  hast  lost  by  sin.  What  though  thy  comforts  be  gone, 
yet  thy  union  and  communion  with  Christ  remains,  Jer.  xxxi.  18,  19, 
20.  Though  thy  comforts  be  gone,  yet  thou  art  a  son,  though  a  com- 
fortless son  ;  an  heir,  though  a  comfortless  heir  ;  a  saint,  though  a 
comfortless  saint.  Though  the  bag  of  silver,  thy  comforts,  be  lost,  yet 
the  box  of  jewels,  thy  union  with  Christ,  thy  communion  with  Christ, 
thy  sonship,  thy  saintship,  thy  heirship,  which  thou  still  enjoyest,  is  far 
better  than  the  bag  of  silver  thou  hast  lost ;  yea,  the  least  of  those 
precious  jewels  is  more  worth  than  all  the  comforts  in  the  world.  Will ! 
let  this  be  a  cordial  to  comfort  thee,  a  star  to  lead  thee,  and  a  staff  to 
support  thee,  that  thy  box  of  jewels  are  safe,  though  thy  bag  of  silver 
be  lost.3 

Remedy  (3).  The  third  remedy  against  this  device  of  Satan  is,  to 
consider,  That  thy  coin/ it  ion  is  no  other  titan  what  hath  l>e<'n  /he  con* 
dition  of  those  precious  souls  whose  names  were  written  upon  thehea/ti 
of  Christ,  and  who  arc  now  at  rest  in  the  bosom  of  Chris/.     One  day 

1  Ps.  lxiii.  1,  2,  8,  Isa.  1.  10,  Micah  vii.  8,  9,  Pa.  xlii.  5. 

-  Spiritual  joy  is  a  sun  that  is  often  clouded  ;  though  it  be  as  precious  a  flower  as  most 
paradise  affords,  yet  it  is  subject  to  fade  ami  wither. 

•'■  When  one  objected  to  Faninus  his  cheerfulness  to  Christ's  agony  and  sadness,  he 
answered,  Christ  was  sad,  that  1  might  be  merry  ;  he  had  my  sins,  and  1  have  his  right- 
eousness.   [Clarke's  '  Martyrologie,1  as  before,  sub  nomine. — G.] 


2  Cor.  II.  11.]  against  satan's  devices.  109 

you  shall  have  them  praising  and  rejoicing,  the  next  day  a-mourning 
and  weeping.  One  day  you  shall  have  them  a-singing,  '  The  Lord  is 
our  portion ;'  the  next  day  a-sighing  and  expostulating  with  themselves, 
'  Why  are  ye  cast  down,  0  our  souls  ?'  '  Why  is  our  harp  turned  to 
mourning  ?  and  our  organ  into  the  voice  of  them  that  weep  ?'  &c.x 

Remedy  (4).  The  fourth  remedy  against  this  device  of  Satan  is, 
solemnly  to  consider,  That  the  causes  of  joy  and  comfort  are  not 
always  the  same.  Happily,  thy  former  joy  and  comfort  did  spring 
from  the  witness  of  the  Spirit,  he  bearing  witness  to  thy  soul,  that  thy 
nature  was  changed,  thy  sins  pardoned,  thy  soul  reconciled,  &c.2  Now, 
the  Spirit  may,  upon  some  special  occasion,  bear  witness  to  the  soul, 
that  the  heart  of  God  is  dearly  set  upon  him,  that  he  loves  him  with 
an  everlasting  love,  &c,  and  yet  the  soul  may  never  enjoy  such  a  testi- 
mony all  the  days  of  his  life  again.  Though  the  Spirit  be  a  witnessing 
Spirit,  it  is  not  his  office  eveiy  day  to  witness  to  believers  their  interest 
in  God,  Christ,  heaven,  &c. 

Or,  happily,  thy  former  joy  and  comfort  did  spring  from  the  newness 
and  suddenness  of  the  change  of  thy  condition.  For  a  man  in  one  hour 
to  have  his  night  turned  into  day,  his  darkness  turned  into  light,  his 
bitter  into  sweet,  God's  frowns  into  smiles,  his  hatred  into  love,  his  hell 
into  a  heaven,  must  greatly  joy  and  comfort  him.3  It  cannot  but  make 
his  heart  to  leap  and  dance  in  him,  who,  in  one  hour,  shall  see  Satan 
accusing  him,  his  own  heart  condemning  him,  the  eternal  God  frowning 
■upon  him,  the  gates  of  heaven  #barred  against  him,  all  the  creation 
standing  armed,  at  the  least  beck  of  God,  to  execute  vengeance  on  him, 
and  the  mouth  of  the  infernal  pit  open  to  receive  him.  Now,  in  this 
hour,  for  Christ  to  come  to  the  amazed  soul,  and  to  say  to  it,  I  have 
trod  the  wine-press  of  my  Father's  wrath  for  thee  ;  I  have  laid  down  my 
life  a  ransom  for  thee  ;  by  my  blood  I  have  satisfied  my  Father's  jus- 
tice, and  pacified  his  anger,  and  procured  his  love  for  thee  ;  by  my 
blood  I  have  purchased  the  pardon  of  thy  sins,  thy  freedom  from  hell, 
and  thy  right  to  heaven ;  oh  !  how  wonderfully  will  this  cause  the  soul 
to  leap  for  joy  ! 

Remedy  (5).  The  fifth  remedy  against  this  device  of  Satan  is,  to  con- 
sider, That  God  ivill  restore  and  moJce  up  the  comforts  of  his  people.1 
Though  thy  candle  be  put  out,  yet  God  will  light  it  again,  and  make  it 
burn  more  light  than  ever.  Though  thy  sun  for  the  present  be  clouded, 
yet  he  that  rides  upon  the  clouds  shall  scatter  those  clouds,  and  cause 
the  sun  to  shine  and  warm  thy  heart  as  in  former  days,  as  the  psalmist 
speaks:  'Thou  which  hast  shewed  me  great  and  sore  troubles,  shalt 

1  Ps.  li.  12,  xxx.  6,  7  ;  Job  xxiii.  6,  8,  9,  30,  31 ;  Lamen.  i.  16,  Mat.  xxvii.  4G,  Ps. 
xlii.  5,  Lament,  v.  15. 

2  The  Spirit  doth  not  every  day  make  a  feast  in  the  soul ;  he  doth  not  make  every  day 
to  he  a  day  of  weaving  the  wedding  robes. 

3  A  pardon  given  unexpectedly  into  the  hand  of  a  malefactor,  when  he  is  on  the  last 
step  of  the  ladder,  ready  to  be  turned  off,  will  cause  much  joy  and  rejoicing.  The  new- 
ness and  suddenness  of  the>change  of  his  condition  will  cause  his  heart  to  leap  and 
rejoice  ;  yet,  in  process  of  time,  much  of  his  joy  will  be  abated,  though  his  life  be  as 
dear  to  him  still  as  ever  it  was. 

4  Hudson  the  martyr,  deserted  at  the  stake,  went  from  under  his  chain,  and,  having 
prayed  earnestly,  was  comforted  immediately,  and  suffered  valiantly.  So  Mr  Glover, 
when  he  was  within  sight  of  the  stake,  cried  out  to  his  friend,  He  is  come,  lie  is  come, 
meaning  the  Comforter  that  Christ  promised  to  send.  [On  Thomas  Hudson,  see  Clarke's 
'  Martyrologie,'  as  before,  pp.  498,499  ;  on  Glover,  ibid.  pp.  460-61. — G.] 


110  PRECIOUS  REMEDIES  [2  COR.  II.  11. 

quicken  mo  again,  and  shalt  bring  me  up  again  from  the  depths  of  the 
earth.  Thou  shalt  increase  my  greatness,  and  comfort  me  on  every 
side.'  Ps.  lxxi.  20,  21.  God  takes  away  a  little  comfort,  that  he  may 
make  room  in  tin'  soul  for  a  greater  degree  of  comfort.  This  the  pro- 
phel  Isaiah  sweetly  shews  :  'I  have  seen  his  ways,  and  will  heal  him  ; 
I  will  lead  him  also,  and  restore  comforts  unto  him,  and  to  his  mourners,' 
Isa.  lvii.  18.  Bear  up  sweetly,  0  precious  soul !  thy  storm  shall  end  in 
a  calm,  and  thy  dark  night  in  a  sunshine  day  ;  thy  mourning  shall  be 
turned  into  rejoicing,  and  the  waters  of  consolation  shall  be  sweeter  and 
higher  in  thy  soul  than  ever  -,1  the  mercy  is  surely  thine,  but  the  time 
of  "ivin"-  it  is  the  Lord's.  Wait  but  a  little,  and  thou  shalt  find  the 
Lord  comforting  thee  on  every  side. 

The  seventh  device  that  Satan  hath  to  keep  souls  in  a  sad,  doubting, 
and  questioning  condition,  is, 

Device  (7).  By  suggesting  to  the  soul  his  often  relapses  i/nto  the 
same  sin  ivhich  formerly  he  hath  pursued  with  particula/r  sorrow, 
grief,  shame,  and  tears,  and  prayed,  complai/ned,  and  resolved 
agamst.  Saith  Satan,  Thy  heart  is  not  right  with  God  ;  surely  thy 
estate  is  not  good  ;  thou  dost  but  flatter  thyself  to  think  that  ever 
God  will  eternally  own  and  embrace  such  a  one  as  thou  art,  who  com- 
plainest  against  sin,  and  yet  relapsest  into  the  same  sin  ;  who  with 
tears  and  groans  confessest  thy  sin,  and  yet  ever  and  anon  art  fallen 
into  the  same  sin. 

I  confess  this  is  a  very  sad  condition  for  a  soul  after  he  hath  ob- 
tained mercy  and  pity  from  the  Lord,  after  God  hath  spoken  peace 
and  pardon  to  him,  and  wiped  the  tears  from  his  eyes,  and  set  him 
upon  his  legs,  to  return  to  folly.2  Ah  !  how  do  relapses  lay  men 
open  to  the  greatest  afflictions  and  worst  temptations  !  How  do  they 
make  the  wound  to  bleed  afresh  !  How  do  they  darken  and  cloud 
former  assurances  and  evidences  for  heaven  !  How  do  they  put  a 
sword  into  the  hand  of  conscience  to  cut  and  slash  the  soul  !  They 
raise  such  fears,  terrors,  horrors,  and  doubts  in  the  soul,  that  the  soul 
cannot  be  so  frequent  in  duty  as  formerly,  nor  so  fervent  in  duty  as 
formerly,  nor  so  confident  in  duty  as  formerly,  nor  so  bold,  familiar, 
and  delightful  with  God  in  duty  as  formerly,  nor  so  constant  in  duty 
as  formerly.  They  give  Satan  an  advantage  to  triumph  over  Christ ; 
they  make  the  work  of  repentance  more  difficult  ;  they  make  a  man's 
life  a  burden,  and  they  render  death  to  be  very  terrible  unto  the  soul, 
&c. 

Now  the  remedies  against  this  device  are  these  : 

Remedy  (1).  The  first  remedy  against  this  device  of  Satan  is. 
solemnly  to  consider,  That  there  are  many  scriptures  that  do  dearM 
evidence  a  possibility  of  the  sai/nts  fallvng  i/nto  the  same  sins  wfa  recm 
they  here  formerly  repented.  'I  will  heal  their  backslidiugs,  I  will 
love  them  freely  :  for  mine  anger  is  turned  away  from  them,'  saith  the 
Lord  by  the  -prophet  Hosea,  chap.  xiv.  4.  So  the  prophet  Jeremiah 
speaks:  'Go  and  proclaim  these  words  toward  the  north,  and  say, 
Return,  thou  backsliding  Israel,  saith  the  Lord,  and  I  will  not  cause 
mine  anger  to  fall  upon  you  :  for  I  am  merciful,  saith  the  Lord,  and  I 

i  See  Ps.  exxvi.  6,  arid  xlii.  7,  8. 

2  A  backslider  may  say,  Opera  el  impensa  periit,  all  my  pains  and  charge  is  lost. 


2  Cor.  II.  11.]  against  satan's  devices.  ni 

will  not  keep  mine  anger  for  ever.  Turn,  O  backsliding  Israel,  saith 
the  Lord  ;  for  I  am  married  unto  you  :  and  I  will  take  you  one  of  a 
city,  and  two  of  a  family,  and  I  will  bring  you  to  Zion,'  chap.  iii.  12,  14. 
So  the  psalmist :  '  They  turned  back,  and  dealt  unfaithfully  with  their 
fathers  ;  they  were  turned  aside  like  a  deceitful  bow.'  And  no  wonder, 
for  though  their  repentance  be  never  so  sincere  and  sound,  yet  their 
graces  are  but  weak,  and  their  mortification  imperfect  in  this  life. 
Though  by  grace  they  are  freed  from  the  dominion  of  sin,  and  from 
the  damnatory  power  of  every  sin,  and  from  the  love  of  all  sin,  yet 
grace  doth  not  free  them  from  the  seed  of  any  one  sin  ;  and  therefore 
it  is  possible  for  a  soul  to  fall  again  and  again  into  the  same  sin.  If 
the  fire  be  not  wholly  put  out,  who  would  think  it  impossible  that  it 
should  catch  and  burn  again  and  again  I1 

Remedy  (2).  The  second  remedy  against  this  device  of  Satan  is, 
seriously  to  consider,  That  God  hath  nowhere  engaged  himself  by  any 
'particular  promise,  that  souls  converted  and  united  to  Christ  shall 
not  fall  again  and  again  into  the  same  sin  after  conversion.  I  can- 
not find  in  the  whole  book  of  God  where  he  hath  promised  any  such 
strength  or  power  against  this  or  that  particular  sin,  as  that  the  soul 
should  be  for  ever,  in  this  life,  put  out  of  a  possibility  of  falling  again 
and  again  into  the  same  sins  ;  and  where  God  hath  not  a  mouth  to 
speak,  I  must  not  have  a  heart  to  believe.  God  will  graciously  pardon 
those  sins  to  his  people  that  he  will  not  in  this  life  effectually  subdue 
in  his  people.  I  would  go  far  to  speak  with  that  soul  that  can  shew 
me  a  promise,  that  when  our  sorrow  and  grief  hath  been  so  great,  or  so 
much,  for  this  or  that  sin,  that  then  God  will  preserve  us  from  ever 
falling  into  the  same  sin.  The  sight  of  such  a  promise  would  be  as  life 
from  the  dead  to  many  a  precious  soul,  who  desires  nothing  more  than 
to  keep  close  to  Christ,  and  fears  nothing  more  than  backsliding  from 
Christ.2 

Remedy  (3).  The  third  remedy  against  this  device  of  Satan  is,  seri- 
ously to  consider,  That  the  most  renowned  and  now  croivned  saints 
have,  in  the  days  of  their  being  on  earth,  relapsed  into  one  and 
the  same  sin.3  Lot  was  twice  overcome  with  wine  ;  John  twice  wor- 
shipped the  angel  ;  Abraham  did  often  dissemble,  and  lay  his  wife 
open  to  adultery  to  save  his  own  life,  which  some  heathens  would  not 
have  done  :  '  And  it  came  to  pass,  when  God  caused  me  to  wander 
from  my  father's  house,  that  I  said  unto  her,  This  is  thy  kindness  which 
thou  shalt  shew  unto  me  ;  at  every  place  whither  we  shall  come,  say  of 
me,  as  he  is  my  brother/  Gen.  xx.  13.  David  in  his  wrath  was  re- 
solved, if  ever  man  was,  that  he  would  be  the  death  of  Nabal,  and  all 
his  innocent  family  ;  and  after  this  he  fell  into  the  foul  murder  of 
TJnah.  Though  Christ  told  his  disciples  that  his  '  kingdom  was  not 
of  this  world,'  yet  again,  and  again,  and  again,  three  several  times  they 

1  The  sin  of  backsliding  is  a  soul-wounding  sin,  '  I  will  heal  their  backsliding.'  You 
read  of  no  arms  for  the  back,  though  you  do  for  the  breast.  When  a  soldier  bragged 
too  much  of  a  great  scar  in  his  forehead,  Augustus  Caesar  (in  whose  time  Christ  was 
born)  asked  him  if  he  did  not  get  it  as  he  looked  back  when  he  fled. 

2  In  some  cases  the  saints  have  found  God  better  than  his  word.  He  promised  the 
children  of  Israel  only  the  land  of  Canaan,  but  besides  that  he  gave  them  two  other 
kingdoms  which  he  never  promised.  And  to  Zacharias  he  promised  to  give  him  his 
speech  at  the  birth  of  the  child,  but  besides  that  he  gave  him  the  gift  of  prophecy. 

3  A  sheep  may  often  slip  into  a  slough,  as  well  as  a  swine. 


112  PRBCIOtJS  REMEDIES  [2  COR.  II.  11. 

would  needs  be  on  horseback  ;  they  would  fain  be  high,  great,  and 
glorious  in  this  world.  Their  pride  and  ambitious  humour  put  them, 
that  were  but  as  so  many  beggars,  upon  striving  for  pre-eminence  and 
greatness  in  the  world,  when  their  Lord  and  Master  told  them  three 
several  times  of  liis  sufferings  in  the  world,  and  of  his  going  out  of  the 
world.  Jehoshapliat,  though  a  godly  man,  yet  joins  affinity  with  Ahab, 
2  Chron.  xviii.  1-3,  30,  31  ;  and  though  he  was  saved  by  a  miracle,  yet 
soon  after  he  falls  into  the  same  sin,  and  'joins  himself  with  Ahaziah 
king  of  [srael,  who  did  very  wickedly,'  2  Chron.  xx.  35-37.  Samson  is 
by  the  Spirit  of  the  Lord  numbered  among  the  faithful  worthies,  yet 
he  fell  often  into  one  gross  sin,  as  is  evident,  Heb.  xi.  32.  Peter,  you 
know,  relapsed  often,  and  so  did  Jonah  ;  and  this  comes  to  pass  that 
they  may  see  their  own  inability  to  stand,  to  resist  or  overcome  any 
temptation  or  corruptions,  Jude  14,  15,  1G.1  And  that  they  may  be 
taken  off  from  all  false  confidences,  and  rest  wholly  upon  God,  and  only 
upon  God,  and  always  upon  God  ;  and  for  the  praise  and  honour  of 
the  power,  wisdom,  skill,  mercy,  and  goodness  of  the  physician  of  our 
souls,  that  can  heal,  help,  and  cure  when  the  disease  is  most  dangerous, 
when  the  soul  is  relapsed,  and  grows  worse  and  worse,  and  when  others 
say,  '  There  is  no  help  for  him  in  his  God,'  and  when  his  own  heart 
and  hopes  are  dying.2 

Remedy  (4).  The  fourth  remedy  against  this  device  of  Satan  is,  to 
consider,  That  there  are  relapses  into  enormities,  ami  there  a/re  relapses 
into  infirmities.  Now  it  is  not  usual  with  God  to  leave  his  people 
frequently  to  relapse  into  enormities  ;  for  by  his  Spirit  and  grace,  by 
his  smiles  and  frowns,  by  his  word  and  rod,  he  doth  usually  preserve 
his  people  from  a  frequent  relapsing  into  enormities  ;  yet  he  doth  leave 
his  choicest  ones  frequently  to  relapse  into  infirmities  (and  of  his  grace 
he  pardons  them  in  course),  as  idle  words,  passion,  vain  thoughts,  &c.3 
Though  gracious  souls  strive  against  these,  and  complain  of  these,  and 
weep  over  these,  yet  the  Lord,  to  keep  them  humble,  leaves  them  fre- 
quently to  relapse  into  these  ;  and  these  frequent  relapses  into  infirmi- 
ties shall  never  be  their  bane,  because  they  be  their  burden. 

Remedy  (5).  The  fifth  remedy  against  this  device  of  Satan  is,  to 
consider,  That  there  are  vrwolwntary  relapses,  and  there  are  volun- 
tary relapses.  Involuntary  relapses  are,  when  the  resolution  and  full 
bent  of  the  heart  is  against  sin,  when  the  soul  strives  with  all  its  might 
against  sin,  by  sighs  and  groans,  by  prayers  and  tears,  and  yet  out  of 
weakness  is  forced  to  fall  back  into  sin,  because  there  is  not  spiritual 
strength  enough  to  overcome.  Now,  though  involuntary  relapses  must 
humble  us,  yet  they  must  never  discourage  nor  defect  us  ;  for  God  will 
freely  and  readily  pardon  those,  in  course.  Voluntary  relapses  are, 
when  the  soul  longs  and  loves  to  '  return  to  the  flesh-pots  of  Egypt,' 
Exod.  xvi.  3 ;  when  it  is  a  pleasure  and  a  pastime  to  a  man  to  return 

1  Perhaps  the  prodigal  sets  out  unto  us  a  Christian  relapse,  for  he  was  a  son  before, 
and  with  his  father,  mil  then  went  away  from  him,  and  spent  all;  and  yet  he  was  not 
quite  undone,  but  returned  again. 

-  'I'll.'  prodigal  saw  (he  compassion  of  his  father  the  greater,  in  receiving  him  after  he 
had  run  away  from  him. 

3  Relapses  into  enormities  are  peccata  mtinerantia  et  divastantia,  wounding  and  wast- 
ing sins ;  therefore  the  Lord  is  graciously  pleased  to  put  under  his  everlasting  arms,  and 
stay  his  chosen  ones  from  frequent  falling  into  them. 


2  Cor.  II.  11.]  against  satan's  devices.  113 

to  his  old  courses,  such  voluntary  relapses  speak  out  the  man  blinded, 
hardened,  and  ripened  for  ruin,  &C.1 

Remedy  (6).  The  sixth  remedy  against  this  device  of  Satan  is,  to 
consider,  That  there  is  no  such  povjer,  or  infinite  virtue,  in  the  greatest 
horror  or  sorrow  the  soul  can  be  under  for  sin,  nor  in  the  sweetest  or 
choicest  discoveries  of  God's  grace  and  love  to  the  soul,  as  for  ever  to 
fence  and  secure  the  soul  from  relapsing  into  the  same  sin.  Grace  is 
but  a  created  habit,  that  may  be  prevailed  against  by  the  secret,  subtle, 
and  strong  workings  of  sin  in  our  hearts  ;  and  those  discoveries  that 
God  makes  of  his  love,  beauty,  and  glory  to  the  soul,  do  not  always 
abide  in  their  freshness  and  power  upon  the  heart ;  but  by  degrees  they 
fade  and  wear  off,  and  then  the  soul  may  return  again  to  folly,  as  we 
see  in  Peter,  who,  after  he  had  a  glorious  testimony  from  Christ's  own 
mouth  of  his  blessedness  and  happiness,  labours  to  prevent  Christ  from 
going  up  to  Jerusalem  to  suffer,  out  of  bare  slavish  fears  that  he  and 
his  fellows  could  not  be  secure,  if  his  Master  should  be  brought  to  suf- 
fer, Mat.  xvi.  15-19,  and  ver.  22-24.  And  again,  after  thisr  Christ  had 
him  up  into  the  mount,  and  there  shewed  him  his  beauty  and  his  glory, 
to  strengthen  him  against  the  hour  of  temptation  that  was  coming  upon 
him  ;  and  yet,  soon  after  he  had  the  honour  and  happiness  of  seeing 
the  glory  of  the  Lord  (which  most  of  his  disciples  had  not),  he  basely  and 
most  shamefully  denies  the  Lord  of  glory,  thinking  by  that  means  to 
provide  for  his  own  safety  ;2  and  yet  again,  after  Christ  had  broke  his 
heart  with  a  look  of  love  for  his  most  unlovely  dealings,  and  bade  them 
that  were  first  acquainted  with  his  resurrection  to  '  go  and  tell  Peter 
that  he  was  risen/  Mark  xvi.  7  ;  I  say,  after  all  this,  slavish  fears  pre- 
vail upon  him,  and  he  basely  dissembles,  and  plays  the  Jew  with  the 
Jews,  and  the  Gentile  with  the  Gentiles,  to  the  seducing  of  Barnabas, 
&c,  Gal.  ii.  11-13. 

Yet,  by  way  of  caution,  know,  it  is  very  rare  that  God  doth  leave  his 
beloved  ones  frequently  to  relapse  into  one  and  the  same  gross  sin ;  for 
the  law  of  nature  is  in  arms  against  gross  sins,  as  well  as  the  law  of 
grace,  so  that  a  gracious  soul  cannot,  dares  not,  will  not,  frequently 
return  to  gross  folly.  And  God  hath  made  even  his  dearest  ones  dearly 
smart  for  their  relapses,  as  may  be  seen  by  his  dealings  with  Samson, 
Jehoshaphat,  and  Peter.  Ah,  Lord  !  what  a  hard  heart  hath  that  man, 
that  can  see  thee  stripping  and  whipping  thy  dearest  ones  for  their 
relapses,  and  yet  make  nothing  of  returning  to  folly,  &c. 

The  eighth  device  that  Satan  hath  to  keep  souls  in  a  sad,  doubting, 
and  questionable  condition,  is, 

Device  (8).  By  persuading  them  that  their  estate  is  not  good,  their 
hearts  are  not  upright,  their  graces  are  not  sound,  because  they  are  so 
followed,  vexed,  and  tormented  with  temptations.  It  is  his  method, 
first  to  weary  and  vex  thy  soul  with  temptations,  and  then  to  tempt 
the  soul,  that  surely  it  is  not  beloved,  because  it  is  so  much  tempted. 
And  by  this  stratagem  he  keeps  many  precious  souls  in  a  sad,  doubting, 

1  There  is  a  great  difference  between  a  sheep  that  by  weakness  falls  into  the  mire,  and 
a  swine  that  delights  to  wallow  in  the  mire  ;  between  a  woman  that  is  forced,  though 
she  strives  and  cries  out,  and  an  alluring  adulteress. 

2  Christ  upbraided  his  disciples  for  their  unbelief  and  hardness  of  heart,  who  had  seen 
his  glory,  '  as  the  glory  of  the  only  begotten  Son  of  God,  full  of  grace  and  truth.' 

VOL.  I.  H 


114-  PRECIOUS  REMEDIES  [2  COR.  II.  11. 

and  mourning  temper  many  years,  as  many  of  the  precious  sons  of  Sion 
have  found  by  woful  experience,  &C.1 

Now  the  remedies  against  this  device  are  these  : 

Remedy  (1).  The  first  remedy  against  this  device  of  Satan  is,  solemnly 
to  consider,  That  those  tltat  have  been  best  and  most  beloved,  have  been 
most  tempted  by  Satan.  Though  Satan  can  never  rob  a  Christian  of 
his  crown,  yet  such  is  his  malice,  that  he  will  therefore  tempt,  that 
he  may  spoil  them  of  their  comforts.  Such  is  his  enmity  to  the  Father, 
that  the  nearer  and  dearer  any  child  is  to  him,  the  more  will  Satan 
trouble  him,  and  vex  him  with  temptations.  Christ  himself  was  most 
near  and  most  dear,  most  innocent  and  most  excellent,  and  yet  none  so 
much  tempted  as  Christ.  David  was  dearly  beloved,  and  yet  by  Satan 
tempted  to  number  the  people.2  Job  was  highly  praised  by  God  him- 
self, and  yet  much  tempted  ;  witness  those  sad  things  that  fell  from  his 
mouth,  when  he  was  wet  to  the  skin.  Peter  was  much  prized  by  Christ ; 
witness  that  choice  testimony  that  Christ  gave  of  his  faith  and  happi- 
ness, and  his  shewing  him  his  glory  in  the  mount,  and  that  eye  of  pity 
that  he  cast  upon  him  after  his  fearful  fall,  &c,  and  yet  tempted  by 
Satan.  '  And  the  Lord  said,  Simon,  Simon,  behold,  Satan  hath  desired 
to  have  you,  that  he  may  sift  you  as  wheat :  but  I  have  prayed  for 
thee,  that  thy  faith  fail  thee  not,'  &c,  Luke  xxii.  31,  32. 

Paul  had  the  honour  of  being  exalted  as  high  as  heaven,  and  of  seeing 
that  glory  that  could  not  be  expressed  ;  and  yet  he  was  no  sooner  stepped 
out  of  heaven,  but  he  is  buffeted  by  Satan,  '  lest  he  should  be  exalted 
above  measure,'  2  Cor.  xii.  2,  7.  If  these,  that  were  so  really,  so  glo- 
riously, so  eminently  beloved  of  God,  if  these,  that  have  lived  in  heaven, 
and  set  their  feet  upon  the  stars,  have  been  tempted,  let  no  saints  judge 
themselves  not  to  be  beloved,  because  they  are  tempted.  It  is  as  natu- 
ral for  saints  to  be  tempted,  that  are  dearly  beloved,  as  it  is  for  the  sun 
to  shine,  or  a  bird  to  sing.  The  eagle  complains  not  of  her  wings,  nor 
the  peacock  of  his  train,  nor  the  nightingale  of  her  voice,  because  these 
are  natural  to  them  ;  no  more  should  saints  of  their  temptations,  because 
they  are  natural  to  them.  '  For  we  wrestle  not  against  flesh  and  blood, 
but  against  principalities,  against  powers,  against  the  rulers  of  the  dark- 
ness of  this  world,  against  spiritual  wickedness  in  high  places,'  Eph. 
vi.  12. 

Remedy  (2).  The  second  remedy  against  this  device  of  Satan  is,  to 
consider,  That  all  the  temjrfations  that  befall  the  saints  shall  be  sanc- 
tified to  them  by  a  hand  of  love.  Ah  !  the  choice  experiences  that  the 
saints  get  of  the  power  of  God  supporting  them,  of  the  wisdom  of  God 
directing  them  (so  to  handle  their  spiritual  weapons,  their  graces,  as 
not  only  to  resist,  but  to  overcome),  of  the  mercy  and  goodness  of  the 
Lord  pardoning  and  succouring  of  them.  And  therefore,  saith  Paul, 
'  I  received  the  messenger  of  Satan  for  to  buffet  me,  lest  I  should  be 
exalted,  lest  I  should  be  exalted  above  measure,'  2  Cor.  xii.  7.3     Twice 

1  He  may  so  tempt  as  to  make  a  saint  weary  of  his  life  :  Job  x.  1,  '  My  soul  is  weary 
of  my  life.' 

2  Pirates  do  not  ubg  to  set  upon  poor  empty  vessels — [See  '  Ep.  Dedicatory.' — G.]  ; 
and  beggars  need  not  fear  the  thief.  Those  that  have  most  of  God,  and  are  most  rich 
in  prace,  shall  be  most  set  upon  by  Satan,  who  is  the  greatest  and  wisest  pirate  in  the 
v><  rid. 

3  Vide  Bezaro,  Grotium,  et  Estium  [on  the  passage. — G."]. 


2  Cor.  II.  11.]  against  satan's  devices.  115 

in  that  verse  ;  he  begins  with  it,  and  ends  with  it.  If  he  had  not  been 
buffeted,  who  knows  how  his  heart  would  have  swelled  ;  he  might 
have  been  carried  higher  in  conceit,  than  before  he  was  in  his  ecstasy. 
Temptation  is  God's  school,  wherein  he  gives  his  people  the  clearest  and 
sweetest  discoveries  of  his  love  ;'  a  school  wherein  God  teaches  his 
people  to  be  more  frequent  and  fervent  in  duty.  When  Paul  was  buf- 
feted, then  he  prayed  thrice,  i.  e.  frequently  and  fervently  ;  a  school 
wherein  God  teaches  his  people  to  be  more  tender,  meek,  and  compas- 
sionate to  other  poor,  tempted  souls  than  ever ;  a  school  wherein  God 
teaches  his  people  to  see  a  greater  evil  in  sin  than  ever,  and  a  greater 
emptiness  in  the  creature  than  ever,  and  a  greater  need  of  Christ  and 
free  grace  than  ever  ;  a  school  wherein  God  will  teach  his  people  that 
all  temptations  are  but  his  goldsmiths,  by  which  he  will  try  and  refine, 
and  make  his  people  more  bright  and  glorious.  The  issue  of  all  temp- 
tations shall  be  to  the  good  of  the  saints,  as  you  may  see  by  the  temp- 
tations that  Adam  and  Eve,  and  Christ  and  David,  and  Job  and  Peter 
and  Paul  met  with.  Those  hands  of  power  and  love,  that  bring  light 
out  of  darkness,  good  out  of  evil,  sweet  out  of  bitter,  life  out  of  death, 
heaven  out  of  hell,  will  bring  much  sweet  and  good  to  his  .people,  out  of 
all  the  temptations  that  come  upon  them. 

Remedy  (3).  The  third  remedy  against  this  device  of  Satan  is,  wisely 
to  consider,  That  no  temptations  do  hurt  or  harm  the  saints,  so  long 
as  they  are  resisted  by  them,  and  prove  the  greatest  afflictions  that  can 
befall  them.  It  is  not  Satan's  tempting,  but  your  assenting  ;  not  his 
enticing,  but  your  yielding,  that  makes  temptations  hurtful  to  your 
soul.  If  the  soul  when  it  is  tempted  resists  temptation,  and  saith  with 
Christ,  '  Get  thee  behind  me,  Satan,'  Mat.  xvi.  23  ;  and  with  that  young 
convert,  '  I  am  not  the  man  I  was/ — ego  non  sum  ego — or  as  Luther 
counsels  all  men  to  answer  all  temptations  with  these  words — Chris- 
tianus  sum — I  am  a  Christian.  If  a  man's  temptation  be  his  greatest 
affliction,  then  is  the  temptation  no  sin  upon  his  soul,  though  it  be  a 
trouble  upon  his  mind.  When  a  soul  can  look  the  Lord  in  the  face, 
and  say,  Ah,  Lord !  I  have  many  outward  troubles  upon  me,  I  have 
lost  such  and  such  a  near  mercy,  and  such  and  such  desirable  mercies  ; 
and  yet  thou  that  knowest  the  heart,  thou  knowest  that  all  my  crosses 
and  losses  do  not  make  so  many  wounds  in  my  soul,  nor  fetch  so  many 
sighs  from  my  heart,  tears  from  my  eyes,  as  those  temptations  do  that 
Satan  follows  my  soul  with  !  When  it  is  thus  with  the  soul,  then 
temptations  are  only  the  soul's  trouble,  they  are  not  the  soul's  sin. 

Satan  is  a  malicious  and  envious  enemy.  As  his  names  are,  so  is  he  ; 
his  names  are  all  names  of  enmity  ;  the  accuser,  the  tempter,  the  de- 
stroyer, the  devourer,  the  envious  man  ;  and  this  malice  and  envy  of  his 
he  shews  sometimes  by  tempting  men  to  such  sins  as  are  quite  contrary 
to  the  temperature  of  their  bodies,  as  he  did  Vespasian  and  Julian,  men 
of  sweet  and  excellent  natures,  to  be  most  bloody  murderers.2  And 
sometimes  he  shews  his  malice  by  tempting  men  to  such  things  as  will 

1  Luther  said,  there  were  three  things  that  made  a  preacher,  meditation,  prayer,  and 
temptation. 

2  Sometimes  he  shews  his  malice  hy  letting  those  things  ahide  by  the  soul,  as  may 
most  vex  and  plague  the  soul,  as  Gregory  observes  in  his  leaving  of  Job's  wife,  which  was 
not  out  of  his  forgetfulness,  carelessness,  or  any  love  or  pity  to  Job,  but  to  vex  and  tor- 
ment him,  and  to  work  him  to  blaspheme  God,  despair,  and  die,  &c. 


116  PRECIOUS  REMEDIES  [2  COR.  II.  11. 

bring  them  no  honour  nor  profit,  &c.  '  Fall  down  and  worship  me,' 
Mat.  iv.  9,  to  blasphemy,  and  atheism,  &c.,  the  thoughts  and  first  motions 
whereof  cause  the  heart  and  flesh  to  tremble.  And  sometimes  he  shews 
his  malice  by  tempting  them  to  those  sins  which  they  have  not  found 
their  natures  prone  to,  and  which  they  abhor  in  others.  Now,  if  the 
soul  resists  these,  and  complains  of  these,  and  groans  and  mourns  under 
these,  and  looks  up  to  the  Lord  Jesus  to  be  delivered  from  these,  then 
shall  they  not  be  put  down  to  the  soul's  account,  but  to  Satan's,  who 
shall  be  so  much  the  more  tormented,  by  how  much  the  more  the  saints 
have  been  by  him  maliciously  tempted,  &c. 

Make  present  and  peremptory  resistance  against  Satan's  temptations, 
bid  defiance  to  the  temptation  at  first  sight.  It  is  safe  to  resist,  it  is 
dangerous  to  dispute.  Eve  lost  herself  and  her  posterity  by  falling 
into  lists1  of  dispute,  when  she  should  have  resisted,  and  stood  upon 
terms  of  defiance  with  Satan.  He  that  would  stand  in  the  hour  of 
temptation  must  plead  with  Christ,  'It  is  written.'  He  that  would 
triumph  over  temptations  must  plead  still,  'It  is  written.2  Satan 
is  bold  and  impudent,  and  if  you  are  not  peremptory  in  your 
resistance,  he  will  give  you  fresh  onsets.  It  is  your  greatest  honour, 
and  your  highest  wisdom,  peremptorily  to  withstand  the  beginnings  of 
a  temptation,  for  an  after- remedy  comes  often  too  late. 

Mrs  Catherine  Bretterege  once,  after  a  great  conflict  with  Satan,  said, 
'  Reason  not  with  me,  I  am  but  a  weak  woman ;  if  thou  hast  anything 
to  say,  say  it  to  my  Christ ;  he  is  my  advocate,  my  strength,  and  my 
redeemer,  and  he  shall  plead  for  me.'3 

Men  must  not  seek  to  resist  Satan's  craft  with  craft,  sed  per  aperturn 
Martemn,  but  by  open  defiance.  He  shoots  with  Satan  in  his  own  bow, 
who  thinks  by  disputing  and  reasoning  to  put  him  off.  As  soon  as  a 
temptation  shews  its  face,  say  to  the  temptation,  as  Ephraim  to  his  idols, 
'  Get  you  hence,  what  have  I  any  more  to  do  with  you  ?'  Hosea  xiv.  8. 
Oh  !  say  to  the  temptation,  as  David  said  to  the  sons  of  Zeruiah,  '  What 
have  I  to  do  with  you  V  2  Sam.  xvi.  10.  You  will  be  too  hard  for  me. 
He  that  doth  thus  resist  temptations,  shall  never  be  undone  by  tempta- 
tions, &c.4 

Make  strong  and  constant  resistance  against  Satan's  temptations. 
Make  resistance  against  temptations  by  arguments  drawn  from  the 
honour  of  God,  the  love  of  God,  your  union  and  communion  with  God; 
and  from  the  blood  of  Christ,  the  death  of  Christ,  the  kindness  of  Christ, 
the  intercession  of  Christ,  and  the  glory  of  Christ ;  and  from  the  voice 
of  the  Spirit,  the  counsel  of  the  Spirit,  the  comforts  of  the  Spirit,  the 
presence  of  the  Spirit,  the  seal  of  the  Spirit,  the  whisperings  of  the 
Spirit,  the  commands  of  the  Spirit,  the  assistance  of  the  Spirit,  the  wit- 
ness of  the  Spirit;  and  from  the  glory  of  heaven,  the  excellency  of  grace, 

1  '  Artifices.'     Cf.  Ilalliwcll,  sub  voce. — G. 

*  Winn  Constantino  the  emperor  was  told  that  there  was  no  means  to  euro  his  lep- 
rosy but  by  bathing  his  body  in  the  blood  of  infants,  lie  presently  answered,  Malo  semper 
wgrolarc  quam  tali  remedio  convalescere,  I  had  rather  not  be  cured  than  use  such  a  remedy. 

*  See  '  Two  Funeral  Sermons  for  Mrs  Catherine  Bretterege;'  the  one  by  W.  Harrison, 
the  other  by  W.  Legh.     lf>05.'— G. 

4  1  have  road  of  one,  who,  being  tempted  with  offers  of  money  to  desert  Christ,  gave 
this  excellent  answer  :  Let  nut  any  man  think  that  he  will  embrace  other  men's  goods 
to  forsake  Christ,  who  hath  forsaken  his  own  proper  goods  to  follow  Christ. 


2  Cor.  II.  11.]  against  satan's  devices.  117 

the  beauty  of  holiness,  the  worth  of  the  soul,  and  the  vileness  or  bitter- 
ness and  evil  of  sin — the  least  sin  being  a  greater  evil  than  the  greatest 
temptation  in  the  world. 

And  look  that  you  make  constant  resistance,  as  well  as  strong  resist- 
ance ;  be  constant  in  arms.  Satan  will  come  on  with  new  temptations 
when  old  ones  are  too  weak.1  In  a  calm  prepare  for  a  storm.  The 
tempter  is  restless,  impudent,  and  subtle  ;  he  will  suit  his  temptations 
to  your  constitutions  and  inclinations.  Satan  loves  to  sail  with  the 
wind.  If  your  knowledge  be  weak,  he  will  tempt  you  to  error  ;  if  your 
conscience  be  tender,  he  will  tempt  you  to  scrupulosity  and  too  much 
preciseness,  as  to  do  nothing  but  hear,  pray,  read,  &c.  ;  if  your  con- 
sciences be  wide  and  large,  he  will  tempt  you  to  carnal  security  ;  if 
you  are  bold-spirited,  he  will  tempt  you  to  presumption ;  if  timorous, 
to  desperation  ;  if  flexible,  to  inconstancy  ;  if  proud  and  stiff,  to  gross 
folly  ;  therefore  still  fit  for  fresh  assaults,  make  one  victory  a  step  to 
another.  When  you  have  overcome  a  temptation,  take  heed  of  unbend- 
ing your  bow,  and  look  well  to  it,  that  your  bow  be  always  bent,  and 
that  it  remains  in  strength.  When  you  have  overcome  one  temptation, 
you  must  be  ready  to  enter  the  list2  with  another.  As  distrust  in  some 
sense  is  the  mother  of  safety,  so  security  is  the  gate  of  danger.  A  man 
had  need  to  fear  this  most  of  all,  that  he  fears  not  at  all.  If  Satan  be 
always  roaring,  we  should  be  always  a-watching  and  resisting  of  him. 
And  certainly  he  that  makes  strong  and  constant  resistance  of  Satan's 
temptations,  shall  in  the  end  get  above  his  temptations,  and  for  the 
present  is  secure  enough  from  being  ruined  by  his  temptations,  &c. 

For  a  close  of  this,  remember,  that  it  is  dangerous  to  yield  to  the  least 
sin  to  be  rid  of  the  greatest  temptation.  To  take  this  course  were  as  if 
a  man  should  think  to  wash  himself  clean  in  ink,  or  as  if  a  man  should 
exchange  a  light  cross,  made  of  paper,  for  an  iron  cross,  which  is  heavy, 
toilsome,  and  bloody.  The  least  sin  set  home  upon  the  conscience,  will 
more  wound,  vex,  and  oppress  the  soul,  than  all  the  temptations  in  the 
world  can  ;  therefore  never  yield  to  the  least  sin  to  be  rid  of  the  great- 
est temptation.3  Sidonius  Apollinarius  relateth  how  a  certain  man 
named  Maximus,  arriving  at  the  top  of  honour  by  indirect  means,  was 
the  first  day  very  much  wearied,  and  fetching  a  deep  sigh,  said,  '  Oh, 
Damocles  !  how  happy  do  I  esteem  of  thee,  for  having  been  a  king  but 
the  space  of  a  dinner !  I  have  been  one  whole  day,  and  can  bear  it  no 
longer/  *     I  will  leave  you  to  make  the  application. 

IV.  The  fourth  thing  to  be  shewed  is, 

The  several  ways  and  devices  that  tSatan  hath  to  destroy  and  en- 
snare all  sorts  and  ranks  of  men  in  the  world. 

I  shall  begin  with  the  honourable  and  the  great,  and  shew  you  the 
devices  that  Satan  hath  to  destroy  them.  I  will  only  instance  in  those 
that  are  most  considerable. 

Device  (1).  His  first  device  to  destroy  the  great  and  honourable  of 

1  Luke  iv.  13,  '  And  when  the  devil  had  ended  all  the  temptation,  he  departed  from 
him  for  a  season.'  Christ  had  no  rest  until  he  was  exactly  tried  with  all  kinds  of  temp- 
tations.    [Calvin  in  loc.—G  ]  2  '  Course.' — G. 

3  He  that  will  yield  to  sin  to  be  rid  of  temptation,  will  be  so  much  the  more  tempted, 
and  the  less  able  to  withstand  temptations. 

4  Opera:  Sidonius  C.  S.  Apollinaris,  sub  nomine  (Paris,  1652,  by  Sirmond).— G. 


118  PRECIOUS  REMEDIES  [2  COR.  II.  11. 

the  earth  is,  By  worhmg  them  to  make  it  /heir  business  to  seek  them- 
selves, to  seek  hotr  in  r/reat&n  themselves,  to  raise  themselves,  to  enrich 
themselves,  to  secure  themselves,  &c.,  as  you  may  see  in  Pharaoh,  Ahab, 
Rehoboam,  Jeroboam,  Absalom,  Joab,  Hainan,  &C.1  But  were  the 
Scripture  silent,  our  own  experiences  do  abundantly  evidence  this  way 
and  method  of  Satan  to  destroy  the  great  and  the  honourable  ;  to 
bury  their  Dames  in  the  dust,  and  their  souls  in  hell,  by  drawing  them 
wholly  to  mind  themselves,  and  only  to  mind  themselves,  and  in  all 
things  to  mind  themselves,  and  always  to  mind  themselves.  'All,' 
saith  the  apostle,  '  mind  themselves/  Philip,  ii.  21.  All  comparatively, 
in  respect  of  the  paucity  of  others,  that  let  fall  their  private  interests, 
and  drown  all  self-respects  in  the  glory  of  God  and  the  public  good,  &c. 

Now  the  remedies  against  this  device  are  these, 

Remedy  (1).  The  first  remedy  against  this  device  of  Satan  is,  solemnly 
to  consider,  That  self -.seel  in  <j  is  a  sin  thai  will  put  men  wpon  a  xvorbl 
of  sins,  upon  sins  not  only  against  the  law  of  God,  the  rules  of  the 
gospel,  but  that  are  against  the  very  laivs  of  nature,  that  are  so  much 
darkened  by  the  fall  of  man.2  It  puts  the  Pharisees  upon  opposing 
Christ,  and  Judas  upon  betraying  Christ,  and  Pilate  upon  condemning 
Christ.  It  puts  Gehazi  upon  lying,  and  Balaam  upon  cursing,  and 
Saul  and  Absalom  upon  plotting  David's  ruin.  It  put  Pharaoh  and 
Hainan  upon  contriving  ways  to  destroy  those  Jews  that  God  did  pur- 
pose to  save  by  his  mighty  arm.  It  puts  men  upon  using  wicked 
balances,  and  the  bag  of  deceitful  weights.  It  puts  men  upon  ways  of 
oppression,  and  '  selling  the  righteous  for  silver,  and  the  poor  for  a  pair 
of  shoes,'  &c,  Amos  ii.  6.  I  know  not  any  sin  in  the  world  but  this  sin 
of  self-seekmg  will  put  men  upon  it,  though  it  be  their  eternal  loss. 

Remedy  (2).  The  second  remedy  against  this  device  of  Satan  is, 
seriously  to  consider,  That  self-seeking  doth  exceedingly  abase  a  man. 
It  strips  him  of  all  his  royalty  and  glory.  Of  a  lord  it  makes  a  man 
become  a  servant  to  the  creature,  ay,  often  to  the  worst  of  creatures ; 
yea,  a  slave  to  slaves,  as  you  may  see  in  Judas,  Demas,  Balaam,  and 
the  Scribes  and  Pharisees.3  Self-seekers  bow  down  to  the  creatures,  as 
Gideon's  many  thousands  bowed  down  to  the  waters.  Self-seeking 
will  make  a  man  say  anything,  do  anything,  and  be  anything,  to  please 
the  lusts  of  others,  and  to  get  advantages  upon  others.  Self-seeking 
transforms  a  man  into  all  shapes  aud  forms  ;  now  it  makes  a  man  ap- 
pear as  an  angel  of  light,  anon  as  an  angel  of  darkness.4  Mow  self- 
seekers  are  seemingly  for  God,  anon  they  are  openly  against  God  ;  now 
you  shall  have  them  crying,  '  Hosanna  in  the  highest,'  and  anon, 
'  Crucify  him,  crucify  him  ;'  now  you  shall  have  them  build  with  the 
saints,  and  anon  you  shall  have  them  plotting  the  overthrow  of  the 
saints,  as  those  self-seekers  did  in  Ezra  and  Nehemiah's  time.  Self- 
seekers  are  the  basest  of  all  persons.     There  is  no  service  so  base,  so 

1  Self-seeking,  like  the  deluge,  overthrows  the  whole  world. 

2  Self-love  is  the  root  of  the  hatred  of  others,  2  Tim.  iii.  2.  First,  lovers  of  themselves, 
niul  then  fierce,  &c.  The  naturalists  observe,  that  those  beasts  which  are  most  cruel  to 
others  are  most  loving  to  their  own. 

3  A  self-seeker  is  a  Cato  without,  hut  a  Nero  within.  Domitian  would  seem  to  love 
them  beet  whom  he  willed  least  should  live,  and  that  is  the  very  temper  of  self-seekers. 

4  It  was  death  in  Moses'  rites  to  counterfeit  that  ceremonial  and  figurative  ointment, 
Ex.  xxx.     What  shall  it  then  be  to  counterfeit  the  spirit  of  life  and  holiness  ! 


2  Cor.  II.  11. J  against  satan's  devices.  119 

poor,  so  low,  but  they  will  bow  to  it.  They  cannot  look  neither  above, 
nor  beyond  their  own  lusts,  and  the  enjoyment  of  the  creature,  Rom. 
i.  25.     These  are  the  prime  and  ultimate  objects  of  their  intendments. 

It  is  said  of  Tiberius,  '  that  whilst  Augustus  ruled,  he  was  no  way 
tainted  in  his  reputation,  and  that  while  Drusus  and  Germanicus  were 
alive,  he  feigned  those  virtues  which  he  had  not,  to  maintain  a  good 
opinion  of  himself  in  the  hearts  of  the  people ;  but  after  he  had  got 
himself  out  of  the  reach  of  contradiction  and  controlment,  there  was  no 
fact  in  which  he  was  not  faulty,  no  crime  to  which  he  was  not  acces- 
sory.' My  prayer  shall  be,  that  Tiberius  his  spirit  may  not  be  found 
in  any  of  our  rulers,  lest  it  prove  their  ruin,  as  it  did  his  ;  and  that 
wherever  it  is,  it  may  be  detected,  loathed,  and  ejected,  that  so  neither 
the  state  nor  souls  may  be  ruined  by  it,  &c. 

Remedy  (3).  The  third  remedy  against  this  device  of  Satan  is, 
solemnly  To  dwell  upon  those  dreadful  curses  and  woes  that  are  from 
heaven  denounced  against  self -seeker,' .  '  Woe  unto  them  that  join 
house  to  house,  that  lay  field  to  field,  till  there  be  no  place,  that  they 
may  be  placed  alone  in  the  midst  of  the  earth,'  Isa.  v.  8.  So  Ha- 
bakkuk,  ii.  6,  9-12,  s  Woe  to  him  that  increaseth  that  which  is  not  his, 
and  to  him  that  ladeth  himself  with  thick  clay  !'  '  Woe  to  him  that 
coveteth  an  evil  covetousness  to  his  house,  that  he  may  set  his  nest  on 
high,  that  he  may  be  delivered  from  the  power  of  evil !  Thou  hast 
consulted  shame  to  thy  house  by  cutting  off  many  people,  and  hast 
sinned  against  thy  soul.  For  the  stone  shall  cry  out  of  the  wall,  and 
the  beam  out  of  the  timber  shall  answer  it.  Woe  to  him  that  buildeth 
a  town  with  blood,  and  establisheth  a  city  by  iniquity  !'  The  materials 
of  the  house  built  up  by  oppression  shall  come  as  joint  witnesses.  The 
stones  of  the  wall  shall  cry,  '  Lord,  we  were  built  up  by  blood  and 
violence  ;  and  the  beam  shall  answer,  True,  Lord,  even  so  it  is.'  The 
stones  shall  cry,  Vengeance,  Lord  !  upon  these  self-seekers  !  and  the 
beam  shall  answer,  Woe  to  him,  because  he  built  his  house  with  blood  ! ' 
So  Isaiah,  '  Woe  unto  them  that  decree  unrighteous  decrees,  and  that 
write  grievousness  which  they  have  prescribed  ;  to  turn  aside  the 
needy  from  judgment,  and  to  take  away  the  right  from  the  poor  of  my 
people,  that  widows  may  be  their  prey,  and  that  they  may  rob  the 
fatherless,'  Isa.  x.  1,  2.  So  Amos,  'Woe  unto  them  that  are  at  ease  in 
Zion,  and  trust  in  the  mountain  of  Samaria,  which  are  named  chief  of 
the  nations,  to  whom  the  house  of  Israel  came  ;  that  put  far  away  the 
evil  day,  and  cause  the  seat  of  violence  to  come  near  ;  that  lie  upon 
beds  of  ivory,  and  stretch  themselves  upon  their  couches,  and  eat  the 
lambs  out  of  the  flock,  and  the  calves  out  of  the  middle  of  the  stall ; 
that  drink  wine  in  bowls,  and  anoint  themselves  with  the  chief  oint- 
ments :  but  they  are  not  grieved  for  the  afflictions  of  Joseph,'  Amos  vi. 
1,  3-6.  So  Micah,  '  Woe  to  them  that  devise  iniquity,  and  work  evil 
upon  their  beds  !  when  the  morning  is  light,  they  practise  it,  because 

1  Crassus,  a  very  rich  Roman,  and  a  great  self-seeker,  for  greedy  desire  of  gold,  he 
managed  war  against  the  Parthians,  by  whom  both  he  and  thirty  thousand  Romans  were 
slain.  And  bpcause  the  barbarians  conjectured  that  he  made  this  assault  upon  them  for 
their  gold,  therefore  they  melted  gold,  and  poured  it  into  his  dead  body,  saying,  Satura 
te  auro,  Satisfy  thyself  with  gold.  [The  above  was  done  by  Orodes,  who  said,  '  Sate  thy- 
self now  with  that  metal  of  which  in  life  thou  wert  so  greedy. ' — Dion.  Cass.  xl.  27 ; 
Florus,  iii.  11.— G.] 


120  PRECIOUS  REMEDIES  [2  COR.  II.  11. 

it  is  in  the  power  of  their  hand.  And  they  covet  fields,  and  take  them 
by  violence,  and  houses,  and  take  them  away.  So  they  oppress  a  man 
and  his  house,  even  a  man  and  his  heritage,'  Micah  ii.  1,  2. 

By  these  scriptures,  you  see  that  self-seekers  labour  like  a  woman 
in  travail,  but  their  birth  proves  their  death,  their  pleasure  their  pain, 
their  comforts  their  torment,  their  glory  their  shame,  their  exaltation 
their  desolation.  Loss,  disgrace,  trouble  and  shame,  vexation  and  con- 
fusion, will  be  the  certain  portion  of  self-seekers. 

When  the  Tartarians  had  taken  in  battle  the  Duke  of  Muscovia,  they 
made  a  cup  of  his  skull,  with  this  inscription,  'All  covet,  all  lose.'1 

Remedy  (4).  The  fourth  remedy  against  this  device  of  Satan  is, 
solemnly  to  consider,  That  self-seekers  are  self -losers  and  self -destroyers. 
Absalom  and  Judas  seek  themselves,  and  hang  themselves.  Saul  seeks 
himself,  and  kills  himself.  Ahab  seeks  himself,  and  loses  himself,  his 
crown  and  kingdom.  Pharaoh  seeks  himself,  and  overthrows  him- 
self and  his  mighty  army  in  the  Red  Sea.  Cain  sought  himself,  and 
slew  two  at  once,  his  brother  and  his  own  soul.  Gehazi  sought  change 
of  raiment,  but  God  changed  his  raiment  into  a  leprous  skin.  Haman 
sought  himself,  and  lost  himself.  The  princes  and  presidents  sought 
themselves,  in  the  ruin  of  Daniel,  but  ruined  themselves,  their  wives 
and  children.  That  which  self-seekers  think  should  be  a  staff  to  sup- 
port them,  becomes  by  the  hand  of  justice  an  iron  rod  to  break  them  ; 
tiiat  which  they  would  have  as  springs  to  refresh  them,  becomes  a  gulf 
utterly  to  consume  them.  The  crosses  of  self  seekers  shall  always 
exceed  their  mercies  :  their  pain  their  pleasure ;  their  torments  their 
comforts.  Every  self-seeker  is  a  self-tormentor,  a  self-destroyer ;  he 
carries  a  hell,  an  executioner,  in  his  own  bosom,  &c.2 

Remedy  (5).  The  fifth  remedy  against  this  device  of  Satan  is,  To 
dwell  much  upon  the  famous  examples  of  those  worthy  saints  that 
have  denied  themselves  and  preferred  the  public  good  before  their  own 
particular  advantage.'6  As  Moses,  '  And  the  Lord  said  unto  Moses, 
Let  me  alone,  that  I  may  destroy  them,  and  blot  out  their  name  from 
under  heaven :  and  I  will  make  of  thee  a  nation  mightier  and  greater 
than  they,'  Deut.  ix.  14.  Oh  !  but  this  offer  would  not  take  with  Moses, 
he  being  a  man  of  a  brave  public  spirit.  It  is  hot  in  his  desires  and 
prayers  that  the  people  might  be  spared  and  pardoned  ;  saith  he,  '  Par- 
don, I  beseech  thee,  the  iniquity  of  this  people,  unto  the  greatness  of 
thy  mercy,  and  as  thou  hast  forgiven  this  people  from  Egypt  until  now. 
And  the  Lord  said,  I  have  pardoned  according  to  thy  word,'  ix.  26,  et 
seq.  Ah  !  should  God  make  such  an  offer  to  many  that  write  themselves 
Moses,  and  are  called  by  many,  Moses,  I  am  afraid  they  would  prefer 
their  own  advantage  above  the  public  good  ;  they  would  not  care  what 
become  of  the  people,  so  they  and  theirs  might  be  made  great  and 

1  Tacitus  the  Roman  emperor's  word  was,  Sibi  bonus,  aliis  malus,  He  that  is  too  much 
for  himself,  fails  to  be  good  to  others. 

*  Adam  seeks  himself,  and  loses  himself,  paradise,  and  that  blessed  image  that  God 
had  stamped  upon  him.  Lot  seeks  himself,  Gen.  xiii.  10,  11,  and  loses  himself  and  his 
goods.  Peter  seeks  to  save  himself,  and  miserably  loses  himself.  Hezekiah,  in  the  busi- 
ness of  the  ambassadors,  seeks  himself,  and  lost  himself  and  his  life  too,  had  not  God 
saved  him  by  a  miracle. 

3  It  is  good  to  be  of  his  opinion  and  mind,  who  was  rather  willing  to  beautify  Italy 
than  his  own  house.  The  ancients  were  wont  to  place  the  statues  of  their  princes  by 
their  fountains,  intimating  they  were  (or  at  least  should  be)  fountains  of  the  public  good. 


2  COR.  II.  11.]  AGAINST  SATAN'S  DEVICES.  121 

glorious  in  the  world  ;  they  would  not  care  so  they  might  have  a  Babel 
built  for  them,  though  it  was  upon  the  ashes  and  ruin  of  the  people. 
Baser  spirits  than  these  are  not  in  hell ;  no,  not  in  hell ;  and  I  am  sure 
there  are  no  such  spirits  in  heaven.  Such  men's  hearts  and  principles 
must  be  changed,  or  they  will  be  undone  for  ever.  Nehemiah  was  a 
choice  soul,  a  man  of  a  brave  public  spirit,  a  man  that  spent  his  time, 
his  strength,  and  his  estate,  for  the  good  and  ease  of  his  people. 
'Moreover,'  saith  he,  'from  the  time  that  I  was  appointed  to  be  their 
governor  in  the  land  of  Judah,  from  the  twentieth  year  even  unto  the 
two  and  thirtieth  year  of  Artaxerxes  the  king,  that  is,  twelve  years,  I 
and  my  brethren  have  not  eaten  the  bread  of  the  governor.  Yea,  also 
I  continued  in  the  work  of  this  wall:  and  all  my  servants  were  gathered 
hither  unto  the  work.  Moreover,  there  were  at  my  table  an  hundred 
and  fifty  of  the  Jews  and  rulers,  besides  those  that  came  unto  us  from 
among  the  heathen  that  are  about  us.  Now,  that  which  was  prepared 
for  me  daily  was  one  ox,  and  six  choice  sheep;  also  fowls  were  prepared 
for  me,  and  once  in  ten  days  store  of  all  sorts  of  wine :  yet  for  all  this 
required  I  not  the  bread  of  the  governor,  because  the  bondage  was 
heavy  upon  the  people.  Think  upon  me,  O  my  God,  for  good,  accord- 
ing to  all  that  I  have  done  for  this  people,'  Neh.  v.  14-19.  So  Daniel 
was  a  man  of  a  brave  public  spirit:  'Then  the  presidents  and  princes 
sought  to  find  occasion  against  Daniel  concerning  the  kingdom  ;  but 
they  could  find  no  occasion  nor  fault ;  forasmuch  as  he  was  faithful, 
neither  was  there  any  error  or  fault  found  in  him.  Then  said  these 
men,  We  shall  not  find  any  occasion  against  this  Daniel,  except  we 
find  it  against  him  concerning  the  law  of  his  God,'  Daniel  vi.  4,  5.1 

Christ  had  a  public  spirit,  he  laid  out  himself,  and  laid  down  himself 
for  a  public  good.  Oh  !  never  leave  looking  and  meditating  upon  these 
precious  and  sweet  examples  till  your  souls  are  quickened  and  raised 
up,  to  act  for  the  public  good,  more  than  for  your  own  particular 
advantage.     Many  heathens  have  been  excellent  at  this.2 

Macrobius  writes  of  Augustus  Csesar,  in  whose  time  Christ  was  born, 
that  he  carried  such  an  entire  and  fatherly  affection  to  the  common- 
wealth, that  he  called  it  filiam  suam,  his  own  daughter ;  and  therefore 
refused  to  be  called  Dominus,  the  lord  or  master  of  his  country,  and 
would  only  be  called  Pater  patriae,  father  of  his  country,  because  he 
governed  it  not  by  fear,  per  timorem,  sed  per  amorem,  but  by  love  ; 
the  senate  and  the  people  of  Borne  jointly  saluting  him  by  the  name  of 
Pater  patriot,  father  of  his  country.  The  people  very  much  lamented 
his  death,  using  that  speech,  '  Would  he  had  never  been  born,  or  never 
died.'3 

So  Marcus  Begulus,  to  save  his  country  from  ruin,  exposed  himself 
to  the  greatest  sufferings  that  the  malice  and  rage  of  his  enemies  could 
inrlict. 

So  Titus  and  Aristides,  and  many  others,  have  been  famous  for  their 
preferring  the  public  good  above  their  own  advantage.     My  prayer  is, 

1  A  certain  great  emperor  coming  into  Egypt,  to  shew  the  zeal  he  had  for  the  public 
good,  saith  to  tho  Egyptians,  Draw  from  me  as  from  your  river  Nilus.  The  Counsellor 
saith,  a  statesman  should  be  thus  tripartited :  his  will  to  God,  his  love  to  his  master,  his 
heart  to  his  country,  his  secret  to  his  friend,  his  time  to  business. 

2  Solomon's  tribunal  was  underpropped  with  lions,  to  shew  what  spirit  and  metal  a 
magistrate  should  be  made  of.  8  Utinam  aut  non  nasceretur,  aut  [nori]  morerctur. 


122  PRECIOUS  REMEDIES  [2  COR.  II.  11. 

and  shall  be,  that  all  our  rulers  may  be  so  spirited  by  God,  that  they 
may  be  willing  to  be  anything,  to  be  nothing,  to  deny  themselves,  and 
to  tram])!.'  their  sinful  selves  under  feet,  in  order  to  the  honour  of  God, 
and  a  public  good  ;  that  so  neither  saints  nor  heathens  may  be  wit- 
nesses against  them  in  that  day,  wherein  the  hearts  and  practices  of  all 
the  rulers  in  the  world  shall  be  open  and  bare  before  him  that  judges 
the  world  in  righteousness  and  judgment. 

Remedy  (6).  The  sixth  remedy  against  this  device  of  Satan  is,  seriously 
to  consider,  That  self is  a  great  let  to  divine  things,-  therefore  the  pro- 
phets 'fm/  apostles  were  usually  ca/rried  out  of  themselves,  when  they 
had  the  clearest,  choicest,  highest,  and  most  glorious  visions.  Self- 
seeking  blinds  the  soul  that  it  cannot  see  a  beauty  in  Christ,  nor  an 
excellency  in  holiness  ;  it  distempers  the  palate  that  a  man  cannot  taste 
sweetness  in  the  word  of  God,  nor  in  the  ways  of  God,  nor  in  the  society 
of  the  people  of  God.  It  shuts  the  hand  against  all  the  soul-enriching 
offers  of  Christ ;  it  hardens  the  heart  against  all  the  knocks  and  en- 
treaties of  Christ ;  it  makes  the  soul  as  an  empty  vine,  and  as  a  barren 
wilderness  :  '  Israel  is  an  empty  vine,  he  bringeth  forth  fruit  to  himself,' 
Hosea  x.  1.  There  is  nothing  that  speaks  a  man  to  be  more  empty  and 
void  of  God,  Christ,  and  grace,  than  self-seeking.  The  Pharisees  were 
great  self-seekers,  and  great  undervalues  of  Christ,  his  word  and  Spirit. 
There  is  not  a  greater  hindrance  to  all  the  duties  of  piety  than  self- 
seeking.  Oh  !  this  is  that  that  keeps  many  a  soul  from  looking  after 
God  and  the  precious  things  of  eternity.  They  cannot  wait  on  God,  nor 
act  for  God,  nor  abide  in  those  ways  wherein  they  might  meet  with  God, 
by  reason  of  self.  Self-seeking  is  that  which  puts  many  a  man  upon 
neglecting  and  slighting  the  things  of  his  peace.  Self-seekers  will 
neither  go  into  heaven  themselves,  nor  suffer  others  to  enter,  that  are 
ready  to  take  the  kingdom  by  violence,  as  you  may  see  in  the  Scribes 
aud  Pharisees.  Oh  !  but  a  gracious  spirit  is  acted  quite  other  ways,  as 
you  may  see  in  that  sweet  scripture,  Cant.  vii.  13,  'At  our  gates  are 
all  manner  of  pleasant  fruits,  new  and  old,  which  I  have  laid  up  for  thee, 
O  beloved.'  All  the  church  hath  and  is,  is  only  for  him.  Let  others 
bear  fruit  to  themselves,  and  lay  up  for  themselves,  gracious  spirits  will 
hide  for  Christ  and  lay  up  for  Christ.1  All  the  divine  endeavours  and 
productions  of  saints  fall  into  God's  bosom,  and  empty  themselves  into 
his  lap.  As  Christ  lays  up  his  merits  for  them,  his  graces  for  them,  his 
comforts  for  them,  his  crown  for  them,  so  they  lay  up  all  their  fruits, 
and  all  their  loves,  all  their  graces,  and  all  their  experiences,  and  all 
their  services,  only  for  him  who  is  the  soul  of  their  comforts,  and  the 
crown  and  top  of  all  their  royalty  and  glory,  &c. 

The  second  device  that  Satan  hath  to  ensnare  and  destroy  the  great 
and  honourable  of  the  earth  is, 

Device  (2).  By  engaging  them  against  the  people  of  the  Most  High, 
again  t  those  that  are  lew  jewels,  his  pleasant  'portion,  the  delight  of  h  is 
eye  and  the  joy  of  his  heart  Thus  he  drew  Pharaoh  to  engage  against 
the  children  of  Israel,  and  that  was  his  overthrow,  Exod.  xiv.     So  he 

1  Self-seekers,  with  Esau,  prefer  a  mess  of  pottage  above  their  birthright,  aud  with  the 
men  of  Shecheru,  esteem  the  bramble  above  the  vine,  the  olive,  and  the  lig-treo,  yea,  empty 
things  above  a  full  Christ,  and  base  things  above  a  glorious  Christ.  The  saints'  motto  is, 
]' ropier  te,  Dominc,  propter  te.     The  saints'  motto  is,  iYo/j  nobis,  Domine. 


2  Cor.  II.  11.]  against  satan's  devices.  123 

engaged  Hainan  against  the  Jews,  and  so  brought  him  to  hang  upon 
that  gallows  that  he  had  made  for  Mordecai,  Esther  vii.  So  he  engaged 
those  princes  and  presidents  against  Daniel,  which  was  the  utter  ruin 
of  them  and  their  relations,  Dan.  vi.  So  in  Rev.  xx.  7-9,  '  And  when 
the  thousand  years  are  expired,  Satan  shall  be  loosed  out  of  his  prison. 
And  he  shall  go  out  to  deceive  the  nations  which  are  in  the  four  quarters 
of  the  earth,  Gog  and  Magog,  to  gather  them  together  to  battle,  whose 
number  is  as  the  sand  of  the  sea.  And  they  went  up  upon  the  breadth 
of  the  earth,  and  compassed  the  camp  of  the  saints  about,  and  the 
beloved  city  ;  and  fire  came  down  from  heaven  and  consumed  them.' 

Now  the  remedies  against  this  device  are  these  : 

Remedy  (1).  The  first  remedy  against  this  device  of  Satan  is,  solemnly 
to  consider,  That  none  have  engaged  against  the  saints,  but  have  been 
ruined  by  the  God  of  saints.  Divine  justice  hath  been  too  hard  for  all 
that  have  opposed  and  engaged  against  the  saints,  as  is  evident  in  Saul, 
Pharaoh,  Hainan,  &c  :  '  He  reproved  kings  for  their  sakes,  saying,  Touch 
not  mine  anointed,  nor  do  my  prophets  no  harm,'  Ps.  cv.  15.  When 
men  of  Balaam  spirits  and  principles  have  been  engaged  against  the 
saints,  how  hath  the  angel  of  the  Lord  met  them  in  the  way, and  justled 
their  bones  against  the  wall !  how  hath  he  broke  their  backs  and  necks, 
and  by  his  drawn  sword  cut  them  off  in  the  prime  of  their  days,  and  in 
the  height  of  their  sins  I1  Ah !  what  a  harvest  hath  hell  had  in  our  days,  of 
those  who  have  engaged  against  the  Lamb,  and  those  that  are  called 
chosen  and  faithful!  Ah!  how  hath  divine  justice  poured  out  their 
blood  as  water  upon  the  ground !  how  hath  he  laid  their  honour  and 
glory  in  the  dust,  who,  in  the  pride  and  madness  of  their  hearts,  said, 
as  Pharaoh,  '  We  will  pursue,  we  will  overtake,  we  will  divide  the  spoil, 
our  lusts  shall  be  satisfied  upon  them.  We  will  draw  our  sword,  our 
hand  shall  destroy  them/  Exod.  xv.  9.  In  the  things  wherein  they  have 
spoken  and  done  proudly,  justice  hath  been  above  them.  History 
abounds  in  nothing  more  than  in  instances  of  this  kind,  &c. 

Remedy  (2).  The  second  remedy  against  this  device  of  Satan  is,  To 
dwell  some  time  every  morning  upon  the  following  scriptures,  wherein 
God  hath  engaged  himself  to  stand  by  his  people  and  for  his  people, 
and  to  make  them  victorious  over  the  greatest  and  wisest  of  their 
enemies.2  Associate  yourselves,  saith  the  Lord  by  the  prophet,  '  O  ye 
people,  and  ye  shall  be  broken  in  pieces  ;  and  give  ear,  all  ye  of  far 
countries  :  gird  yourselves,  and  ye  shall  be  broken  in  pieces.  Take 
counsel  together,  and  it  shall  come  to  nought ;  speak  the  word,  and  it 
shall  not  stand :  for  God  is  with  us.'  '  Fear  not,  thou  worm  Jacob, 
and  ye  men  of  Israel :  I  will  help  thee,  saith  the  Lord,  and  thy  Re- 
deemer, the  holy  One  of  Israel.  Behold,  I  will  make  thee  a  new  sharp 
threshing  instrument  having  teeth  :  thou  shalt  thresh  the  mountains, 
and  beat  them  small,  and  shalt  make  the  hills  as  chaff.  Thou  shalt 
fan  them,  and  the  wind  shall  carry  them  away,  and  the  whirlwind  shall 
scatter  them,  and  thou  shalt  rejoice  in  the  Lord,  and  shalt  glory  in  the 
holy  One  of  Israel/     '  No  weapon  that  is  formed  against  thee  shall 

1  As  they  said  once  of  the  Grecians  in  the  epigram,  whom  they  thought  invulnerable, 
"We  shoot  at  them,  but  they  fall  not  down  ;  wo  wound  them,  and  not  kill  them,  &c. 
Tanto  plus  glorice  referemus,  quoniam  eo  plures  superabimus.  The  number  of  opposers 
makes  the  Christian's  conquest  the  more  illustrious,  said  Pedarelus  in  Erasmus. 

8  Ucciai poterunl,  sed  vinci  non poterant,  said  Cyprian  of  the  Christians  in  his  time. 


1 24?  PRECIOUS  REMEDIES  [2  COR.  II.  11. 

prosper,  and  every  tongue  that  shall  rise  against  thee  in  judgment  thou 
shalt  condemn.  This  is  the  heritage  of  the  servants  of  the  Lord,  and  their 
righteousness  is  of  me,  saith  the  Lord.'  '  Now  also  many  nations  are 
gathered  together  against  thee  that  say,  Let  us  be  defiled,  and  let  our 
eye  look  upon  Sion.  But  they  know  not  the  thoughts  of  the  Lord, 
neither  understand  they  his  counsel  ;  for  he  shall  gather  them  as  sheaves 
into  the  floor.  Arise  and  thresh,  0  daughter  of  Sion  :  I  will  make  thy 
horn  iron,  and  I  will  make  thy  hoof  brass,  and  thou  shalt  beat  in  pieces 
many  people,  and  I  will  consecrate  their  gain  unto  the  Lord,  and  their 
substance  unto  the  Lord  of  the  whole  earth/  'Behold,  I  will  make 
Jerusalem  a  cup  of  trembling  unto  all  the  people  round  about,  when 
they  shall  be  in  the  siege,  both  against  Judab  and  against  Jerusalem. 
And  in  that  day  will  I  make  Jerusalem  a  burdensome  stone  for  all 
people  :  all  that  burden  themselves  with  it  shall  be  cut  in  pieces,  though 
all  the  people  of  the  earth  be  gathered  together  against  it/1 

Remedy  (3).  The  third  remedy  against  this  device  of  Satan  is,  to  con- 
sider, That  you  cannot  engage  against  the  saints,  but  you  must  engage 
against  God  liimself  by  reason  of '  that  near  and  blessed  union  that  is 
between  God  and  them.  You  cannot  be  fighters  against  the  saints,  but 
you  will  be  found  in  the  casting  up  of  the  account  to  be  fighters  against 
God  himself.2  And  what  greater  madness  than  for  weakness  itself  to 
engage  against  an  almighty  strength  !  The  near  union  that  is  between 
the  Lord  and  believers,  is  set  forth  by  that  near  union  that  is  betwixt 
a  husband  and  his  wife.  '  They  two  shall  be  one  flesh.  This  is  a  great 
mystery  :  but  I  speak  concerning  Christ  and  the  church  ;  we  are  mem- 
bers of  his  body,  of  his  flesh,  and  of  his  bones,'  saith  the  apostle,  Eph. 
v.  32.  This  near  union  is  set  forth  by  that  union  that  is  between  the 
head  and  the  members,  which  make  up  one  body,  and  by  that  union 
that  is  betwixt  the  graff  and  the  stock,  which  are  made  one  by  insition.3 
The  union  between  the  Lord  and  a  believer  is  so  near,  that  you  cannot 
strike  a  believer,  but  the  Lord  is  sensible  of  it,  and  takes  it  as  done  to 
himself.  '  Saul,  Saul,  why  persecutest  thou  me  V  Acts  ix.  4  ;  and  '  in 
all  their  afflictions  he  was  afflicted,'  &c,  Isa.  lxiii.  9.  Ah.  souls !  who 
ever  engaged  against  God  and  prospered  ?  who  ever  took  up  the  sword 
against  him  but  perished  by  it  ?  God  can  speak  you  to  bell  and  nod 
you  to  hell  at  pleasure.  It  is  your  greatest  concernment  to  lay  down 
your  weapons  at  his  feet,  and  to  '  Kiss  the  Son,  lest  he  be  angry,  and 
you  perish  in  the  midway/  Ps.  ii.  12. 

Remedy  (4).  The  fourth  remedy  against  this  device  of  Satan  is, 
solemnly  to  consider,  That  you  are  much  engaged  to  the  saints,  as 
vtistruments  for  the  mercies  that  you  do  enjoy,  and  for  the  preventing 
and  removing  of  many  a  judgment  that  othenvise  might  have  been 
your  rain  before  tJris  day.  Were  it  not  for  the  saints'  sake,  God  would 
quickly  make  the  heavens  to  be  as  brass  and  the  earth  as  iron  ;  God 
would  quickly  strip  thee  of  thy  robes  and  glory,  and  set  thee  upon  the 
dunghill  with  Job.  They  are  the  props  that  bear  the  world  from  falling 
about  thy  cars,  and  that  keep  the  iron  rod  from  breaking  of  thy  bones. 
1  Isa.  viii  9,  10  ;  xli.  14, 15,  and  liv.  17  ;  Micah  iv.  11-13  ;  Zecli.  xii.  2,  3.— G. 
*  Acts-v.  39.  It  seems  to  bo  drawn  from  the  fable  of  the  giants,  which  were  said  to 
make  war  with  the  gods. 

3  The  soul's  happiness  consists  not  in  anything,  but  in  its  union  with  God;  nor  iti 
misery  lies  uot  so  much  in  anything,  as  in  its  disuuiou  from  God. 


2  Cor.  II  11.]  against  satan's  devices.  125 

'  Therefore  he  said  that  he  would  destroy  them,  had  not  Moses  his  chosen 
stood  before  him  in  the  breach,  to  turn  away  his  wrath,  lest  he  should 
destroy  them/  Ps.  cvi.  23. 

Ah  !  had  not  the  saints  many  a  time  cast  themselves  into  the  breach 
betwixt  God's  wrath  and  you,  you  had  been  cut  off  from  the  land  of  the 
living,  and  had  had  your  portion  with  those  whose  names  are  written 
in  the  dust.1  Many  a  nation,  many  a  city,  and  many  a  family,  is  sur- 
rounded with  blessings  for  the  Josephs'  sakes  that  live  therein,  and  are 
preserved  from  many  calamities  and  miseries  for  the  Moseses',  the 
Daniels',  the  Noahs',  and  the  Jobs'  sakes,  that  dwell  amongst  them. 
That  is  a  sweet  word,  Prov.  x.  25,  '  As  the  whirlwind  passeth,  so  is  the 
wicked  no  more  :  but  the  righteous  is  an  everlasting  foundation,  or  is 
the  foundation  of  the  world.'2  The  righteous  is  the  foundation  of  the 
world,  which  but  for  their  sakes  would  soon  shatter  and  fall  to  ruin.  So 
the  psalmist :  Ps.  lxxv.  3,  '  The  earth  and  all  the  inhabitants  thereof 
are  dissolved  :  I  bear  up  the  pillars  of  it.     Selah/ 

The  emperor  Marcus  Antoninus  being  in  Almany3  with  his  army,  was 
enclosed  in  a  dry  country  by  his  enemies,  who  so  stopped  all  the  pas- 
sages that  he  and  his  ariny  were  like  to  perish  for  want  of  water.  The 
emperor's  lieutenant  seeing  him  so  distressed,  told  him  that  he  had 
heard  that  the  Christians  could  obtain  any  thing  of  their  God  by  their 
prayers,  whereupon  the  emperor,  having  a  legion  of  Christians  in  his 
army,  desired  them  to  pray  to  their  God  for  his  and  the  army's  delivery 
out  of  that  danger,  which  they  presently  did,  and  presently  a  great 
thunder  fell  amongst  the  enemies,  and  abundance  of  water  upon  the 
Romans,  whereby  their  thirst  was  quenched,  and  the  enemies  overthrown 
without  any  fight.4  5  I  shall  close  up  this  last  remedy  with  those  sweet 
words  of  the  psalmist :  '  In  Judah  is  God  known  ;  his  name  is  great  in 
Israel.  In  Salem  also  is  his  tabernacle,  and  his  dwelling-place  in  Zion. 
There  brake  he  the  arrows  of  the  bow,  the  shield,  and  the  sword,  and 
the  battle.     Selah,'  Ps.  lxxvi.  1-3. 

Secondly,  Satan  hath  his  devices  to  ensnare  and  destroy  the  learned 
and  the  wise,  and  that  sometimes  by  working  them  to  pride  themselves 
in  their  parts  and  abilities  ;  and  sometimes  by  drawing  them  to  rest 
upon  their  parts  and  abilities;  and  sometimes  by  causing  them  to 
make  light  and  slight  of  those  that  want  their  parts  and  abilities, 
though  they  excel  them  in  grace  and  holiness;  and  sometimes  by 
drawing  them  to  engage  their  parts  and  abilities  in  those  ways  and 
things  that  make  against  the  honour  of  Christ,  the  joy  of  the  Spirit, 
the  advancement  of  the  gospel,  and  the  liberty  of  the  saints,  <&c.6  7 

Now  the  remedies  against  this  device  are  these. 

Remedy  (1).  The  first  remedy  against  this  device  of  Satan  is,  seriously 
to  consider,  That  you  have  nothing  but  what  you  have  received,  Christ 

1  Hie  homo  pot u it  apud  Deum  quod  volnit,  said  one  concerning  Luther.  He  could  have 
what  he  would  of  God.  Prayer  is  Porta  cozli,  clavis  paradisi,  the  gate  of  heaven,  a  key  to 
let  us  into  paradise.  When  the  danger  is  over,  the  saint  is  forgotten,  is  a  French  pro- 
verb, and  that  which  many  saints  in  England  have  found  by  experience. 

B  Q^y  TiD"1  Js°dh  Gnolam  from  Jasedh.  3  Germany. — G. 

4  The  famous  mythical  '  Thundering  Legion.'— G. 

8  Mary,  Queen  of  Scots,  that  was  mother  to  King  James,  was  wont  to  say,  That  she 
feared  Mr  Knox's  prayers  more  than  an  army  of  ten  thousand  men. 

6  John  v.  44  ;  1  Kings  xxii.  22-25  :  1  Cor.  i.  18-29. 

7  The  truth  of  this  you  may  see  in  the  learned  Scribes  and  Pharisees. 


12G  PRECIOUS  REMEDIES  [2  COR.  II.  11. 

being  as  well  lie  fountain  of  common  gifts  as  of  saving  grace.  *  What 
hast  thou/  saith  the  apostle,  '  that  thou  hast  not  received  ?  And  if 
thou  hast  received  it,  why  dost  thou  glory  as  though  thou  hadst  not 
received  it  ?'  1  Cor.  iv.  7.1  There  are  those  that  would  hammer  out 
their  own  happiness,  like  the  spider  climbing  up  by  the  thread  of  her 
own  weaving.  Of  all  the  parts  and  abilities  that  be  in  you,  you  may 
well  say  as  the  young  man  did  of  his  hatchet,  '  Alas,  master  !  it  was  but 
borrowed,'  2  Kings  vi.  5.  Alas,  Lord  !  all  I  have  is  but  borrowed  from 
that  fountain  that  fills  all  the  vessels  in  heaven  and  on  earth,  and  it 
overflows.  My  gifts  are  not  so  much  mine  as  thine  :  '  Of  thine  own 
have  we  offered  unto  thee/  said  that  princely  prophet,  &c,  1  Chron. 
xxix.  14. 

Remedy  (2).  The  second  remedy  against  this  device  of  Satan  is, 
solemnly  to  consider,  That  men's  leaning  and  trusting  to  their  own 
wits,  parts,  and  abilities,  have  been  their  utter  overthrow  and  ruin ; 
as  you  may  see  in  Ahithophel,  and  those  presidents  and  princes  that 
engaged  against  Daniel,  and  in  the  Scribes  and  Pharisees.  God  loves 
to  confute  men  in  their  confidences.2  He  that  stands  upon  his  parts 
and  abilities,  doth  but  stand  upon  a  quicksand  that  will  certainly  fail 
him.  There  is  nothing  in  the  world  that  provokes  God  more  to  with- 
draw from  the  soul  than  this  ;  and  how  can  the  soul  stand,  when  his 
strength  is  departed  from  him  ?  Everything  that  a  man  leans  upon  but 
God,  will  be  a  dart  that  will  certainly  pierce  his  heart  through  and 
through.  Ah  !  how  many  in  these  days  have  lost  their  estates,  their 
friends,  their  lives,  their  souls,  by  leaning  upon  their  admired  parts 
and  abilities  !  The  saints  are  described  by  their  leaning  upon  their 
beloved,  the  Lord  Jesus,  Cant.  viii.  5.  He  that  leans  only  upon  the 
bosom  of  Christ,  lives  the  highest,  choicest,  safest,  and  sweetest  life. 
Miseries  always  lie  at  that  man's  door  that  leans  upon  anything  below 
the  precious  bosom  of  Christ ;  such  a  man  is  most  in  danger,  and  this 
is  none  of  his  least  plagues,  that  he  thinks  himself  secure.  It  is  the 
greatest  wisdom  in  the  world  to  take  the  wise  man's  counsel :  '  Trust 
in  the  Lord  with  all  thine  heart,  and  lean  not  to  thine  own  understand- 
ing,' Prov.  iii.  5. 

Remedy  (3).  The  third  remedy  against  this  device  of  Satan  is,  to 
consider,  That  you  do  not  transcend  others  more  in  parts  a  ml  abilities, 
than  tliey  do  you  in  grace  and  holiness.  There  may  be,  and  often  is, 
great  parts  and  abilities,  where  there  is  but  little  grace,  yea,  no  grace ; 
and  there  may  be,  and  often  is,  a  great  deal  of  grace,  where  there  is  but 
weak  parts  and  abilities.3  You  may  be  higher  than  others  in  gifts  of 
knowledge,  utterance,  learning,  &c.  and  those  very  souls  may  be  higher 
than  you  in  their  communion  with  God,  in  their  delighting  in  God,  in 
their  dependence  upon  God,  in  their  affections  to  God,  and  in  their 
humble,  holy,  and  unblameable  walking  before  God.4  Is  it  folly  and 
madness  in  a  man,  to  make  light  and  slight  of  another,  because  he  is 

1  Qm'cqttid  es  dehes  creanli ;  quicquid  poles  debes  redimenti,  said  Bernard.  Whatso- 
ever thou  art,  thou  owest  to  him  that  made  thee  ;  and  whatsoever  thou  hast,  thou  owest 
to  him  that  redeemed  thee. 

-  (Miieral  councils  were  seldom  successful,  because  men  came  with  confidence,  leaning 
to  their  own  understanding,  and  seeking  for  victory  rather  than  verity,  saith  one. 

3  Judas  and  the  Scribes  and  Pharisees  had  great  parts,  but  no  prace.  The  disciples 
had  grace,  but  weak  parts.  *  Luke  xi.  ]  ;  xxiv.  19-28. 


2  Cor.  II.  11.]  against  satan's  devices.  127 

not  so  rich  in  lead  or  iron  as  he,  when  he  is  a  thousand  thousand  times 
richer  in  silver  and  gold,  in  jewels  and  in  pearls,  than  he  ?  And  is  it 
not  madness  and  folly  with  a  witness,  in  those  that  have  greater  parts 
and  abilities  than  others,  to  slight  them  upon  that  account,  when  that 
those  very  persons  that  they  make  light  and  slight  of  have  a  thousand 
times  more  grace  than  they  ?  And  yet,  ah  !  how  doth  this  evil  spirit 
prevail  in  the  world  ! 

It  was  the  sad  complaint  of  Austin  in  his  time  :  '  The  unlearned,' 
saith  he,  '  rise  up  and  take  heaven  by  violence,  and  we  with  all  our 
learning  are  thrust  down  to  hell.'1  It  is  sad  to  see  how  many  of  the 
rabbis  of  these  times  do  make  an  idol  of  their  parts  and  abilities,  and 
with  what  an  eye  of  pride,  scorn,  and  contempt  do  they  look  upon  those 
that  want  their  parts,  and  that  do  not  worship  the  idol  that  they  have 
set  up  in  their  own  hearts.  Paul,  who  was  the  great  doctor  of  the 
Gentiles,  did  wonderfully  transcend  in  all  parts  and  abilities  the  doctors 
and  rabbis  of  our  times,  and  yet,  ah  !  how  humbly,  how  tenderly,  how 
sweetly,  doth  he  carry  himself  towards  the  meanest  and  the  weakest  ! 
'  To  the  weak  I  became  as  weak,  that  I  might  win  the  weak  :  I  am 
made  all  things  to  all  men,  that  I  might  by  all  means  save  some,'  1  Cor. 
ix  22.  '  Who  is  weak,  and  I  am  not  weak  ?  Who  is  offended,  and  I 
burn  not  ?  Wherefore,  if  meat  make  my  brother  to  offend,  I  will  eat 
no  flesh  while  the  world  standeth,  lest  I  make  my  brother  to  offend,' 
1  Cor.  viii.  13.  But,  ah  !  how  little  of  this  sweet  spirit  is  to  be  found 
in  the  doctors  of  our  age,  who  look  sourly  and  speak  bitterly  against 
those  that  do  not  see  as  they  see,  nor  cannot  speak  as  they  speak.  Sirs  ! 
the  Spirit  of  the  Lord,  even  in  despised  saints,  will  be  too  hard  for  you, 
and  his  appearance  in  them,  in  these  latter  days,  will  be  so  full  of  spi- 
ritual beauty  and  glory,  as  that  they  will  darken  that,  that  you  are  too 
apt  to  count  and  call  your  glory.  The  Spirit  of  the  Lord  will  not  suffer 
his  choicest  jewel  grace  to  be  always  buried  under  the  straw  and  stubble 
of  parts  and  gifts,  Isa.  Ix.  1 3-1 7. 

Remedy  (4).  The  fourth  remedy  against  this  device  of  Satan  is,  to 
consider,  That  there  is  no  such  way  for  men  to  have  their  gifts  and 
parts  blasted  and  withered,  as  to  pride  themselves  in  them,  as  to  rest 
upon  them,  as  to  make  light  and  slight  of  those  that  want  them,  as  to 
engage  them  against  those  persons,  tvays,  and  things,  that  Jesus  Christ 
hath  set  his  heart  upon.  Ah  !  how  hath  God  blasted  and  withered  the 
parts  and  abilities  of  many  among  us,  that  have  once  been  famous  shin- 
ing lights  !2  How  is  their  sun  darkened,  and  their  glory  clouded  ! 
'  How  is  the  sword  of  the  Lord  upon  their  arm,  and  upon  their  ri»ht 
eye !  how  is  their  arm  clean  dried  up,  and  their  right  eye  utterly 
darkened  1'  as  the  prophet  speaks,  Zech.  xi.  17.  This  is  matter  of 
humiliation  and  lamentation.  Many  precious  discerning  saints  do  see 
this,  and  in  secret  mourn  for  it ;  and  oh  !  that  they  were  kindly  sensible 
of  God's  withdrawing  from  them,  that  they  may  repent,  keep  humble, 
and  carry  it  sweetly  towards  God's  jewels,  and  lean  only  upon  the  Lord, 

1  Surguntindocti  et  rapiunt  coelum,  et  nos  cum  doctrina  nostra  detrudimur  in  gehennam. 
[More  accurately  as  follows  :  '  Surgunt  indocti  et  coelum  rapiunt,  et  nos  cum  doctrinia 
nostris  sine  corde,  ecce  ubi  volutamur  in  came  et  sanguine.'     Confess.  1.  viii.  c.  8. — G.l 

a  Becanus  saith,  that  the  tree  of  knowledge  bears  many  leaves,  and  little  fruit.  Ah  ! 
that  it  were  not  so  with  many  in  these  days,  who  once  did  outshine  the  stais,  &c. 


128  PRECIOUS  REMEDIES  [2  COR.  II.  11. 

and  not  upon  their  parts  and  understanding,  that  so  the  Lord  may  de- 
light  to  visit  them  with  his  grace  at  such  a  rate  as  that  their  faces  may 
shine  more  gloriously  than  ever,  and  that  they  may  be  more  serviceable 
to  the  honour  of  Christ,  and  the  faith  of  the  saints,  than  formerly  they 
have  been,  &c. 

Thirdly,  Satan  hath  his  devices  to  destroy  the  saints ;  and  one  great 
device  that  he  hath  to  destroy  the  saints  is, 

By  working  them  first  to  be  strange,  and  tJien  to  divide,  and  then 
to  be  bitter  and  jealous,  and  then  '  to  bite  and  devour  one  another,' 
Gal.  v.  15.  Our  own  woful  experience  is  too  great  a  proof  of  this. 
The  Israelites  in  Egypt  did  not  more  vex  one  another  than  Christians 
in  these  days  have  done,  which  occasioned  a  deadly  consumption  to  fall 
upon  some.1 

Now  the  remedies  against  this  device  are  these  : 

Remedy  (1).  The  first  remedy  against  this  device  of  Satan  is,  To 
dwell  more  upon  one  another s  graces  than  upon  one  another  s  wealc- 
nesses  and  infirmities.  It  is  sad  to  consider  that  saints  should  have 
many  eyes  to  behold  one  another's  infirmities,  and  not  one  eye  to  see 
each  other's  graces,  that  they  should  use  spectacles  to  behold  one 
another's  weaknesses,  rather  than  looking-glasses  to  behold  one  another's 
graces. 2 

Erasmus  tells  of  one  who  collected  all  the  lame  and  defective  verses 
in  Homer's  works,  but  passed  over  all  that  was  excellent.  Ah  !  that  this 
were  not  the  practice  of  many  t'hat  shall  at  last  meet  in  heaven,  that 
they  were  not  careful  and  skilful  to  collect  all  the  weaknesses  of  others, 
and  to  pass  over  all  those  things  that  are  excellent  in  them.  The  Co- 
rinthians did  eye  more  the  incestuous  person's  sin  than  his  sorrow,  which 
was  like  to  have  drowned  him  in  sorrow. 

Tell  me,  saints,  is  it  not  a  more  sweet,  comfortable,  and  delightful 
thing  to  look  more  upon  one  another's  graces  than  upon  one  another's 
infirmities  1  Tell  me  what  pleasure,  what  delight,  what  comfort  is  there 
in  looking  upon  the  enemies,  the  wounds,  the  sores,  the  sickness,  the 
diseases,  the  nakedness  of  our  friends?  Now  sin,  you  know,  is  the  soul's 
enemy,  the  soul's  wound,  the  soul's  sores,  the  soul's  sickness,  the  soul's 
disease,  the  soul's  nakedness  ;  and  ah  !  what  a  heart  hath  that  man  that 
loves  thus  to  look  !  Grace  is  the  choicest  flower  in  all  a  Christian's 
garden  ;  it  is  the  richest  jewel  in  all  his  crown  ;  it  is  his  princely  robes; 
it  is  the  top  of  royalty  ;  and  therefore  must  needs  be  the  most  pleasing, 
sweet,  and  delightful  object  for  a  gracious  eye  to  be  fixed  upon.  Sin  is 
darkness,  grace  is  light ;  sin  is  hell,  grace  is  heaven ;  and  what  madness 
is  it  to  luok  more  at  darkness  than  at  light,  more  at  hell  than  at 
heaven ! 3 

Tell  me,  saints,  doth  not  God  look  more  upon  his  people's  graces  than 
upon  their  weaknesses  ?  Surely  he  doth.  He  looks  more  at  David's 
and  Asaph's  uprightness  than  upon  their  infirmities,  though  they  were 
great  and  many.     He  eyes  more  Job's  patience  than  his  passion.     '  Re- 

1  If  we  knock,  we  break.     Dissolution  is  the  daughter  of  dissension. 

2  Flavius  Vespasian,  the  emperor,  was  more  ready  to  conceal  the  vices  of  his  friends 
than  their  virtues.  Can  you  think  seriously  of  this.  Christians,  that  a  heathen  should 
excel  you,  and  not  blush  ? 

3  Aon  gens,  sed  mens,  non  genus  sed  genius,  Not  race  or  place,  but  grace  truly  sets  forth 
a  man. 


2  Cor.  II.  11.]  against  satan's  devices.  129 

member  the  patience  of  Job,'  not  a  word  of  his  impatience,  James  v. 
11.  He  that  drew  Alexander  whilst  he  had  a  scar  upon  his  face,  drew 
him  with  his  finger  upon  the  scar.  God  puts  his  fingers  upon  his 
people's  scars,  that  no  blemish  may  appear.  Ah !  saints,  that  you  would 
make  it  the  top  of  your  glory  in  this,  to  be  like  your  heavenly  Father. 
By  so  doing,  much  sin  would  be  prevented,  the  designs  of  wicked  men 
frustrated,  Satan  outwitted,  many  wounds  healed,  many  sad  hearts 
cheered,  and  God  more  abundantly  honoured,  &C.1 

Remedy  (2).  The  second  remedy  against  this  device  of  Satan  is, 
solemnly  to  consider,  That  love  and  union  makes  most  for  your  own 
safety  and  security.  We  shall  be  insuperabiles  if  we  be  insepara- 
bles, invincible  if  we  be  inseparable.  The  world  may  frown  upon 
you,  and  plot  against  you,  but  they  cannot  hurt  you.  Unity  is  the  best 
bond  of  safety  in  every  church  and  commonwealth.2 

And  this  did  that  Scythian  king  in  Plutarch  represent  lively  to  his 
eighty  sons,  who,  being  ready  to  die,  he  commanded  a  bundle  of  arrows 
fast  bound  together  to  be  given  to  his  sons  to  break  ;  they  all  tried  to 
break  them,  but,  being  bound  fast  together,  they  could  not ;  then  he 
caused  the  band  to  be  cut,  and  then  they  broke  them  with  ease.  He 
applied  it  thus  :  '  My  sons,  so  long  as  you  keep  together,  you  will  be 
invincible  ;  but  if  the  band  of  union  be  broke  betwixt  you,  you  will 
easily  be  broken  in  pieces/3 

Pliny  writes  of  a  stone  in  the  island  of  Scyros,  that  if  it  be  whole, 
though  a  large  and  heavy  one,  it  swims  above  water,  but  being  broken, 
it  sinks.4  So  long  as  saints  keep  whole,  nothing  shall  sink  them  ;  but 
if  they  break,  they  are  in  danger  of  sinking  and  drowning,  &c. 

Hemedy  (3).  The  third  remedy  against  this  device  of  Satan  is,  To 
dwell  upon  those  commands  of  God  that  do  require  you  to  love  one 
another.  Oh !  when  your  hearts  begin  to  rise  against  each  other, 
charge  the  commands  of  God  upon  your  hearts,  and  say  to  your  souls, 
O  our  souls  !  hath  not  the  eternal  God  commanded  you  to  love  them 
that  love  the  Lord  ?  And  is  it  not  life  to  obey,  and  death  to  rebel  ?5 
Therefore  look  that  you  fulfil  the  commands  of  the  Lord,  for  his  com- 
mands are  not  like  those  that  are  easily  reversed  ;  but  they  are  like 
those  of  the  Medes,  that  cannot  be  changed.  Oh  !  be  much  in  pon- 
dering upon  these  commands  of  God.  '  A  new  commandment  I  give 
unto  you,  that  ye  love  one  another,  as  I  have  loved  you,  that  ye 
also  love  one  another,'  John  xiii.  34.  It  is  called  a  new  commandment, 
because  it  is  renewed  in  the  gospel,  and  set  home  by  Christ's  example, 
and  because  it  is  rare,  choice,  special,  and  remarkable  above  all  others.0 

1  Sin  is  Satan's  work,  grace  is  God's  work ;  and  is  it  not  most  meet  that  the  child 
should  eye  most  and  mind  most  his  father's  work  '? 

2  There  was  a  temple  of  Concord  amongst  the  heathens;  and  shall  it  not  be  found  among 
Christians,  that  are  temples  of  the  Holy  Ghost? 

3  Pancirollus  [Guy]  saith,  that  the  most  precious  pearl  among  the  Romans  was  called 
unio,  union. 

4  Lib.  xxxvi.  c.  26,  and  elsewhere  :  no  doubt  a  volcanic,  porous  product. — G. 

5  To  act,  or  run  cross  to  God's  express  command,  though  under  pretence  of  revelation 
from  God,  is  as  much  as  a  man's  life  is  worth,  as  you  may  see  in  that  sad  story,  1  Kings 
xiii.  24. 

6  Some  conceive  it  to  be  an  Hebraism,  in  which  language  new,  rare,  and  excellent,  are- 
synonimals. 

VOL.  I.  I 


130  PRECIOUS  REMEDIES  [2  COR.  II.  11. 

'  This  is  my  commandment,  That  ye  love  one  another,  as  I  have  loved 
you.'  'These  things  I  command  you,  that  ye  love  one  another.'  'Owe 
hip  man  any  thing,  but  love  one  another:  for  he  that  lovcth  another, 
hath  fulfilled  the  law.'  '  Let  brotherly  love  continue.'  '  Love  one  an- 
other,  for  love  is  of  God,  and  every  one  that  loveth  is  born  of  God,  and 
knoweth  God.'  '  See  that  ye  love  one  another  with  a  pure  heart  fer- 
vently.' '  Finally,  be  ye  all  of  one  mind,  having  compassion  one  of 
another.  Love  as  brethren,  be  pitiful,  be  courteous.'  'For  this  is  the 
age  that  ye  heard  from  the  beginning,  that  we  should  love  one  an- 
other.' '  And  this  is  his  commandment,  that  we  should  believe  on  the 
name  of  his  Son  Jesus  Christ,  and  love  one  another,  as  he  gave  us  com- 
mandment.' 'Beloved,  if  God  so  loved  us,  we  ought  to  love  one  an- 
other.'1 Oh  !  dwell  much  upon  these  precious  commands,  that  your 
love  may  be  inflamed  one  to  another. 

In  the  primitive  times,  it  was  much  taken  notice  of  b}rthe  heathens, 
that  in  the  depth  of  misery,  when  fathers  and  mothers  forsook  their 
children,  Christians,  otherwise  strangers,  stuck  one  to  another,  whose 
love  of  religion  proved  firmer  than  that  of  nature.  Ah  !  that  there 
were  more  of  that  spirit  among  the  saints  in  these  days.  The  world 
■was  once  destroyed  with  water  for  the  heat  of  lusts,  and  it  is  thought 
it  will  be  again  destroyed  with  fire  for  the  coldness  of  love.2 

Remedy  (4).  The  fourth  remedy  against  this  device  of  Satan  is,  To 
dwell  more  upon  these  choice  and  svjeet  tilings  wherein  you  agree, 
than  upon  those  things  wherein  you  differ.  Ah  !  did  you  but  thus, 
how  would  sinful  heats  be  abated,  and  your  love  raised,  and  your  spi- 
rits sweetened  one  to  another.  You  agree  in  most,  you  differ  but 
in  a  few ;  you  agree  in  the  greatest  and  weightiest,  as  concerning  God, 
Christ,  the  Spirit,  the  Scripture,  &c.  You  differ  only  in  those  points  that 
have  been  long  disputable  amongst  men  of  greatest  piety  and  parts. 
You  agree  to  own  the  Scripture,  to  hold  to  Christ  the  head,  and  to  walk 
according  to  the  law  of  the  new  creature.3  Shall  Herod  and  Pilate 
agree  ?  Shall  Turks  and  pagans  agree  ?  Shall  bears  and  lions,  tigers 
and  wolves,  yea,  shall  a  legion  of  devils,  agree  in  one  body  ?  And  shall 
not  saints  agree,  who  differ  only  in  such  things  as  have  least  of  the 
heart  of  God  in  them,  and  that  shall  never  hinder  your  meeting  in 
heaven  ?  &c. 

Remedy  (5).  The  fifth  remedy  against  this  device  of  Satan  is,  solemnly 
to  consider,  That  God  delights  to  be  styled  Dons  pacis,  the  God  of  peace; 
and  Christ  to  be  styled  Princeps  pacis,  the  Prince  of  peace,  and  King 
of  Salem,  that  is,  King  of  peace;  and  the  Spi/rU  is  </  Spirit  of  peace. 
'  The  fruit  of  the  Spirit  is  love,  joy,  peace/  Gal.  v  22.  Oh  !  why  then 
should  not  the  saints  be  children  of  peace  ?  Certainly,  men  of  froward, 
unqui.t,  fiery  spirits,  cannot  have  that  sweet  evidence  of  their  interest 
in  the  God  of  peace,  and  in  the  Prince  of  peace,  and  in  the  Spirit  of 

1  John  xv.  12,  17  ;  Rom.  xiii.  8  ;  Heb.  xiii.  1  ;  1  John  iv.  7  ;  1  Teter  i.  22,  and  iii.  8  ; 
1  John  iii    11,  23;  iv.  11.— G. 

2  The  ancients  us,:  to  say  commonly,  that  Alexander  and  Ephestion  [i.  e.  Hephaestion] 
had  but  one  soul  in  two  distinct  bodies,  because  their  joy  and  Borrow,  glory  ami  disgrace, 

was  mutual  in  tin  m  both.  [Cf.  .Note  on  above  frequently  recurring  saving, 'in  Sibbes,  Vol. 
II..  page  l!il :  where  the  reference  is  misprinted  to  page  35  for  page  37.— G.]. 

■  What  a  Bad  thing  was  it  thai  a  heathen  should  say,  No  beasts  are  so  mischievous  to 
men  as  Christians  are  one  to  another. 


2  Cor.  II.  11.]  against  satan's  devices.  131 

peace,  as  those  precious  souls  have  that  follow  after  the  things  that 
make  for  love  and  peace.  The  very  name  of  peace  is  sweet  and  com- 
fortable ;  the  fruit  and  effect  thereof  pleasant  and  profitable,  more  to 
be  desired  than  innumerable  triumphs  ;  it  is  a  blessing  that  ushers  in 
a  multitude  of  other  blessings,1  2  Cor.  xiii.  11  ;  Isa.  ix.  6. 

The  ancients  were  wont  to  paint  peace  in  the  form  of  a  woman,  with 
a  horn  of  plenty  in  her  hand.2  Ah  !  peace  and  love  among  the  saints, 
is  that  which  will  secure  them  and  their  mercies  at  home;  yea,  it  will 
multiply  their  mercies  ;  it  will  engage  the  God  of  mercy  to  crown  them 
with  the  choicest  mercies  ;  and  it  is  that  that  will  render  them  must 
terrible,  invincible,  and  successful  abroad.  Love  and  peace  among  the 
saints  is  that  which  puts  the  counsels  of  their  enemies  to  a  stand,  and 
renders  all  their  enterprises  abortive  ;  it  is  that  which  doth  most 
weaken  their  hands,  wound  their  hopes,  and  kill  their  hearts,  &c. 

Remedy  (6).  The  sixth  remedy  against  this  device  of  Satan  is,  To 
make  more  care  and  conscience  of  keeping  up  your  peace  with  God. 
Ah  !  Christians,  I  am  afraid  that  your  remissness  herein  is  that  which 
hath  occasioned  much  of  that  sourness,  bitterness,  and  divisions  that  be 
among  you.3  Ah  !  you  have  not,  as  you  should,  kept  up  your  peace  with 
God,  and  therefore  it  is  that  you  do  so  dreadfully  break  the  peace 
among  yourselves.  The  Lord  hath  promised,  '  That  when  a  man's  ways 
please  him,  he  will  make  his  enemies  to  be  at  peace  with  him/  Prov. 
xvi.  7.  Ah  !  how  much  more  then  would  God  make  the  children  of 
peace  to  keep  the  peace  among  themselves,  if  their  ways  do  but  please 
him  !  All  creatures  are  at  his  beck  and  check.  Laban  followed  Jacob 
with  one  troop.  Esau  met  him  with  another,  both  with  hostile  inten- 
tions ;  but  Jacob's  ways  pleasing  the  Lord,  God  by  his  mighty  power 
so  works  that  Laban  leaves  him  with  a  kiss,  and  Esau  met  him  with  a 
kiss  ;  he  hath  an  oath  of  one,  tears  of  the  other,  peace  with  both.  If 
we  make  it  our  business  to  keep  up  our  league  with  God,  God  will 
make  it  his  work  and  his  glory  to  maintain  our  peace  with  men  ;  but 
if  men  make  light  of  keeping  up  their  peace  with  God,  it  is  just  with 
God  to  leave  them  to  a  spirit  of  pride,  envy,  passion,  contention,  divi- 
sion, and  confusion,  to  leave  them  '  to  bite  and  devour  one  another,  till 
they  be  consumed  one  of  another,'4  &c. 

Iiemedy  (7).  The  seventh  remedy  against  this  device  of  Satan  is,  To 
dwell  much  upon  that  near  relation  and  union  that  is  between  you. 
This  consideration  had  a  sweet  influence  upon  Abraham's  heart :  '  And 
Abraham  said  unto  Lot,  Let  there  be  no  strife,  I  pray  thee,  between  me 
and  thee,  and  between  my  herdsmen  and  thy  herdsmen  ;  for  we  are 
brethren,'  Gen.  xiii.  8.5  That  is  a  sweet  word  in  the  psalmist,  '  Behold, 
how  good  and  how  pleasant  it  is  for  brethren  to  live  together  in  unity,' 

1  Vbipax  ibi  Christus,  quia  Christus  pax,  where  peace  is,  there  is  Christ,  because  Christ 
is  peace.     Dulce  nomen  2iacis,  said  the  orator. 

"  The  Grecians  had  the  statue  of  Peace,  with  Pluto,  the  god  of  riches,  in  her  arms. 

3  There  is  no  fear  of  knowing  too  much,  but  there  is  much  fear  in  practising  too  little. 

4  Pharnaces  sent  a  crown  to  Caesar  at  the  same  time  he  rebelled  against  him  ;  but  ho 
returned  the  crown  and  this  message  back,  Faceret  imperata  prius,  let  him  return  to  his 
obedience  first.  There  is  no  sound  peace  to  be  had  with  God  or  man,  but  in  a  way  of 
obedience.  [Pharnaces  II.  Appian,  Mithr.  120  ;  Dion.  Cass.  xiii.  45-48  ;  Plutarch,  Ccesar, 
50  ;  Suet.  Jul.  35.— G.] 

5  rO^Di  0n  !  let  ttere  be  no  bitterness  between  us,  for  we  are  brethren. 


132  PRECIOUS  REMEDIES  [2  CoR.  II.  11. 

Ps.  cxxxiii.  1.  It  is  not  good  and  not  pleasairit,  or  pleasant  and  not  good, 
but  good  and  pleasant.  There  be  some  things  that  be  bona  Bed  non 
jucunda,  good  and  not  pleasant,  as  patience  and  discipline;  and  there 
be  some  things  that  are  pleasant  but  not  good,  as  carnal  pleasures, 
voluptuousness,  &C.  And  there  are  some  things  that  are  neither  good 
aor  pleasant,  as  malice,  envy,  worldly  sorrow,  &c.  ;  and  there  are  some 
things  that  are  both  good  and  pleasant,  as  piety,  charity,  peace,  and 
union  among  brethren  ;  and  oh  !  that  we  could  see  more  of  this  among 
those  that  shall  one  day  meet  in  their  Fathers  kingdom  and  never 
part.  And  as  they  are  brethren,  so  they  are  all  fellow-members  :  '  Now 
ye  are  the  body  of  Christ,  and  members  in  particular,'  1  Cor.  xii.  -~i. 
And  again :  '  We  are  members  of  his  body,  of  his  flesh,  and  of  his  bones,' 
Eph.  v.  30.  Shall  the  members  of  the  natural  body  be  serviceable  and 
useful  to  one  another,  and  shall  the  members  of  this  spiritual  body  cut 
and  destroy  one  another  ?  Is  it  against  the  law  of  nature  for  the  natural 
members  to  cut  and  slash  one  another?1  And  is  it  not  much  more 
against  the  law  of  nature  and  of  grace  for  the  members  of  Christ's  glo- 
rious body  to  do  so  ?  And  as  you  are  all  fellow-members,  so  you  are 
fellow-soldiers  under  the  same  Captain  of  salvation,  the  Lord  Jesus, 
fighting  against  the  world,  the  flesh,  and  the  devil.  And  as  you  are 
all  fellow-soldiers,  so  you  are  all  fellow-sufferers  under  the  same  enemies, 
the  devil  and  the  world.  And  as  you  are  all  fellow-sufferers,  so  are 
yen  fellow-travellers  towards  the  land  of  Canaan,  'the  new  Jerusalem 
that  is  above.'  '  Here  we  have  no  abiding  city,  but  we  look  for  one  to 
come/  The  heirs  of  heaven  are  strangers  on  earth.  And  as  you  are 
all  fellow-travellers,  so  are  you  all  fellow-heirs  of  the  same  crown  and 
inheritance.2 

Remedy  (8).  The  eighth  remedy  against  this  device  of  Satan  is,  To 
dwell  upon  the  miseries  of  discord.  Dissolution  is  the  daughter  of 
dissension.  Ah  !  how  doth  the  name  of  Christ,  and  the  way  of  Christ, 
suffer  by  the  discord  of  saints  !  How  are  many  that  are  entering  upon 
the  ways  of  God  hindered  and  sadded,  and  the  mouths  of  the  wicked 
opened,  and  their  hearts  hardened  against  God  and  his  ways,  by  the 
discord  of  his  people  !  Remember  this,  the  disagreement  of  Christians 
is  the  devil's  triumph  ;  and  what  a  sad  thing  is  this,  that  Christians 
should  give  Satan  cause  to  triumph  !3 

It  was  a  notable  saying  of  one,  '  Take  away  strife,  and  call  back  peace, 
lest  thou  lose  a  man,  thy  friend  ;  and  the  devil,  an  enemy,  joy  over  you 
both,'  &c. 

Remedy  (9).  The  ninth  remedy  against  this  device  of  Satan  is,  seri- 
ously to  consider,  That  it  is  no  disparagement  to  you  to  be  jvrst  in 
seeking  pea.ee  and  reconcilement,  but  rati  lev  an  honour  to  you,  that 
you  have  beyn  n  to  seek  peace,  Abraham  was  the  elder,  and  more  worthy 
than  Lot,  both  in  respect  of  grace  and  nature  also,  for  he  was  uncle 
unto  Lot,  and  yet  he  first  seeks  peace  of  his  inferior,  which  God  hath 

1  The  parti-coloured  coats  were  characters  of  the  king's  children  :  so  is  following  after 
peace  now. 

-  Rev.  xii.  7,  8;  Ileh.  ii.  10;  Rev.  ii.  10;  John  xv.  19,20;  Heb.  xii.  14,  xiii.  4; 
Bom.  viii.  15-17. 

1  Our  dissensions  are  one  of  the  Jews'  greatest  stumbling-blocks.  Can  you  think  of  it, 
aud  your  hearts  uot  bleed  ? 


2  Cor.  II.  11.]  against  satan's  devices.  133 

recorded  as  his  honour.1  Ah  !  how  doth  the  God  of  peace,  by  his  Spirit 
and  messengers,  pursue  after  peace  with  poor  creatures.  God  first 
makes  offer  of  peace  to  us  :>  '  Now  then  we  are  ambassadors  for  Christ, 
as  though  God  did  beseech  you  by  us  :  we  pray  you  in  Christ's  stead, 
be  ye  reconciled  to  God,'  2  Cor.  v.  20.  God's  grace  first  kneels  to  us, 
and  who  can  turn  their  backs  upon  such  blessed  and  bleeding  embrace- 
ments,  but  souls  in  whom  Satan  the  god  of  this  world  kings  it?  God 
is  the  party  wronged,  and  yet  he  sues  for  peace  with  us  at  first :  '  I 
said,  Behold  me,  behold  me,  unto  a  nation  that  was  not  called  by  my 
name/  Isa.  lxv.  I.2  Ah  !  how  doth  the  sweetness,  the  freeness,  and  the 
riches  of  his  grace  break  forth  and  shine  upon  poor  souls.  When  a  man 
goes  from  the  sun,  yet  the  sunbeams  follow  him ;  so  when  we  go  from 
the  Sun  of  righteousness,  yet  then  the  beams  of  his  love  and  mercy 
follow  us.  Christ  first  sent  to  Peter  that  had  denied  him,  and  the  rest 
that  had  forsaken  him  :  '  Go  your  ways,  and  tell  his  disciples  and  Peter, 
that  he  goeth  before  you  into  Galilee  :  there  shall  ye  see  him,  as  he 
said  unto  you/  Mark  xvi.  7.  Ah  !  souls,  it  is  not  a  base,  low  thing,  but 
a  God-like  thing,  though  we  are  wronged  by  others,  yet  to  be  the  first 
in  seeking  after  peace.  Such  actings  will  speak  out  much  of  God  with 
a  man's  spirit,  &c. 

Christians,  it  is  not  matter  of  liberty  whether  you  will  or  you  will 
not  pursue  after  peace,  but  it  is  matter  of  duty  that  lies  upon  you  ; 
you  are  bound  by  express  precept  to  follow  after  peace  ;  and  though  it 
may  seem  to  fly  from  you,  yet  you  must  pursue  after  it :  '  Follow  peace 
with  all  men,  and  holiness,  without  which  no  man  can  see  the  Lord,' 
Heb.  xii.  14.3  Peace  and  holiness  are  to  be  pursued  after  with  the 
greatest  eagerness  that  can  be  imagined.  So  the  psalmist :  '  Depart 
from  evil,  and  do  good  ;  seek  peace  and  pursue  it,'  Ps.  xxxiv.  14. 
The  Hebrew  word  that  is  here  rendered  seek,  is  in  Piel,  and  it 
signifies  to  seek  earnestly,  vehemently,  affectionately,  studiously, 
industriously.  '  And  pursue  it/  That  Hebrew  word  signifies  earnestly 
to  pursue,  being  a  metaphor  taken  from  the  eagerness  of  wild  beasts  or 
ravenous  fowls,  which  will  run  or  fly  both  fast  and  far  rather  than  be 
disappointed  of  their  prey.  So  the  apostle  presses  the  same  duty  upon 
the  Romans  :  '  Let  us  follow  after  the  things  that  make  for  peace,  and 
things  wherein  one  may  edify  another,'  Eom.  xiv.  19.  Ah  !  you  froward, 
sour,  dogged  Christians,  can  you  look  upon  these  commands  of  God 
without  tears  and  blushing  ? 

Ihave  read  a  remarkable  story  of  Aristippus.  though  but  a  heathen,  who 
went  of  his  own  accord  to  iEschines  his  enemy,  and  said,  '  Shall  we  never 
be  reconciled  till  we  become  a  table-talk  to  all  the  country  ?'  and  when 
iEschines  answered  he  would  most  gladly  be  at  peace  with  him,  '  Remem- 
ber, then,  said  Aristippus,  that  though  I  were  the  elder  and  better  man,  yet 
I  sought  first  unto  thee.'  Thou  art  indeed,  said  iEschines,  a  far  better  man 
than  I,  for  I  began  the  quarrel,  but  thou  the  reconcilement.4     My  prayer 

1  They  shall  both  have  the  name  and  the  note,  the  comfort  and  the  credit,  of  being 
most  like  unto  God,  who  first  begin  to  pursue  after  peace- 

2  Behold  me  !  behold  me  !  It  is  geminated  [doubled]  to  shew  God's  exceeding  forward- 
ness to  shew  favour  and  mercy  to  them. 

3  a^kste,  It  signifies  to  follow  after  peace,  as  the  persecutor  doth  him  whom  he  per- 

4  Plutarch.     [Cf.  Diogenes  Lao'rtius,  ii.  65  ;  also  Horace,  Ep.  i.  1.  18,  and  i.  17,  23.— G.] 


134  PRECIOUS  REMEDIES  [2  COR.  II.  11. 

shall  be  thai  this  licit  hen  may  not  rise  in  judgment  against  the  flourish- 
in-  professors  of  our  times:  '  Who  whet  their  tongues  like  a  sword,  and 
bend  their  hows  i<>  shoot  their  arrows,  even  .bitter  words/  Ps.  lxiv.  3. 

/i'  -  dy  LO).  The  tenth  remedy  against  this  device  of  Satan  is,  For 
savnts  to  joim  together  and  walk  together  in  the  ways  of  grace,  and 
holiness  so  far  as  they  do  agree,  making  the  word  their  only  touch- 
stone and  judge  of their  actions.  That  is  sweet  advice  that  the  apostle 
rives  :  '  I  press  toward  the  mark  for  the  prize  of  the  high  calling  of 
God  in  Christ  Jesus,' Philip,  iii.  14-16.  '  Let  us  therefore,  as  many  as  be 
perfect, — comparatively  or  conceitedly1  so, — be  thus  minded.  And  if 
in  anything  ye  be  otherwise  minded,  God  shall  reveal  even  this  unto 
you.  Nevertheless,  whereto  we  have  already  attained,  let  us  walk  by 
the  same  rule,  let  us  mind  the  same  thing.'  Ah  !  Christians,  God  loses 
much,  and  you  lose  much,  and  Satan  gains  much  by  this,  that  you  do 
not,  that  you  will  not,  walk  lovingly  together  so  far  as  your  ways  lie 
together.  It  is  your  sin  and  shame  that  you  do  not,  that  you  will  not, 
pray  together,  and  hear  together,  and  confer  together,  and  mourn 
together,  &c,  because  that  in  some  far  lesser  things  you  are  not  agreed 
together.  What  folly  and  madness  is  it  in  those  whose  way  of  a  hundred 
miles  lies  fourscore  and  nineteen  together,  yet  will  not  walk  so  far 
together,  because  that  they  cannot  go  the  other  mile  together  ;  yet  such 
is  the  folly  and  madness  of  many  Christians  in  these  days,  who  will  not 
do  many  things  they  may  do,  because  they  cannot  do  everything  they 
should  do.2  I  fear  God  will  whip  them  into  a  better  temper  before  he 
hath  done  with  them.  He  will  break  their  bones,  and  pierce  their  hearts, 
but  he  will  cure  them  of  this  malady,  &c. 

And  be  sure  you  make  the  word  the  only  touchstone  and  judge  of  all 
persons  and  actions  :  '  To  the  law  and  to  the  testimony,  if  they  speak 
not  according  to  this  word,  it  is  because  there  is  no  light  in  them/  Isa. 
viii.  20.  It  is  best  and  safest  to  make  that  to  be  the  judge  of  all  men 
and  things  now  that  all  shall  be  judged  by  in  the  latter  day :  '  The 
word,  saith  Christ,  that  I  have  spoken,  the  same  shall  judge  him  in  the 
last  day/  John  xii.  48.  Make  not  your  dim  light,  your  notions,  yonr 
fancies,  your  opinions,  the  judge  of  men's  action,  but  still  judge  by  rule, 
and  plead,  '  It  is  written.' 

When  a  vain  importunate  soul  cried  out  in  contest  with  a  holy  man, 
'  Hear  me,  hear  me/  the  holy  man  answered,  'Neither  hear  me,  nor  I 
thee,  but  let  us  both  hear  the  apostle.'3 

Constantine,  in  all  the  disputes  before  him  with  the  Arians,  would 
still  call  for  the  word  of  God  as  the  only  way,  if  not  to  convert,  yet  to 
stop  their  mouths,  &c. 

Remedy  (1 1).  The  eleventh  remedy  against  this  device  of  Satan  is, 
To  he  much  in  a  If-judging  :  'Judge  yourselves,  and  you  shall  not  be 
judged  of  the  Lord/  1  Cor.  xi.  31.  Ah!  were  Christians'  hearts  more 
taken  up  in  judging  themselves  and  condemning  themselves,  they  would 
not  be  so  apt  to  judge  and  censure  others,  and  to  carry  it  sourly  and 

1  Those  who  have  reason  to  conceive  themselves  '  perfect.'— G. 

-  (in  at  is  the  power  of  joint  prayer.  Mary  Queen  of  Scots,  that  was  mother  of  king 
James,  was  wont  to  Bay  that  she  feared  Master  Knox's  prayer  more  than  an  army  of 
ten  thousand  men.    [Already  used  in  this  treatise:  of.  page  126.— G.] 

*  Nee  ejo  (e,  rue  lu  me,  zed  umbo  audiamus  Aj/oslvlum. 


2  Cor.  II.  11.]  against  satan's  devices.  135 

bitterly  towards  others  that  differ  from  them.1  There  are  no  souls  in 
the  world  that  are  so  fearful  to  judge  others  as  those  that  do  most  judge 
themselves,  nor  so  careful  to  make  a  righteous  judgment  of  men  or 
thing's  as  those  that  are  most  careful  to  judge. themselves.  There  are 
none  in  the  world  that  tremble  to  think  evil  of  others,  to  speak  evil  of 
others,  or  to  do  evil  to  others,  as  those  that  make  it  their  business  to 
judge  themselves.  There  are  none  that  make  such  sweet  constructions 
and  charitable  interpretations  of  men  and  things,  as  those  that  are  best 
and  most  in  judging  themselves.2  One  request  I  have  to  you  that  are 
much  in  judging  others  and  little  in  judging  yourselves,  to  you  that 
are  so  apt  and  prone  to  judge  rashly,  falsely,  and  unrighteously,  and 
that  is,  that  you  will  every  morning  dwell  a  little  upon  these  scriptures  : 

'  Judge  not,  that  ye  be  not  judged  ;  for  with  what  judgment  ye  judge, 
ye  shall  be  judged  ;  and  with  what  measure  ye  mete,  it  shall  be  mea- 
sured to  you  again/  Mat.  vii.  1,  2.  '  Judge  not  according  to  appearance, 
but  judge  righteous  judgment,'  John  vii.  24  '  Let  not  him  that  eateth 
not  judge  him  that  eateth,  for  God  hath  received  him.  Why  dost  thou 
judge  thy  brother  ?  or  why  dost  thou  set  at  nought  thy  brother  V  Rom. 
xiv.  3,  10,  13.  '  We  shall  all  stand  before  the  judgment-seat  of  Christ. 
Let  us  not  judge  one  another  any  more,  but  judge  this  rather,  that  no 
man  put  a  stumbling-block  or  an  occasion  to  fall  in  his  brother's  way.' 
'  Judge  nothing  before  the  time,  until  the  Lord  come,  who  both  will 
bring  to  light  the  hidden  things  of  darkness,  and  will  manifest  the 
counsels  of  the  heart,  and  then  shall  every  man  have  praise  of  God,' 
1  Cor.  iv.  5.  '  Speak  not  evil  one  of  another,  brethren  :  he  that  speaketh 
evil  of  his  brother,  and  judgeth  his  brother,  speaketh  evil  of  the  law, 
and  judgeth  the  law  ;  but  if  thou  judgest  the  law,  thou  art  not  a  doer 
of  the  law,  but  a  judge.  There  is  one  lawgiver,  who  is  able  to  save  and 
to  destroy/  James  iv.  11,  12.  '  Who  art  thou  that  judgest  another 
man's  servant?  to  his  own  master  he  standeth  or  falleth ;  _  yea,  he  shall 
be  holden  up,  for  God  is  able  to  make  him  stand,'  Rom.  xiv.  4. 

One  Delphidius  accusing  another  before  Julian  about  that  which  he 
could  not  prove,  the  party  denying  the  fact,  Delphidius  answers,  If  it 
be  sufficient  to  deny  what  is  laid  to  one's  charge,  who  shall  be  found 
guilty  ?  Julian  answers,  And  if  it  be  sufficient  to  be  accused,  who  can 
be  innocent '(     You  are  wise,  and  know  how  to  apply  it. 

Remedy  (12).  The  twelfth  remedy  against  this  device  of  Satan  is 
this,  above  all,  Labour  to  be  clothed  with  humility.  Humility  makes 
a  man  peaceable  among  brethren,  fruitful  in  well-doing,  cheerful  in 
suffering,  and  constant  in  holy  walking,  1  Pet.  v.  5.  Humility  fits  lor 
the  highest  services  we  owe  to  Christ,  and  yet  will  not  neglect  the 
lowest  service  to  the  meanest  saint,  John  xiii.  5.  Humility  can  feed 
upon  the  -meanest  dish,  and  yet  it  is  maintained  by  the  choicest  deli- 
cates,  as  God,  Christ,  and  glory.  Humility  will  make  a  man  bless  him 
that  curses  him,  and  pray  for  those  that  persecute  him.  An  humble 
heart  is  an  habitation  for  God,  a  scholar  for  Christ,  a  companion  of 
angels,  a  preserver  of  grace,  and  a  fitter  for  glory.  Humility  is  the 
nurse  of  our  graces,  the  preserver  of  our  mercies,  and  the  great  pro- 

1  It  is  storied  of  Nero,  himself  being  unchaste,  he  did  think  there  was  no  man  chaste. 

2  In  the  Olympic  games,  the  wrestlers  did  not  put  their  crowns  upon  their  own  heads, 
but  upon  the  heads  of  others.     It  is  just  so  with  souls  that  are  good  at  self-judging. 


136  PBECZOXJS  REMEDIES  [2  COR.  II.  11. 

moter  of  holy  duties.  Humility  cannot  find  three  things  on  this  side 
heaven:  it  cannot  find  fulness  in  the  creature,  nor  sweetness  in  sin, 
nor  life  in  an  ordinance  without  Christ.  An  humble  soul  always  finds 
three  things  on  this  side  heaven  :  the  soul  to  be  empty,  Christ  to  be 
full,  and  every  mercy  and  duty  to  be  sweet  wherein  God  is  enjoyed.1 
Humility  can  weep  over  other  men's  weaknesses,  and  joy  and  rejoice 
over  their  graces.  Humility  will  make  a  man  quiet  and  contented  in 
the  meanest  condition,  and  it  will  preserve  a  man  from  envying  other 
nun's  prosperous  condition,  1  Thes.  i.  2,  3.  Humility  honours  those 
that  are  strong  in  grace,  and  puts  two  hands  under  those  that  arc  weak 
in  grace,  Eph.  iii.  8.  Humility  makes  a  man  richer  than  other  men, 
and  it  makes  a  man  judge  himself  the  poorest  among  men.  Humility 
will  see  much  good  abroad,  when  it  can  see  but  little  at  home.  Ah, 
Christian  !  though  faith  be  the  champion  of  grace,  and  love  the  nurse 
of  grace,  yet  humility  is  the  beautifier  of  grace  ;  it  casts  a  general  glory 
upon  all  the  graces  in  the  soul.  Ah  !  did  Christians  more  abound  in 
humility,  they  would  be  less  bitter,  froward,  and  sour,  and  they  would 
be  more  gentle,  meek,  and  sweet  in  their  spirits  and  practices.  Humi- 
lity will  make  a  man  have  high  thoughts  of  others  and  low  thoughts  of 
a  man's  self;  it  will  make  a  man  see  much  glory  and  excellency  in 
others,  and  much  baseness  and  sinfulness  in  a  man's  self;  it  will  make 
a  man  see  others  rich,  and  himself  poor ;  others  strong,  and  himself 
weak  ;  -others  wise,  and  himself  foolish.2  Humility  will  make  a  man 
excellent  at  covering  others'  infirmities,  and  at  recording  their  gracious 
services,  and  at  delighting  in  their  graces;  it  makes  a  man  joy  in  every 
light  that  outshines  his  own,  and  every  wind  that  blows  others  good. 
Humility  is  better  at  believing  than  it  is  at  questioning  other  men's 
happiness.  I  judge,  saith  an  humble  soul,  it  is  well  with  these  Chris- 
tians now,  but  it  will  be  far  better  with  them  hereafter.  They  are  now 
upon  the  borders  of  the  New  Jerusalem,  and  it  will  be  but  as  a  day 
before  they  slide  into  Jerusalem.  An  humble  soul  is  willinger  to  say, 
Heaven  is  that  man's,  than  mine  ;  and  Christ  is  that  Christian's,  than 
mine  ;  and  God  is  their  God  in  covenant,  than  mine.  Ah !  were  Chris- 
tians more  humble,  there  would  be  less  fire  and  more  love  among  them 
than  now  is,  &c. 

Fourthly,  As  Satan  hath  his  device  to  destroy  gracious  souls,  so  he 
hath  his  devices  to  destroy  %>oor  ignora/nt  so  tils,  and  that  sometimes, 

By  drawing  them  to  affect  ignorance,  and  to  neglect,  slight,  and 
despise  the  means  of  knowledge.  Ignorance  is  the  mother  of  mistake, 
the  cause  of  trouble,  error,  and  of  terror  ;  it  is  the  highway  to  hell,  and 
it  makes  a  man  both  a  prisoner  and  a  slave  to  the  devil  at  once.3  Ig- 
Qorance  unmans  a  man  ;  it  makes  a  man  a  beast,  yea,  makes  him  more 
miserable  than  the  beast  that  perisheth.4  There  are  none  so  easily  nor 
so  frequently  taken  in  Satan's  snares  as  ignorant  souls.  They  arc  easily 
drawn  to  dance  with  the  devil  all  day,  and  to  dream  of  supping  with 
Christ  at  night,  &c. 

1  Humility  is  conservatrix  virtutum,  said  Bernard,  that  which  keeps  all  graces  together. 

1  The  humble  soul  is  like  the  violet,  which  grows  low,  hangs  the  head  downwards, 
and  hides  itself  with  its  own  leaves  ;  and  were  it  not  that  tho  fragrant  smell  of  his  many 
virtues  discovered  him  to  the  world,  he  would  choose  to  live  and  die  in  his  self-content- 
ing seen  rv.  8  Ilosea  iv.  (i,  Mat.  xxii.  29. 

4  Ignorants  have  this  advantage,  id  mitius  ardeant,  they  have  a  cooler  hell. 


2  Cor.  II.  11.]  against  satan's  devices.  137 

Now  the  remedies  against  this  device  are  these  : 

Remedy  (1).  The  first  remedy  against  this  device  of  Satan  is,  seriously 
to  consider,  That  an  ignorant  heart  is  an  evil  heart.  *  Without  know- 
ledge the  mind  is  not  good/  Prov.  xix.  2.  As  an  ignorant  heart  is  a 
naughty  heart,  it  is  a  heart  in  the  dark  ;  and  no  good  can  come  into  a 
dark  heart,  but  it  must  pass  through  the  understanding  :  '  And  if  the 
eye  be  dark,  all  the  body  is  dark,'  Mat.  vi.  22.  A  leprous  head  and  a 
leprous  heart  are  inseparable  companions.  Ignorant  hearts  are  so  evil 
that  they  let  fly  on  all  hands,  and  spare  not  to  spit  their  venom  in  the 
very  face  of  God,  as  Pharaoh  did  when  thick  darkness  was  upon  him.1 

Remedy  (2).  The  second  remedy  against  this  device  of  Satan  is,  to 
consider,  That  ignorance  is  the  deformity  of  the  sold.  As  blindness  is 
the  deformity  of  the  face,  so  is  ignorance  the  deformity  of  the  soul.  As 
the  want  of  fleshly  eyes  spoils  the  beauty  of  the  face,  so  the  want  of 
spiritual  eyes  spoils  the  beauty  of  the  soul.  A  man  without  knowledge 
is  as  a  workman  without  his  hands,  as  a  painter  without  his  eyes,  as  a 
traveller  without  his  legs,  or  as  a  ship  without  sails,  or  a  bird  without 
wings,  or  like  a  body  without  a  soul. 

Remedy  (3).  The  third  remedy  against  this  device  of  Satan  is, 
solemnly  to  consider,  That  ignorance  makes  men  the  objects  of  God's 
hatred  and  wroth.  '  It  is  a  people  that  do  err  in  their  hearts,  and  have 
not  known  my  ways.  Wherefore  I  sware  in  my  wrath,  they  should 
never  enter  into  my  rest/  Heb.  iii.  10,  11.  '  My  people  are  a  people  of 
no  understanding,  therefore  he  that  made  them  will  have  no  mercy  on 
them,'  Isa.  xxvii.  11.  Christ  hath  said,  '  That  he  will  come  in  flaming 
fire,  to  render  vengeance  on  them  that  know  not  Go^/  2  Thes.  i.  8. 
Ignorance  will  end  in  vengeance.  When  you  see  a  poor  blind  man 
here,  you  do  not  loathe  him,  nor  hate  him,  but  you  pity  him.  Oh  !  but 
soul-blindness  makes  you  abominable  in  the  sight  of  God.  God  hath 
sworn  that  ignorant  persons  shall  never  come  into  heaven.  Heaven 
itself  would  be  a  hell  to  ignorant  souls.2 

'  My  people  are  destroyed  for  want  of  knowledge  ;  because  thou  hast 
rejected  knowledge,  I  will  reject  thee,'  Hosea,  iv.  6  ;  ["1NDXDX,  cut  off  J. 

Chilo,  one  of  the  seven  sages,  being  asked  what  God  had  done, 
answered,  'He  exalted  humble  men,  and  suppressed  proud  ignorant 
fools.3 

Remedy  (4).  The  fourth  remedy  against  this  device  of  Satan  is,  to 
consider,  That  ignorance  is  a  sin  that  leads  to  all  sins.  All  sins  are 
seminal  ly  in  ignorance.  'You  do  err,  not  knowing  the  Scriptures,' 
Mat.  xxii.  29.  It  puts  men  upon  hating  and  persecuting  the  saints. 
'  They  shall  hate  you,  and  put  you  out  of  the  synagogues  :  yea,  the 
time  cometh,  that  whosoever  killeth  you  will  think  that  he  doth  God 
service.  And  these  things  will  they  do  unto  you,  because  they  have 
not  known  the  Father,  nor  me/  John  xvi.  2,  3.  Paul  thanks  his 
ignorance  for  all  his  cruelties  to  Christians.  '  I  was  a  blasphemer,  and 
a  persecutor,  and  injurious :   but  I  obtained  mercy,  because  I  did  it 

1  Ignorat  sane  improbus  omnis,  saith  Aristotle. 

2  They  must  needs  err  that  know  not  God's  ways,  yet  cannot  they  wander  so  wide  as 
to  miss  of  hell. 

• 3  Rome  saith,  ignorance  is  the  mother  of  devotion,  hut  the  Scripture  saith,  it  is  the 
mother  of  destruction. 


138  PRECIOUS  REMEDIES  [2  COR  II  11. 

ignorantly,'  I  Tim.  i.  13.1  It  was  ignorance  that  put  the  Jews  upcn 
crucifying  Chrisl  :  '  Father,  forgive  them,'  saith  Christ  of  his  murderers, 

'  for  tiny  know  not  what  they  do,'  Luke  xxiii.  34  :  'for  if  the  princes 
of  this  world  had  known,  they  would  not  have  crucified  the  Lord  of 
glory,'  1  Cor.  ii.  <S.2  Sin  at  first  was  the  cause  of  ignorance,  but  now 
ignorance  is  the  cause  of  all  sin.  ' Swearing,  and  lying,  and  killing, 
and  stealing,  and  whoring  abound,'  saith  the  prophet,  'because  there 
is  no  knowledge  of  God  in  the  land.'  There  are  none  so  frequent,  and 
so  impudent  in  the  ways  of  sin,  as  ignorant  souls  ;  they  care  not,  nor 
mind  not  what  they  do,  nor  what  they  say  against  God,  Christ,  heaven, 
holiness,  and  their  own  souls.  'Our  tongues  are  our  own,  who  shall 
control  us  ?  They  are  corrupt,  and  speak  wickedly  concerning  oppres- 
sion :  they  speak  loftily.  They  set  their  mouth  against  the  heavens  ; 
and  their  tongue  walketh  through  the  earth.  Have  all  the  workers  of 
iniquity  no  knowledge?  who  eat  up  my  people  as  they  eat  bread,  and 
call  not  upon  the  Lord  ?'3  4 

1  It  seems  right  to  note  that  the  apostle  does  not  allege  his  ignorance,  for  which  he  was 
responsible,  as  the  ground  of  the  'mercy'  shewn  him,  but  only  as  the  source  and  explanation 
of  his  sin  and  violence  The  clause,  '  but  I  obtained  mercy,'  is  parenthetic,  and  it  is  of 
importance  to  note  this. — G. 

2  Aristotle  makes  ignorance  the  mother  of  all  the  misrule  in  the  world. 
8  Ps.  xiv.  4;  lxxiii.  8,  9. 

4  They  did  like  CEdipus,  who  killed  his  father  Laius,  king  of  Thebes,  and  thought  he 
killed  his  enemy.     [Euripides,  Phoen.  '69. — G.] 


2  COK.  II.  11. J  AGAINST  SATAN'S  DEVICES.  139 


AN   APPENDIX 

TOUCHING  FIVE  MORE  OF  SATAN'S  DEVICES, 

Whereby  he  keepeth  poor  souls  from  believing  in  Christ,  from  receiving 
of  Christ,  from  embracing  of  Christ,  from  resting,  leaning,  or 
relying  upon  Christ,  for  everlasting  happiness  and  blessedness, 
according  to  the  gospel ;  and  remedies  against  these  devices. 


His  first  device  to  keep  the  soul  from  believing  in  Christ  is, 
Device  (1).  By  suggesting  to  the  soul  the  greatness  and  vileness  of 
his  sins.  What!  saith  Satan,  dost  thou  think  that  thou  shalt  ever 
obtain  mercy  by  Christ,  that  hast  sinned  with  so  high  a  hand  against 
Christ  ?  that  hast  slighted  the  tenders1  of  grace  ?  that  hast  grieved  the 
Spirit  of  grace?  that  hast  despised  the  word  of  grace?  that  hast  trampled 
under  feet  the  blood  of  the  covenant,  by  which  thou  mightest  have  been 
pardoned,  purged,  justified,  and  saved  ?  that  hast  spoken  and  done  all 
the  evil  that  thou  couldest  ?  No  !  no  !  saith  Satan,  he  hath  mercy  for 
others,  but  not  for  thee;  pardon  for  others,  but  not  for  thee;  righteous- 
ness for  others,  but  not  for  thee,  &c,  therefore  it  is  in  vain  for  thee  to 
think  of  believing  in  Christ,  or  resting  and  leaning  thy  guilty  soul  upon 
Christ,  Jer.  iii.  5. 

Now  the  remedies  against  this  device  are  these  : — 
Remedy  (1).  The  first  remedy  against  this  device  of  Satan  is,  to 
consider,  That  tlie  greater  your  sins  are,  the  more  you  stand  in  need 
of  a  Saviour.  The  greater  your  burden  is,  the  more  you  stand  in  need 
of  one  to  help  to  bear  it.  The  deeper  the  wound  is,  the  more  need 
there  is  of  the  chirurgeon ;  the  more  dangerous  the  disease  is,  the  more 
need  there  is  of  the  physician.  Who  but  madmen  will  argue  thus  :  My 
burden  is  great,  therefore  I  will  not  call  out  for  help  ;  my  wound  is 
deep,  therefore  I  will  not  call  out  for  balm  ;  my  disease  is  dangerous, 
therefore  I  will  not  go  to  the  physician.  Ah  !  it  is  spiritual  madness, 
it  is  the  devil's  logic  to  argue  thus  :  My  sins  are  great,  therefore  I  will 
not  go  to  Christ,  I  dare  not  rest  nor  lean  on  Christ,  &c. ;  whereas  the  soul 
should  reason  thus:  The  greater  my  sins  are,  the  more  I  stand  in  need  of 
mercy,  of  pardon,  and  therefore  I  will  go  to  Christ,  who  delights  in  mercy, 

1  '  Offers.'— G. 


14-0  PRECIOUS  REMEDIES  [2  COR.  II.  11. 

who  pardons  sin  for  his  own  name's  sake,  who  is  as  able  and  as  willing 
to  forgive  pounds  as  pence,  thousands  as  hundreds,  Micah  vii.  18,  Isa. 
xliii.  -"). 

R  medy  (2).  The  second  remedy  against  this  device  of  Satan  is, 
solemnly  to  consider,  llmt  thepromise  o/'u race  and  mercy  is  to  return- 
ing souls.  And,  therefore,  though  thou  art  never  so  wicked,  yet  if  thou 
wilt  return,  God  will  be  thine,  and  mercy  shall  be  thine,  and  pardon 
shall  he  thine  :  2  Chron.  xxx.  9,  'For  if  you  turn  again  unto  the  Lord, 
your  brethren  and  your  children  shall  find  compassion  before  them  that 
Lad  them  captive,  so  that  they  shall  come  again  into  this  land:  for  the 
Lord  our  God  is  gracious  and  merciful,  and  will  not  turn  away  his  face 
from  you,  if  ye  return  unto  him.'  So  Jer.  iii.  12,  'Go  and  proclaim 
these  words  towards  the  north,  and  say,  Return,  thou  backsliding  Israel, 
saith  the  Lord,  and  I  will  not  cause  my  anger  to  fall  upon  you :  for  I 
am  merciful,  saith  the  Lord,  and  I  will  not  keep  anger  for  ever.'  So 
Joel  ii.  13,  'And  rend  your  hearts,  and  not  your  garments,  and  turn 
unto  the  Lord  your  God :  for  he  is  gracious  and  merciful,  slow  to  anger, 
and  of  great  kindness,  and  repenteth  him  of  the  evil.'  So  Isa.  lv.  7, 
'  Let  the  wicked  forsake  his  ways,  and  the  unrighteous  man  his 
thoughts :  and  let  him  return  unto  the  Lord,  and  he  will  have  mercy 
upon  him  ;  and  to  our  God,  for  he  will  abundantly  pardon/  or,  as  the 
Hebrew  reads  it,  '  He  will  multiply  pardon :'  so  Ezek.  xviii. 

Ah  !  sinner,  it  is  not  thy  great  transgressions  that  shall  exclude  thee 
from  mercy,  if  thou  wilt  break  off  thy  sins  by  repentance  and  return  to 
the  fountain  of  mercy.  Christ's  heart,  Christ's  arms,  are  wide  open  to 
embrace  the  returning  prodigal.  It  is  not  simply  the  greatest1  of  thy 
sins,  but  thy  peremptory  persisting  in  sin,  that  will  be  thy  eternal 
overthrow. 

Remedy  (3).  The  third  remedy  against  this  device  of  Satan  is, 
solemnly  to  consider,  That  the  greatest  sinners  have  obtai/ned  mercy, 
and  therefore  all  the  angels  im  heaven,  all  the  men  on  earth,  and  all 
tl i e  devils  in  hell  cannot  tell  to  the  contrary,  but  that  thou  mayest 
obtai/n  mercy.  Manasseh  was  a  notorious  sinner;  he  erected  altars  for 
Baal,  he  worshipped  and  served  all  the  host  of  heaven  ;  he  caused  his 
sons  to  pass  through  the  fire;  he  gave  himself  to  witchcraft  and  sorcery; 
he  made  Judah  to  sin  more  wickedly  than  the  heathen  did,  whom  the 
Lord  destroyed  before  the  children  of  Israel ;  he  caused  the  streets  of 
Jerusalem  to  run  down  with  innocent  blood,  2  Kings  xxi.  Ah  !  what  a 
devil  incarnate  was  he  in  his  actings  !  Yet  when  he  humbled  himself, 
and  sought  the  Lord,  the  Lord  was  entreated  of  him  and  heard  his 
supplication,  and  brought  him  to  Jerusalem,  and  made  himself  known 
unto  him,  and  crowned  him  with  mercy  and  loving-kindness,  as  you 
may  sec  in  2  Chron.  xxxiii.'-  So  Paul  was  once  a  blasphemer,  a  perse- 
cutor and  injurious,  yet  he  obtained  mercy,  1  Tim.  i.  13.  So  Mary 
Magdalene  was  a  notorious  strumpet,  a  common  whore,  out  of  whom 
Christ  cast  seveu  devils,  yet  she  is  pardoned  by  Christ,  and  dearly  be- 
loved of  Christ,  Luke  vii.  37,  38.  So  Mark  xvi.  J),  'Now,  when  Jesus 
was  risen  early  the  first  day  of  the  week,  he  appeared  first  to  Mary 
Magdalene,  out  of  whom  he  had  cast  seven  devils.'3 

1  Qu.  '  greatness  '  ? — G. 

2  The  Hebrew  doctors  writ  thai  lie  slew  Itsaiah  the  prophet,  who  was  his  father-in-law. 

3  See  footnote  on  page  100. — G. 


2  Cor.  II.  11.]  against  satan's  devices.  1-il 

Jansenius  on  the  place  saith,it  is  very  observable  that  our  Saviour  after 
his  resurrection  first  appeared  to  Mary  Magdalene  and  Peter,  that  had 
been  grievous  sinners  ;  that  even  the  worst  of  sinners  may  be  comforted 
and  encouraged  to  come  to  Christ,  to  believe  in  Christ,  to  rest  and  stay 
their  souls  upon  Christ,  for  mercy  here  and  glory  hereafter.  That  is  a 
very  precious  word  for  the  worst  of  sinners  to  hang  upon,  Ps.  lxviii.  18. 
The  psalmist  speaking  of  Christ  saith,  '  Thou  hast  ascended  on  high, 
thou  hast  led  captivity  captive  ;  thou  hast  received  gifts  for  men  ;  yea, 
for  the  rebellious  also,  that  the  Lord  might  dwell  amongst  them.' 

What  though  thou  art  a  rebellious  child,  or  a  rebellious  servant  ! 
What  though  thou  art  a  rebellious  swearer,  a  rebellkms  drunkard,  a 
rebellious  Sabbath  breaker  !  Yet  Christ  hath  received  gifts  for  thee, 
1  even  for  the  rebellious  also.'  He  hath  received  the  gift  of  pardon, 
the  gift  of  righteousness,  yea,  all  the  gifts  of  the  Spirit  for  thee,  that 
thy  heart  may  be  made  a  delightful  house  for  God  to  dwell  in. 

Bodin1  hath  a  story  concerning  a  great  rebel  that  had  made  a  strong 
party  against  a  Roman  emperor.  The  emperor  makes  proclamation, 
that  whoever  could  bring  the  rebel  dead  or  alive,  he  should  have  such 
a  great  sum  of  money.  The  rebel  hearing  of  this,  comes  and  presents 
himself  before  the  emperor,  and  demands  the  sum  of  money.  Now, 
saith  the  emperor,  if  I  should  put  him  to  death,  the  world  would  say  I 
did  it  to  save  my  money.  And  so  he  pardons  the  rebel,  and  gives  him 
the  money. 

Ah,  sinners  !  Shall  a  heathen  do  this,  that  had  but  a  drop  of  mercy 
and  compassion  in  him  :  and  will  not  Christ  do  much  more,  that  hath 
all  fulness  of  grace,  mercy,  and  glory  in  himself  ?  Surely  his  bowels 
do  yearn  towards  the  worst  of  rebels.  Ah  !  if  you  still  but  come  in,  you 
will  find  him  ready  to  pardon,  yea,  one  made  up  of  pardoning  mercy. 
Oh  !  the  readiness  and  willingness  of  Jesus  Christ  to  receive  to  favour 
the  greatest  rebels  !  The  father  of  mercies  did  meet,  embrace,  and 
kiss  that  prodigal  mouth  which  came  from  feeding  with  swine  and 
kissing  of  harlots,  Col.  i.  19,  ii  3,  4.2 

Ephraim  had  committed  idolatry,  and  was  backslidden  from  God  ; 
he  was  guilty  of  lukewarmness  and  unbelief,  &c,  yet  saith  God, 
'  Ephraim  is  my  dear  son,  he  is  a  pleasant  child,  my  bowels  are  troubled 
for  him,  I  will  have  mercy,'  or  rather  as  it  is  in  the  original, '  I  will 
have  mercy,  mercy  upon  him,  saith  the  Lord,'3 

Well !  saith  God,  though  Ephraim  be  guilty  of  crimson  sins,  yet  he 
is  a  son,  a  dear  son,  a  precious  son,  a  pleasant  child  ;  though  he  be 
black  with  filth,  and  red  with  guilt,  yet  my  bowels  are  troubled  for 
him  ;  I  will  have  mercy,  mercy  upon  him.  Ah  sinners,  if  these  bowels 
of  mercy  do  not  melt,  win,  and  draw  you,  justice  will  be  a  swift  witness 
against  you,  and  make  you  lie  down  in  eternal  misery  for  kicking 
against  the  bowels  of  mercy. 

Christ  hangs  out  still,  as  once  that  warlike  Scythian  did,  a  white  flag 
of  grace  and  mercy  to  returning  sinners  that  humble  themselves  at  his 
feet  for  favour  ;  but  if  sinners  stand  out,  Christ  will  put  forth  his  red 

1  John  Bodin  died  1596  :  for  above  see  Universce  Naturce  Theatrum,  &c,  &c,  1579;  and 
Les  six  Livres  de  la  Republique,  &c,  1593. — G. 

2  Neb.,  ix.  15,  Hebrew,  But  thou  a  God  of  pardons. 

3  Hosea  iv.  17  ;  v.  3  ;  vi.  8,  11  ;  xii.  12,  14 ;  xiii.  12.      Vide  Jer.  xxxi.  20. 


142  PRECIOUS  REMEDIES  [2  COR.  II.  11. 

flag,  his  bloody  flag,  and  they  shall  die  for  ever  by  a  hand  of  justice. 
Sinners  !  there  is  no  way  to  avoid  perishing  by  Christ's  iron  rod,  but  by 
kissing  his  golden  sceptre. 

Remedy  (4).  The  fourth  remedy  against  this  device  of  Satan  is,  to 
consider,  That  Jesus  Christ  liallt  novhere  in  all  the  tier! /tin re  excepted 
against  the  worst  of  sinners  that  are  willing  to  receive  him,  to  believe 
in  him,  to  rest  upon  hvm  for  happiness  amd  blessedness.  Ah  !  sinners, 
why  should  you  be  more  cruel  and  unmerciful  to  your  own  souls  than 
Christ  is  ?  Christ  bath  not  excluded  you  from  mercy,  why  should  you 
exclude  your  i  >\\  n  souls  from  mercy  ?  Oh  that  you  would  dwell  often  upon 
that  choice  Scripture,  John  vi.  o7,  '  All  that  the  Father  giveth  me,  shall 
come  to  me  ;  and  him  that  cometh  to  me  I  will  in  no  wise  cast  out,'  or 
as  the  original  hath  it,  '  I  will  not  not  cast  out.'  Well!  saith  Christ,  if  any 
man  will  come,  or  is  coming  to  me,  let  him  be  more  sinful  or  less;  more 
unworthy  or  less;  let  him  be  never  so  guilty,  never  so  filthy,  never  so 
rebellious,  never  so  leprous,  &c,  yet  if  he  will  but  come,  I  will  not  not 
cast  him  off.  So  much  is  held  forth  in  1  Cor.  vi.  9-11,  'Know  ye 
not  that  the  unrighteous  shall  not  inherit  the  kingdom  of  God  ?  Be 
not  deceived  :  neither  fornicators,  nor  idolaters,  nor  adulterers,  nor 
effeminate,  nor  abusers  of  themselves  with  mankind,  nor  thieves,  nor 
covetous,  nor  drunkards,  nor  revilers,  nor  extortioners,  shall  inherit  the 
kingdom  of  God.  And  such  were  some  of  you  :  but  ye  are  washed,  but 
ye  are  sanctified,  but  ye  are  justified  in  the  name  of  the  Lord  Jesus, 
and  by  the  Spirit  of  our  God.' 

Ah  !  sinners,  do  not  think  that  he  that  hath  received  such  notorious 
sinners  to  mercy  will  reject  you.  '  He  is  yesterday,  and  to-day,  and  the 
same  for  ever,'  Heb.  xiii.  8.  Christ  was  born  in  an  inn,  to  shew  that  he 
receives  all  comers  ;  his  garments  were  divided  into  four  parts,  to  shew 
that  out  of  what  part  of  the  world  soever  we  come,  we  shall  be  received. 
If  we  be  naked,  Christ  hath  robes  to  clothe  us  ;  if  we  be  harbourless, 
Christ  hath  room  to  lodge  us.  That  is  a  choice  scripture,  Acts  x.  34, 
35,  '  Then  Peter  opened  his  mouth  and  said,  Of  a  truth  I  perceive  that 
God  is  no  respecter  of  persons.  But  in  every  nation,  he  that  feareth 
him,  and  worketh  righteousness,  is  accepted  with  him.' 

The  three  tongues  that  were  written  upon  the  cross,  Greek,  Latin, 
and  Hebrew,  John  xix.  19,  20,  to  witness  Christ  to  be  the  king  of  the 
Jews,  do  each  of  them  in  their  several  idiom  avouch  this  singular  axiom, 
that  Christ  is  an  all-sufficient  Saviour;  and  '  a  threefold  cord  is  not 
easily  broken.'  The  apostle  puts  this  out  of  doubt:  Heb.  vii.  25, 
'  Wherefore  he  is  able  also  to  save  them  to  the  uttermost  that  come 
unto  God  by  him,  seeing  he  ever  liveth  to  make  intercession  for  them/ 
Now,  he  were  not  an  all-sufficient  Saviour  if  he  were  not  able  to  save 
the  greatest,  as  [well  as]  the  least  of  sinners.  Ah  !  sinners,  tell  Jesus 
Christ  thai  be  hath  not  excluded  you  from  mercy,  and  therefore  you 
are  resolved  that  yon  will  sit,  wait,  weep,  and  knock  at  the  door  of 
mercy,  till  he  shall  say,  Souls,  be  of  good  cheer,  your  sins  are  forgiven, 
your  persons  are  justified,  and  your  souls  shall  be  saved. 

Remedy  (5).  The  fifth  remedy  against  this  device  of  Satan  is,  to  con- 
sider, That  the  greater  aim  ner  thou  art,  the  dearer  iJtou  wilt  be  to  Christ, 
when  he  shall  behold  thee  <ts  the  travail  of  his  soid  :  Isa.  liii.  11,  '  He 
shall  see  of  the  travail  of  his  soul,  and  be  satisfied.'     The  dearer  we  pay 


2  Cor.  II.  11.]  against  satan's  devices.  143 

for  anything,  the  dearer  that  thing  is  to  us.  Christ  hath  paid  most,  and 
prayed  most,  and  sighed  most,  and  wept  most,  and  bled  most  for  the 
greatest  sinners,  and  therefore  they  are  dearer  to  Christ  than  others 
that  are  less  sinful.  Rachel  was  dearer  to  Jacob  than  Leah,  because 
she  cost  him  more  ;  he  obeyed,  endured,  and  suffered  more  by  day  and 
night  for  her  than  for  Leah.  Ah  !  sinners,  the  greatness  of  your  sins 
does  but  set  off  the  freeness  and  riches  of  Christ's  grace,  and  the  fine- 
ness of  his  love.  This  maketh  heaven  and  earth  to  ring  of  his  praise, 
that  he  loves  those  that  are  most  unlovely,  that  he  shews  most  favour 
to  them  that  have  sinned  most  highly  against  him,  as  might  be  shev/ed 
by  several  instances  in  Scripture,  as  Paul,  Mary  Magdalene,  and  others. 
Who  sinned  more  against  Christ  than  these  ?  And  who  had  sweeter 
and  choicer  manifestations  of  divine  love  and  favour  than  these  ? 

Remedy  (6).  The  sixth  remedy  against  this  device  of  Satan  is, 
seriously  to  consider,  That  the  longer  you  keep  off  from  Christ,  the 
greater  and  stronger  your  sins  will  grow.  All  divine  power  and 
strength  against  sin  flows  from  the  soul's  union  and  communion  with 
Christ,  Rom.  viii.  1 0,  1  John  i.  6,  7.  While  you  keep  off  from  Christ, 
you  keep  off  from  that  strength  and  power  which  is  only  able  to  make 
you  trample  down  strength,  lead  captivity  captive,  and  slay  the  Goliaths 
that  bid  defiance  to  Christ.  It  is  only  faith  in  Christ  that  makes  a  man 
triumph  over  sin,  Satan,  hell,  and  the  world,  1  John  v.  4.  It  is  only 
faith  in  Christ  that  binds  the -strong  man's  hand  and  foot,  that  stops 
the  issue  of  blood,  that  makes  a  man  strong  in  resisting,  and  happy  in 
conquering,  Mat.  v.  15  to  35.  Sin  always  dies  most  where  faith  lives 
most.  The  most  believing  soul  is  the  most  mortified  soul.  Ah  !  sinner, 
remember  this,  there  is  no  way  on  earth  effectually  to  be  rid  of  the 
guilt,  filth,  and  power  of  sin,  but  by  believing  in  a  Saviour.  It  is  not 
resolving,  it  is  not  complaining,  it  is  not  mourning,  but  believing,  that 
will  make  thee  divinely  victorious  over  that  body  of  sin  that  to  this  day 
is  too  strong  for  thee,  and  that  will  certainly  be  thy  ruin,  if  it  be  not 
ruined  by  a  hand  of  faith. 

Remedy  (7).  The  seventh  remedy  against  this  device  of  Satan  is, 
wisely  to  consider,  That  as  there  is  nothing  in  Christ  to  discourage 
the  greatest  sinners  from  believing  in  him,  so  there  is  everything  in 
Christ  that  may  encourage  the  greatest  sinners  to  believe  on  him,  to 
rest  and  lean  upon  him  for  all  happiness  and  blessedness,  Cant.  i.  3. 
If  you  look  upon  his  nature,  his  disposition,  his  names,  his  titles,  his 
offices  as  king,  priest,  and  prophet,  you  will  find  nothing  to  discourage 
the  greatest  sinners  from  believing  in  him,  but  many  things  to  encour- 
age the  greatest  sinners  to  receive  him,  to  believe  on  him.1  Christ  is 
the  greatest  good,  the  choicest  good,  the  chiefest  good,  the  most  suitable 
good,  the  most  necessary  good.  He  is  a  pure  good,  a  real  good,  a  total 
good,  an  eternal  good,  and  a  soul-satisfying  good,  Rev.  iii.  17,  18. 
Sinners,  are  you  poor?  Christ  hath  gold  to  enrich  you.  Are  you 
naked  ?  Christ  hath  royal  robes,  he  hath  white  raiment  to  clothe  you. 
Are  you  blind  ?  Christ  hath  eye-salve  to  enlighten  you.  Are  you 
hungry  ?  Christ  will  be  manna  to  feed  you.  Are  you  thirsty  ?  He  will 
be  a  well  of  living  water  to  refresh  you.  Are  you  wounded  ?  He  hath 
a  balm  under  his  wings  to  heal  you.  Are  you  sick  ?  He  is  a  physician 
1  Col.  i.  19,  ii.  3,  Cant,  v.  10. 


144  PRECIOUS  REMEDIES  [2  COR.  II.  11. 

to  cure  you.  Are  you  prisoners?  He  hath  laid  down  a  ransom  for  you. 
Ah,  sinners  !  tell  me,  tell  me,  is  there  anything  in  Christ  to  keep  you 
off  from  believing  ?  No.  Is  there  not  everything  in  Christ  that  may 
encourage  you  to  believe  in  him?  Yes.  Oh,  then,  believe  in  him,  and 
then,  '  Though  your  sins  be  as  scarlet,  they  shall  be  as  white  as  snow, 
though  they  be  red  like  crimson,  they  shall  be  as  wool,'  Isa.  i.  18. 
Nay,  then,  your  iniquities  shall  bo  forgotten  as  well  as  forgiven,  they 
shall  bo  remembered  no  more.  God  will  cast  them  behind  his  back,  he 
will  throw  them  into  the  bottom  of  the  sea,  Isa,  xliii.  25,  xxxviii.  17, 
Micah  vii.  19. 

Remedy  (8).  The  eighth  remedy  against  this  device  of  Satan  is, 
seriously  to  consider,  TJte  absolute  necessity  of  believing  in  Christ. 
Heaven  is  too  holy  and  too  hot  to  hold  unbelievers  ;  their  lodging  is 
prepared  in  hell :  Rev.  xxi.  8,  '  But  the  fearful  and  unbelieving.  &a, 
shall  have  their  part  in  the  lake  which  burnetii  with  fire  and  brim- 
stone, which  is  the  second  death.'  '  If  ye  believe  not  that  I  am  he,' 
saith  Christ,  '  you  shall  die  in  your  sins,'  John  viii.  2 1.  And  he  that 
dies  in  his  sins  must  to  judgment  and  to  hell  in  his  sins.  Every  un- 
believer is  a  condemned  man :  '  He  that  believeth  not,'  saith  John,  '  i 
condemned  alread}^  because  he  hath  not  believed  in  the  name  of  th 
only  begotten  Son  of  God.  And  he  that  believeth  not  the  Son,  shall 
not  see  life,  but  the  wrath  of  God  abideth  on  him,'  John  iii.  18,  36. 
Ah,  sinners  !  the  law,  the  gospel,  and  your  own  consciences,  have  passed 
the  sentence  of  condemnation  upon  you,  and  there  is  no  way  to  reverse 
the  sentence  but  by  believing  in  Christ.  And  therefore  my  counsel  is 
this,  Stir  up  yourselves  to  lay  hold  on  the  Lord  Jesus,  and  look  up  to 
him,  and  wait  on  him,  from  whom  every  good  and  perfect  gift  comes, 
and  give  him  no  rest  till  he  hath  given  thee  that  jewel  faith,  that  is 
more  worth  than  heaven  and  earth,  and  that  will  make  thee  happy  in 
life,  joyful  in  death,  and  glorious  in  the  day  of  Christ,  Isa.  lxiv.  7, 
James  i.  17,  Isa.  lxii.  7. 

And  thus  much  for  the  remedies  against  this  first  device  of  Satan, 
whereby  he  keeps  off  thousands  from  believing  in  Christ. 

The  second  device  that  Satan  hath  to  keep  poor  sinners  from  be- 
lieving, from  closing  with  a  Saviour,  is, 

Device  (2).  By  suggesting  to  them  their  unworthincss.  Ah!  saith 
Satan,  as  thou  art  worthy  of  the  greatest  misery,  so  thou  art  un- 
worthy of  the  least  crumb  of  mercy.  What!  dost  thou  think,  saith 
Satan,  that  ever  Christ  will  own,  receive,  or  embrace  such  an  unworthy 
wretch  as  thou  art?  No,  no;  if  there  were  any  worthiness  in  thee, 
then,  indeed,  Christ  might  be  willing  to  be  entertained  by  thee.  Thou 
art  unworthy  to  entertain  Christ  into  thy  house,  how  much  more  un- 
worthy art  thou  to  ontertain  Christ  into  thy  heart,  &c. 

Now  the  remedies  against  this  device  are  these. 

Remedy  (1).  The  first  remedy  against  this  device  of  Satan  is, 
seriously  to  consider,  That  God  hath  nowhere  in  the  Scripture  required 
any  ivorthincss  in  lite  creature  before  believing  in  Christ.  If  you 
make  a  diligent  search  through  all  the  scripture,  you  shall  not  find, 
from  the  fust  line  in  Genesis  to  the  last  line  in  the  Revelations,  one 
word  that  speaks  out  God's  requiring  any  worthiness  in  the  creature 
before  the  soul's  believing  in  Christ,  before  the  soul's  leaning  and  rest- 


2  Cor.  II.  11.}  against  satan's  devices.  145 

ing  upon  Christ  for  happiness  and  blessedness  ;  and  why,  then,  should 
that  be  a  bar  and  hindrance  to  thy  faith,  which  God  doth  nowhere 
require  of  thee  before  thou  comest  to  Christ,  that  thou  mayest  have 
life  ?  Mat.  xix.  8,  John  v.  29.  Ah,  sinners !  remember  Satan  objects 
your  unworthiness  against  you  only  out  of  a  design  to  keep  Christ  and 
your  souls  asunder  for  ever  ;  and  therefore,  in  the  face  of  all  your  un- 
worthiness, rest  upon  Christ,  come  to  Christ,  believe  in  Christ,  and  you 
are  happy  for  ever,  John  vi.  40,  47. 

Remedy  (2).  The  second  remedy  against  this  device  of  Satan  is, 
wisely  to  consider,  That  none  ever  received  Christ,  embraced  Christ, 
and  obtained  mercy  and  pardon  from  Christ,  but  unworthy  sotds. 
Pray,  what  worthiness  was  in  Matthew,  Zaccheus,  Mary  Magdalene, 
Manasseh,  Paul,  and  Lydia,  before  their  coming  to  Christ,  before  their 
faith  in  Christ  ?  Surely  none.  Ah,  sinners  !  you  should  reason  thus  : 
Christ  hath  bestowed  the  choicest  mercies,  the  greatest  favours,  the 
highest  dignities,  the  sweetest  privileges,  upon  unworthy  sinners,  and 
therefore,  O  our  souls,  do  not  you  faint,  do  not  you  despair,  but  patiently 
and  quietly  wait  for  the  salvation  of  the  Lord.  Who  can  tell  but  that 
free  grace  and  mercy  may  shine  forth  upon  us,  though  we  are  unworthy, 
and  give  us  a  portion  among  those  worthies  that  are  now  triumphing 
in  heaven. 

Remedy  (3).  The  third  remedy  against  this  device  of  Satan  is,  That 
if  the  soul  will  keep  off  from  Christ  till  it  be  worthy,  it  will  never 
close  with  Christ,  it  will  never  embrace  Christ.  It  will  never  be  one 
with  Christ,  it  must  lie  down  in  everlasting  sorrow,  Isa.  1.  11.  God 
hath  laid  up  all  worthiness  in  Christ,  that  the  creature  may  know  where 
to  find  it,  and  may  make  out  after  it.  There  is  no  way  on  earth  to 
make  unworthy  souls  worthy,  but  by  believing  in  Christ,  James  ii.  23. 
Believing  in  Christ,  of  slaves,  it  will  make  you  worthy  sons;  of  enemies, 
it  will  make  you  worthy  friends.  God  will  count  none  worthy,  nor 
call  none  worthy,  nor  carry  it  towards  none  as  worthy,  but  believers, 
who  are  made  worthy  by  the  worthiness  of  Christ's  person,  righteous- 
ness, satisfaction,  and  intercession,  &c,  Rev.  iii.  4. 

Remedy  (4).  The  fourth  remedy  against  this  device  of  Satan  is 
solemnly  to  consider,  That  if  you  make  a  diligent  search  into  your 
own  hearts,  you  shall  find  that  it  is  the  pride  and  folly  of  your  oivn 
hearts  that  puts  you  upon  bringing  of  a  tvorthiness  to  Christ.  Oh  !  you 
would  fain  bring  something  to  Christ  that  might  render  you  acceptable 
to  him  ;  you  are  loath  to  come  empty-handed.  The  Lord  cries  out,  '  Ho, 
every  one  that  thirsteth,  come  ye  to  the  waters,  and  he  that  hath  no 
money  :  come  ye,  buy  and  eat ;  yea,  come,  buy  wine  and  milk  without 
money,  and  without  price.  Wherefore  do  ye  spend  your  money  upon 
that  which  is  not  bread,  and  your  labour  for  that  which  satisfieth  not  f 
Isa.  lv.  1,  2.  Here  the  Lord  calls  upon  moneyless,  upon  penniless 
souls,  upon  unworthy  souls,  to  come  and  partake  of  his  precious  favours 
freely.  But  sinners  are  proud  and  foolish,  and  because  they  have  no 
money,  no  worthiness  to  bring,  they  will  not  come,  though  he  sweetly 
invites  them.  Ah,  sinners!  what  is  more  just  than  that  you  should 
perish  for  ever,  that  prefer  husks  among  swine  before  the  milk  and 
wine,  the  sweet  and  precious  things  of  the  gospel,  that  are  freely  and 

VOL.  I.  K 


146  PRECIOUS  REMEDIES  [2  COR.  II.  11.' 

sweetly  offered  to  you,  &c.  Well,  sinners  !  remember  this,  it  is  not  so 
much  the  sense  of  your  unworthiness,  as  your  pride,  that  keeps  you  off 
from  a  blessed  closing  with  the  Lord  Jesus. 

The  third  device  that  Satan  hath  to  keep  poor  sinners  from  believ- 
ing, from  closing  with  a  Saviour,  is, 

Device  (3).  By  suggesting  to  them  the  want  of  such  and  such 'pre- 
parations and  qualifications.  Saith  Satan,  Thou  art  not  prepared  to 
entertain  Christ ;  thou  art  not  thus  and  thus  humbled  and  justified ; 
thou  art  not  heart-sick  of  sin ;  thou  hast  not  been  under  horrors  and 
terrors  as  such  and  such  ;  thou  must  stay  till  thou  art  prepared  and 
qualified  to  receive  the  Lord  Jesus,  &c. 

Now,  the  remedies  against  this  device  are  these : 

Remedy  (1).  The  first  remedy  against  this  device  of  Satan  is, 
solemnly  to  consider,  That  such  as  have  not  been  so  and  so  prepared 
and  qualified  as  Satan  suggests,  have  received  Christ,  believed  in 
Christ,  and  been  saved  by  Christ.  Matthew  was  called,  sitting  at  the 
receipt  of  custom,  and  there  was  such  power  went  along  with  Christ's 
call,  that  made  him  to  follow  him,  Mat.  ix.  9.  We  read  not  of  any 
horrors  or  terrors,  &c,  that  he  was  under  before  his  being  called  by 
Christ.  Pray,  what  preparations  and  qualifications  were  found  in 
Zaccheus,  Paul,  the  jailor,  and  Lydia,  before  their  conversion,  Luke 
xix.  9,  Acts  xvi.  14,  seq.  God  brings  in  some  by  the  sweet  and  still 
voice  of  the  gospel,  and  usually  such  that  are  thus  brought  into  Christ 
are  the  sweetest,  humblest,  choicest,  and  fruitfullest  Christians.  God  is 
a  free  agent  to  work  by  law  or  gospel,  by  smiles  or  frowns,  by  present- 
ing hell  or  heaven  to  sinners'  souls.  God  thunders  from  mount  Sinai 
upon  some  souls,  and  conquers  them  by  thundering.  God  speaks  to 
others  in  a  still  voice,  and  by  that  conquers  them.  You  that  are 
brought  to  Christ  by  the  law,  do  not  you  judge  and  condemn  them 
that  are  brought  to  Christ  by  the  gospel ;  and  you  that  are  brought  to 
Christ  by  the  gospel,  do  not  you  despise  those  that  are  brought  to 
Christ  by  the  law.  Some  are  brought  to  Christ  by  fire,  storms,  and 
tempests,  others  by  more  easy  and  gentle  gales  of  the  Spirit.  The 
Spirit  is  free  in  the  works  of  conversion,  and,  as  the  wind,  it  blows 
when,  where,  and  how  it  pleases,  John  iii.  8.  Thrice  happy  are  those 
souls  that  are  brought  to  Christ,  whether  it  be  in  a  winter's  night  or 
in  a  summer's  day. 

Remedy  (2).  The  second  remedy  against  this  device  of  Satan  is, 
Holemnly  To  dwell  upon  these  following  scriptures,  which  do  clearly 
evidence  that  poor  sinners  which  are  not  so  and  so  prepared  and 
qualified  to  meet  with  Christ,  to  receive  and  embrace  the  Lord  Jesus 
Christ,  may,  notwithstanding  that,  believe  in  Christ;  and  rest  and 
lean  upon  him  for  happiness  and  blessedness,  according  to  the  gospel. 
Read  Prov.  i.  20-33,  and  chap.  viii.  1-11,  and  chap.  ix.  1-6 ;  Ezek.  xvi. 
1-14;  John  iii.  14-18,  36  ;  Rev.  iii.  15-20.  Here  the  Lord  Jesus 
( 'hrist  stands  knocking  at  the  Laodiceans'  door  ;  he  would  fain  have 
them  to  sup  with  him,  and  that  he  might  sup  with  them  ;  that  is,  that 
they  might  have  intimate  communion  and  fellowship  one  with  another. 
Now,  pray  tell  me,  what  preparations  or  qualifications  had  these  Lao- 
diceans to  entertain  Christ  ?  Surely  none  ;  for  they  were  lukewarm, 
they  were  'neither  hot  nor  cold,'  they  were  '  wretched,  and  miserable, 


2  Cor.  II.  11.]  against  satan's  devices.  147 

and  poor,  and  blind,  and  naked;'  and  yet  Christ,  to  shew  his  free  grace 
and  his  condescending  love,  invites  the  very  worst  of  sinners  to  open  to 
him,  though  they  were  no  ways  so  and  so  prepared  or  qualified  to  enter- 
tain him. 

Remedy  (3).  The  third  remedy  against  this  device  of  Satan  is, 
seriously  to  consider,  That  the  Lord  does  not  in  all  the  Scripture  re- 
quire such  and  such  preparations  and  qualifications  before  men  come 
to  Christ,  before  they  believe  in  Christ,  or  entertain,  or  embrace  the 
Lord  Jesus.  Believing  in  Christ  is  the  great  thing  that  God  presses 
upon  sinners  throughout  the  Scripture,  as  all  know  that  know  anything 
of  Scripture. 

Obj.  But  does  not  Christ  say,  '  Come  unto  me  all  ye  that  labour  and 
are  heavy  laden,  and  I  will  give  you  rest '  ?  Mat.  xi.  28. 

To  this  I  shall  give  these  three  answers : 

(1.)  That  though  the  invitation  be  to  such  that  'labour  and  are- 
heavy  laden,'  yet  the  promise  of  giving  rest,  it  is  made  over  to  '  coming,' 
to  'believing/ 

(2.)  I  answer,  that  all  this  scripture  proves  and  shews  is,  that  such 
as  labour  under  sin  as  under  a  heavy  burden,  and  that  are  laden  with 
the  guilt  of  sin  and  sense  of  God's  displeasure,  ought  to  come  to  Christ  for 
rest  ;  but  it  doth  not  prove  that  only  such  must  come  to  Christ,  nor 
that  all  men  must  be  thus  burdened  and  laden  with  the  sense  of  their 
sins  and  the  wrath  of  God,  before  they  come  to  Christ. 

Poor  sinners,  when  they  are  under  the  sense  of  sin  and  wrath  of 
God,  they  are  prone  to  run  from  creature  to  creature,  and  from  duty  to 
duty,  and  from  ordinance  to  ordinance,  to  find  rest  ;  and  if  they  could 
find  it  in  any  thing  or  creature,  Christ  should  never  hear  of  them  ;  but 
here  the  Lord  sweetly  invites  them  :  and  to  encourage  them,  he  engages 
himself  to  give  them  rest :  '  Come/  saith  Christ,  '  and  I  will  give  you 
rest.'  I  will  not  shew  you  rest,  nor  barely  tell  you  of  rest,  but  '  I  will 
give  you  rest.'  I  am  faithfulness  itself,  and  cannot  lie,  '  I  will  give 
you  rest.'  I  that  have  the  greatest  power  to  give  it,  the  greatest  will 
to  give  it,  the  greatest  right  to  give  it,  '  Come,  laden  sinners,  and  I 
will  give  you  rest.'  Rest  is  the  most  desirable  good,  the  most  suitable 
good,  and  to  you  the  greatest  good.  '  Come,'  saith  Christ,  that  is,  '  be- 
lieve in  me,  and  I  will  give  you  rest ;'  I  will  give  you  peace  with  God, 
and  peace  with  conscience  ;  I  will  turn  your  storm  into  an  everlasting 
calm ;  T  will  give  you  such  rest,  that  the  world  can  neither  give  to  you 
nor  take  from  you. 

(3.)  I  answer,  No  one  scripture  speaks  out  the  whole  mind  of  God  ; 
therefore  do  but  compare  this  one  scripture  with  those  several  scriptures 
that  are  laid  down  in  the  second  remedy  last  mentioned,  and  it  will 
clearly  appear,  that  though  men  are  thus  and  thus  burdened  and  laden 
with  their  sins  and  filled  with  horror  and  terror,  if  they  may  come  to 
Christ,  they  may  receive  and  embrace  the  Lord  Jesus  Christ. 

Remedy  (4).  The  fourth  remedy  against  this  device  of  Satan  is,  to 
consider,  That  all  that  trouble  for  sin,  all  that  sorrow,  shame,  and 
mourning  which  is  acceptable  to  God,  and  delightful  to  God,  and  'pre- 
valent with  God,  floivs  from  faith  in  Christ,  as  the  stream  doth  from 
the  fountain,  as  the  branch  doth  from  the  root,  as  the  effect  doth  from 
the  cause.     Zech.  xii.  10,  '  They  shall  look  on  him  whom  they  have 


148  PRECIOUS  REMEDIES  [2  COR.  II  11. 

pierced,  and  they  shall  mourn  for  him.'  All  gospel  mourning  flows 
from  believing  ;  they  shall  first  look,  and  then  mourn.  All  that  know 
anything  know  this,  that  '  whatever  is  not  of  faith  is  sin/  Rom. 
xiv  33.  Till  men  have  faith  in  Christ,  their  best  services  are  but 
glorious  sins. 

The  fourth  device  that  Satan  hath  to  keep  poor  sinners  from  believ- 
ing, from  closing  with  a  Saviour,  is, 

Device  (4).  By  suggesting  to  a  sinner  Christ 's  unwillingness  to  save. 
It  is  true,  saith  Satan,  Christ  is  able  to  save  thee,  but  is  he  willing  ? 
Surely,  though  he  is  able,  yet  he  is  not  willing  to  save  such  a  wretch  as 
thou  ait,  that  has  trampled  his  blood  under  thy  feet,  and  that  has  been 
in  open  rebellion  against  him  all  thy  days,  &c. 

The  remedy  against  this  device  of  Satan  is,  briefly  to  consider  these 
few  things. 

Remedy  (1).  First,  The  great  journey  that  he  hath  taken,  from 
heaven  to  earth,  on  purpose  to  save  sinners,  doth  strongly  demonstrate 
his  willingness  to  save  them.  Mat.  ix.  13,  'I  came  not  to  call  the 
righteous,  but  sinners  to  repentance.'  1  Tim.  i.  15,  '  This  is  a  faithful 
saying,  and  worthy  of  all  acceptation,  that  Jesus  Christ  came  into  the 
world  to  save  sinners,  of  whom  I  am  chief.' 

Secondly,  His  divesting  himself  of  his  glory  in  order  to  sinners'  sal- 
vation, speaks  out  his  willingness  to  save  them.  He  leaves  his  Father's 
bosom,  he  puts  off  his  glorious  robes,  and  lays  aside  his  glorious  crown, 
and  bids  adieu  to  his  glistering  courtiers  the  angels  ;  and  all  this  he 
doth,  that  he  may  accomplish  sinners'  salvation.1 

Thirdly,  That  sea  of  sin,  that  sea  of  wrath,  that  sea  of  trouble,  that 
sea  of  blood  that  Jesus  Christ  waded  through,  that  sinners  might  be 
pardoned,  justified,  reconciled,  and  saved,  doth  strongly  evidence  his 
willingness  to  save  sinners,  1  Cor.  v.  19,  20. 

Fourthly,  His  sending  his  ambassadors,  early  and  late,  to  woo  and 
entreat  sinners  to  be  reconciled  to  him,  doth  with  open  mouth  shew  his 
readiness  and  willingness  to  save  sinners. 

Fifthly,  His  complaints  against  such  as  refuse  him,  and  that  turn 
their  backs  upon  him,  and  that  will  not  be  saved  by  him,  doth  strongly 
declare  his  willingness  to  save  them  :  John  i.  11,  'He  came  to  his  own, 
and  his  own  received  him  not.'  So  in  John  v.  40,  '  But  ye  will  not  come 
to  me,  that  ye  may  have  life/ 

Sixthly,  The  joy  and  delight  that  he  takes  at  the  conversion  of  sin- 
ners, doth  demonstrate  his  willingness  that  they  should  be  saved  :  Luke 
xv.  7,  '  I  say  unto  you,  That  likewise  joy  shall  be  in  heaven  over  one 
sinner  that  repenteth,  more  than  over  ninety  and  nine  just  persons  that 
need  no  repentance.'  God  the  Father  rejoiceth  at  the  return  of  his 
prodigal  son  ;  Christ  rejoices  to  see  the  travail  of  his  soul ;  the  Spirit 
rejoices  that  he  hath  another  temple  to  dwell  in  ;  and  the  angels  rejoice 
that  they  have  another  brother  to  delight  in,  &c,  Isa.  liii.  11. 

The  fifth  device  that  Satan  hath  to  keep  poor  sinners  from  believing, 
from  closing  with  a  Saviour,  is, 

Device  (5).  By  working  a  sinner  to  mind  more  the  secret  decrees 
and  counsels  of  God,  than  his  own  duty.    What  ncedest  thou  to  busy 
thyself  about  receiving,  embracing,  and  entertaining  of  Christ  ?  saith 
1  From  the  cradle  to  the  cross,  his  whole  life  was  a  life  of  sufferings. 


2  Cor.  II.  ll.J  against  satan's  devices.  149 

Satan ;  if  thou  art  elected,  thou  shalt  be  saved  ;  if  not,  all  that  thou 
canst  do  will  do  thee  no  good.  Nay,  he  will  work  the  soul  not  only  to 
doubt  of  its  election,  but  to  conclude  that  he  is  not  elected,  and  there- 
fore let  him  do  what  he  can,  he  shall  never  be  saved. 

Now  the  remedies  against  this  device  are  these  : 

Remedy  (1).  The  first  remedy  against  this  device  of  Satan  is,  seriously 
to  consider,  That  all  the  angels  in  heaven,  nor  all  the  men  on  earth, 
nor  all  the  devils  in  hell,  cannot  tell  to  the  contrary,  but  that  thou 
mayest  be  an  elect  person,  a  chosen  vessel.  Thou  mayest  be  confident 
of  this,  that  God  never  made  Satan  one  of  his  privy  council,  God  never 
acquainted  him  with  the  names  or  persons  of  such  that  he  hath  set  his 
love  upon  to  eternity,  &c. 

Remedy  (2).  The  second  remedy  against  this  device  of  Satan  is, 
To  meddle  with  that  which  thou  hast  to  do.  '  Secret  things  belong  to 
the  Lord,  but  revealed  things  belong  to  thee/  Deut.  xxix.  29.  Thy 
work,  sinner,  is,  to  be  peremptory  in  believing,  and  in  returning  to  the 
Lord  ;  thy  work  is  to  cast  thyself  upon  Christ,  lie  at  his  feet,  to  wait 
on  him  in  his  ways,  and  to  give  him  no  rest  till  he  shall  say,  Sinner,  I 
am  thy  portion,  I  am  thy  salvation,  and  nothing  shall  separate  between 
thee  and  me. 

Here  followeth  seven  characters  of  false  teachers,  which  let  me  add 
for  a  close,  viz. : — 

That  Satan  labours  might  and  main,  by  false  teachers,  which  are  his 
messengers  and  ambassadors,  to  deceive,  delude,  and  for  ever  undo  the 
precious  souls  of  men:1  Jer.  xxiii.  13,  'I  have  seen  folly  in  the  pro- 
phets of  Samaria ;  they  prophesied  in  Baal,  and  caused  my  people 
Israel  to  err ;'  Micah  iii.  5,  '  The  prophets  make  my  people  to  err.' 
They  seduce  them,  and  carry  them  out  of  the  right  way  into  by-paths 
and  blind  thickets  of  error,  blasphemy,  and  wickedness,  where  they  are 
lost  for  ever.  'Beware  of  false  prophets,  for  they  come  to  you  in  sheep's 
clothing,  but  inwardly  they  are  ravening  wolves,'  Mat.  vii.  15.  These 
lick  and  suck  the  blood  of  souls  :  Philip,  iii.  2,  '  Beware  of  dogs,  beware 
of  evil  workers,  beware  of  the  concision.'  These  kiss  and  kill ;  these 
cry,  Peace,  peace,  till  souls  fall  into  everlasting  flames,  &c,  Pro  v.  vii. 

Now,  the  best  way  to  deliver  poor  souls  from  being  deluded  and  de- 
stroyed by  these  messengers  of  Satan  is,  to  discover  them  in  their 
colours,  that  so,  being  known,  poor  souls  may  shun  them,  and  fly  from 
them  as  from  hell  itself. 

Now  you  may  know  them  by  these  characters  following  : 

[1.]  The  first  character.  False  teachers  are  men-pleasers.2  They 
preach  more  to  please  the  ear  than  to  profit  the  heart :  Isa.  xxx.  10, 
'  Which  say  to  the  seers,  See  not ;  and  to  the  prophets,  Prophesy  not 
unto  us  right  things  :  speak  to  us  smooth  things  ;  prophesy  deceits.' 
Jer.  v.  30,  31,  '  A  wonderful  and  horrible  thing  is  committed  in  the 
land  :  the  prophets  prophesy  falsely,  and  the  priests  bear  rule  by  their 
means,  and  my  people  love  to  have  it  so.  And  what  will  you  do  in  the 
end  thereof?'  They  handle  holy  things  rather  with  wit  and  dalliance 
than  with  fear  and  reverence.     False  teachers  are  soul-undoers.     They 

1  Acts  xx.  28-30,  2  Cor.  xi.  13-15,  Eph.  iv.  14,  2  Tim.  iii.  4-6,  Titus  i.  II,  12,2  Peter 
ii.  18,  19.  s  But  so  are  not  true  teachers,  Gal.  i.  10,  1  Thes.  ii.  1-4. 


150  PRECIOUS  REMEDIES  [2  COR.  II.  11. 

are  like  evil  chirurgeons,  that  skin  over  the  wound,  but  never  heal  it. 
Flattery  undid  Ahab  and  Herod,  Nero  and  Alexander.  False  teachers 
are  hell's  greatest  enrichers.  Non  acerba,  sed  blanda,  Not  bitter,  but 
flattering  words  do  all  the  mischief,  said  Valerian,  the  Roman  emperor. 
Such  smooth  teachers  are  sweet  soul-poisoners,  &c,  Jer.  xxiii.  16,  17.1 

[2.]  The  second  character.  False  teachers  are  notable  in  casting 
dirt,  scorn,  and  reproach  upon  the  persons,  names,  and  credits  of 
Christ's  most  faithful  ambassadors.  Thus  Korah,  Dathan,  and  Abirain 
charged  Moses  and  Aaron  that  they  took  too  much  upon  them,  seeing 
all  the  congregation  was  holy,  Num.  xvi.  3.  You  take  too  much  state, 
too  much  power,  too  much  honour,  too  much  holiness  upon  you  ;  for 
what  are  you  more  than  others,  that  you  take  so  much  upon  you  ?  And 
so  Ahab's  false  prophets  fell  foul  on  good  Micaiah,  paying  of  him  with 
blows  for  want  of  better  reasons,  1  Kings  xxii.  10-26.  Yea,  Paul,  that 
great  apostle  of  the  Gentiles,  had  his  ministry  undermined  and  his  repu- 
tation blasted  by  false  teachers  :  '  For  his  letters,'  say  they,  '  are  weighty 
and  powerful,  but  his  bodily  presence  is  weak  and  contemptible,'  2  Cor. 
x.  10.  They  rather  contemn  him  than  admire  him  ;  they  look  upon 
him  as  a  dunce  rather  than  a  doctor.  And  the  same  hard  measure  had 
our  Lord  Jesus  from  the  Scribes  and  Pharisees,  who  laboured  as  for  life 
to  build  their  own  credit  upon  the  ruins  of  his  reputation.2  And  never 
did  the  devil  drive  a  more  full  trade  this  way  than  he  does  in  these 
days,  Mat.  xxvii.  63.  Oh !  the  dirt,  the  filth,  the  scorn  that  is  thrown 
upon  those  of  whom  the  world  is  not  worthy.  I  suppose  false  teachers 
mind  not  that  saying  of  Austin,  Quisquis  volens  detrahit  famw,  nolens 
addit  mercedi  mew,  He  that  willingly  takes  from  my  good  name,  un- 
willingly adds  to  my  reward. 

[3.]  The  third  character.  False  teachers  are  venters  of  the  devices 
and  visions  of  their  own  heads  and  hearts.3  Jer.  xiv.  14,  •  Then  the 
Lord  said  unto  me,  The  prophets  prophesy  lies  in  my  name :  I  sent 
them  not,  neither  have  I  commanded  them,  neither  spake  unto  them  : 
they  prophesy  unto  you  a  false  vision  and  divination,  and  a  thing  of 
nought,  and  the  deceit  of  their  heart ;'  chap,  xxiii.  1 6,  '  Thus  saith  the 
Lord  of  hosts,  Hearken  not  unto  the  words  of  the  prophets  that  pro- 
phesy unto  you  ;  they  make  you  vain  :  they  speak  a  vision  of  their  own 
heart,  and  not  out  of  the  mouth  of  the  Lord.'  Are  there  not  multitudes 
in  this  nation  whose  visions  are  but  golden  delusions,  lying  vanities, 
brain-sick  phantasies  ?  These  are  Satan's  great  benefactors,  and  such  as 
divine  justice  will  hang  up  in  hell  as  the  greatest  malefactors,  if  the 
physician  of  souls  do  not  prevent  it,  &c. 

[4.]  The  fourth  character.  False  teachers  easily  pass  over  the  great 
and  weighty  things  both  of  laiv  and  gospel,  and  stand  most  upon  those 
things  that  are  of  the  least  moment  and  concernment  to  the  souls  of 
men*     1  Tim.  i.  5-7,  '  Now  the  end  of  the  commandment  is  charity 

1  Whilst  an  ass  is  stroked  under  the  helly,  you  may  lay  on  his  back  what  burden  you 
please. 

2  The  proverb  is,  Oculus  elfama  non  patiuntur  jocos,  a  man's  eye  and  his  good  name  can 
bear  no  jests.   Yea,  and  Lucian,  that  blasphemous  atheist,  termeth  himthe  crucified  cozener. 

8  Mat.  xxiv.  4,  5,  xi.  14,  Titus  i.  10,  Rom.  xvi.  18. 

4  Luther  complained  of  such  in  his  time  as  would  strain  at  a  gnat,  and  swallow  a  camel. 
This  age  is  full  of  such  teachers,  such  monsters.  The  high  priest's  spirit,  Mat.  xxiii.  24, 
lives  and  thrives  in  these  days. 


2  Cor.  II.  11.]  against  satan's  devices.  151 

out  of  a  pure  heart,  and  of  a  good  conscience,  and  of  faith  unfeigned  ; 
from  which  some  having  swerved,  have  turned  aside  unto  vain  jangling, 
desiring  to  be  teachers  of  the  law,  and  understand  neither  what  they 
say  nor  whereof  they  affirm.'  Mat.  xxiii.  2,  3,  '  Woe  unto  you,  scribes 
and  Pharisees,  hypocrites  !  for  ye  pay  tithe  of  mint,  and  anise  and 
cummin,  and  have  omitted  the  weightier  matters  of  the  law,  judgment, 
mercy,  and  faith ;  these  ought  ye  to  have  done,  and  not  to  leave  the 
other  undone.'  False  teachers  are  nice  in  the  lesser  things  of  the  law, 
and  as  negligent  in  the  greater.  1  Tim.  vi.  3-5,  '  If  any  man  teach 
otherwise,  and  consent  not  to  wholesome  words,  even  the  words  of  our 
Lord  Jesus  Christ,  and  to  the  doctrine  which  is  according  to  godliness, 
he  is  proud,  knowing  nothing,  but  doting  about  questions  and  strife  of 
words,  whereof  cometh  envy,  strife,  railings,  evil  surmisings,  perverse 
disputings  of  men  of  corrupt  minds,  and  destitute  of  the  truth,  supposing 
that  gain  is  godliness  :  from  such  withdraw  thyself.'  If  such  teachers 
are  not  hypocrites  in  grain,  I  know  nothing,  Rom.  ii.  22.  The  earth 
groans  to  bear  them,  and  hell  is  fitted  for  them,  Mat.  xxiv.  32. 

[5.]  The  fifth  character.  False  teachers  cover  and  colour  their  dan- 
gerous principles  and  soul-impostures  with  very  fair  speeches  and 
plausible  pretences,  with  high  notions  and  golden  expressions.  Many 
in  these  days  are  bewitched  and  deceived  by  the  magnificent  words, 
lofty  strains,  and  stately  terms  of  deceivers,  viz.  illumination,  revelation, 
deification,  fiery  triplicity,  &c.  As  strumpets  paint  their  faces,  and  deck 
and  perfume  their  beds,  the  better  to  allure  and  deceive  simple  souls,1  so 
false  teachers  will  put  a  great  deal  of  paint  and  garnish  upon  their  most 
dangerous  principles  and  blasphemies,  that  they  may  the  better  deceive 
and  delude  poor  ignorant  souls.  They  know  sugared  poison  goes  down 
sweetly  ;  they  wrap  up  their  pernicious,  soul-killing  pills  in  gold. 
Weigh  the  scriptures  in  the  margin.2 

In  the  days  of  Hadrian  the  emperor,  there  was  one  Ben-Cosbi  gathered 
a  multitude  of  Jews  together,  and  called  himself  Ben-cocuba,  the  son  of  a 
star,  applying  that  promise  to  himself,  Num.  xxiv.  17;  but  he  proved 
Bar-chosaba,  the  son  of  a  lie.  And  so  will  all  false  teachers,  for  all  their 
flourishes  prove  at  the  last  the  sons  of  lies. 

[6.]  The  sixth  character.  False  teachers  strive  more  to  win  over  men 
to  their  opinions,  than  to  better  them  in  their  conversations.  Mat. 
xxiv.  ]  7,  '  Woe  unto  you,  scribes  and  Pharisees,  hypocrites  !  for  ye  com- 
pass sea  and  land  to  make  one  proselyte,  and  when  he  is  made,  ye  make 
him  twofold  more  the  child  of  hell  than  yourselves.'  They  busy  them- 
selves most  about  men's  heads.  Their  work  is  not  to  better  men's 
hearts,  and  mend  their  lives  ;  and  in  this  they  are  very  much  like  their 
father  the  devil,  who  will  spare  no  pains  to  gain  proselytes.3 

[7].  The  seventh  character.  False  teachers  make  merchandise  of  their 
followers :  2  Peter  ii.  1-3,  '  But  there  were  false  prophets  also  among 
the  people,  even  as  there  shall  be  false  teachers  among  you,  who  privily 
shall  bring  in  damnable  heresies,  even  denying  the  Lord  that  bought 
them,  and  bring  upon  themselves  swift  destruction.     And  many  shall 

1  Gal.  vi.  12 ;  2  Cor.  xi.  13-15 ;  Rom.  xvi.  17,  18  ;  Mat.  xvi.  6,  11,  12  ;  vii.  16. 

2  See  footnote  supra. — G. 

8  For  shame,  says  Epictetus  to  his  Stoics  ;  either  live  as  Stoics,  or  leave  off  the  name 
of  Stoics.     The  application  is  easy. 


132  PRECIOUS  REMEDIES  [2  CoR.  II.  11. 

follow  their  pernicious  ways  ;  by  reason  of  whom  the  way  of  truth  shall 
be  evil  spoken  of.  And  through  covetousness  shall  they  with  feigned 
words  make  merchandise  of  you  :  whose  judgment  now  of  a  longtime 
lingereth  not,  and  their  damnation  slumbereth  not.'  They  eye  your 
goods  more  than  your  good  ;  and  mind  more  the  serving  of  themselves, 
than  the  saving  of  your  souls.  So  they  may  have  your  substance,  they 
care  not  though  Satan  has  your  souls,  Rev.  xviii.  11—13.  That  they 
may  the  better  pick  your  purse,  they  will  hold  forth  such  principles 
as  are  very  indulgent  to  the  flesh.  False  teachers  are  the  great  wor- 
shippers of  the  golden  calf,  Jer.  vi.  13.1 

Now,  by  these  characters  you  may  know  them,  and  so  shun  them, 
and  deliver  your  souls  out  of  their  dangerous  snares ;  which  that  you 
may,  my  prayers  shall  meet  yours  at  the  throne  of  grace. 

And  now,  to  prevent  objections,  I  shall  lay  down  some  propositions 
or  conclusions  concerning  Satan  and  his  devices,  and  then  give  you  the 
reasons  of  the  point,  and  so  come  to  make  some  use  and  application  of 
the  whole  to  ourselves. 

Propositions  concerning  Satan  and  his  devices  : 

Proposition  (1).  The  first  proposition  is  this,  That  though  Satan  hath 
his  devices  to  draw  souls  to  sin,  yet  we  must  be  careful  that  we  do  not 
lay  all  our  temptations  upon  Satan,  that  we  do  not  wrong  the  devil, 
and  father  that  upon  him  that  is  to  be  fathered  upon  our  own  base 
hearts.     I  think  that  oftentimes  men  charge  that  upon  the  devil  that 
is  to  be  charged  upon  their  own  hearts.     '  And  the  Lord  said  unto  the 
woman,  What  is  this  that  thou  hast  done  %  And  the  woman  said,  The 
serpent  beguiled  me,  and  I  did  eat,'  Gen.  iii.  13.     Sin  and  shifting 
came  into  the  world  together.2    This  is  no  small  baseness  of  our  hearts, 
that  they  will  be  naught,  ay,  very  naught,  and  yet  will  father  that 
naughtiness  upon  Satan.      Man  hath  an  evil  root  within  him  ;  that 
were  there  no  devil  to  tempt  him,  nor  no  wicked  men  in  the  world  to 
entice  him,  yet  that  root  of  bitterness,  that  cursed  sinful  nature  that  is 
in  him,  would  draw  him  to  sin,  though  he  knows  beforehand  that  '  the 
wages  of  sin  is  eternal  death,'  Rom.  vi.  23     '  For  out  of  the  heart  pro- 
ceed evil  thoughts,  murders,  adulteries,  fornication,  thefts,  false  wit- 
nesses, blasphemies/  Mat.  xv.  19.     The  whole  frame  of  man  is  out  of 
frame.     The  understanding  is  dark,  the  will  cross,  the  memory  slippery, 
the  affections  crooked,  the  conscience  corrupted,  the  tongue  poisoned, 
and  the  heart  wholly  evil,  only  evil,  and  continually  evil.     Should  God 
chain  up  Satan,  and  give  him  no  liberty  to  tempt  or  entice  the  sons  of 
men  to  vanity  or  folly,  yet  they  would  not,  yet  they  could  not  but  sin 
against  him,  by  reason  of  that  cursed  nature  that  is  in  them,  that  will 
still  be  a-provoking  them  to  those  sins  that  will  provoke  and  stir  up  the 
anger  of  God  against  them,  Jude  1 5,  16.     Satan  hath  only  a  persuading 
sleight,  not  an  enforcing  might.     He  may  tempt  us,  but  without  our- 
selves he  cannot  conquer  us  ;  he  may  entice  us,  but  without  ourselves 

1  Crates  threw  his  money  into  the  sea,  resolving  to  drown  it,  lest  it  should  drown  him. 
But  false  teachers  care  not  who  thoy  diown,  so  they  may  have  their  money.  [It  may  be 
well  to  distinguish  above  among  the  different  persons  of  the  name,  as  Crates  of  Thebes, 
son  of  Ascondus.     Diog.  Laertius,  vi.  85,  93,  96-98.— G.] 

*  Cum  primtjm  nascivivr  in  omni  continito  pravitale  versamur,  We  are  no  sooner  born, 
than  buried  in  a  bog  of  wickedness.— Tully. 


2  Cor.  II.  11.]  against  satan's  devices.  153 

he  cannot  hurt  us.  Our  hearts  carry  the  greatest  stroke  in  every  sin. 
Satan  can  never  undo  a  man  without  himself;  but  a  man  may  easily 
undo  himself  without  Satan.  Satan  can  only  present  the  golden  cup, 
but  he  hath  no  power  to  force  us  to  drink  the  poison  that  is  in  the  cup ; 
he  can  only  present  to  us  the  glory  of  the  world,  he  cannot  force  us  to 
fall  down  and  worship  him,  to  enjoy  the  world  ;  he  can  only  spread  his 
snares,  he  hath  no  power  to  force  us  to  walk  in  the  midst  of  his  snares. 
Therefore  do  the  devil  so  much  right,  as  not  to  excuse  yourselves,  by 
your  accusing  him,  and  laying  the  load  upon  him,  that  you  should  lay 
upon  your  own  hearts.1 

Prop.  (2).  The  second  proposition  is,  That  Satan  hath  a  great  hand 
and  stroke  in  most  sins.  It  was  Satan  that  tempted  our  first  parents 
to  rebellion  ;  it  was  Satan  that  provoked  David  to  number  the  people  ; 
it  was  Satan  that  put  Peter  upon  rebuking  Christ;  therefore  saith 
Christ,  'Get  thee  behind  me,  Satan  ;'  it  was  Satan  that  put  Cain  upon 
murdering  of  righteous  Abel,  therefore  it  is  that  he  is  called  'a  murderer 
from  the  beginning ;'  it  was  Satan  that  put  treason  into  the  heart  of 
Judas  against  Christ,  '  And  supper  being  ended,  the  devil  having  put 
into  the  heart  of  Judas  Iscariot,  Simon  s  son,  to  betray  him ;'  it  was 
Satan  that  put  Ananias  upon  lying,  Peter  said,  '  Ananias,  why  hath 
Satan  filled  thine  heart  to  lie  to  the  Holy  Ghost  P  As  the  hand  of  Joab 
was  in  the  tale  of  the  woman  of  Tekoah,  so  Satan's  hand  is  usually  in 
all  the  sins  that  men  commit.  Such  is  Satan's  malice  against  God,  and 
his  envy  against  man,  that  he  will  have  a  hand  one  way  or  other  in  all 
the  sins,  though  he  knows  that  all  the  sins  he  provokes  others  to  shall 
be  charged  upon  him  to  his  greater  woe,  and  eternal  torment.3 

Ambrose  brings  in  the  devil  boasting  against  Christ  and  challenging 
Judas  as  his  own :  '  He  is  not  thine,  Lord  Jesus,  he  is  mine ;  his  thoughts 
beat  for  me  ;  he  eats  with  thee,  but  is  fed  by  me  ;  he  takes  bread  from 
thee,  but  money  from  me ;  he  drinks  wine  with  thee,  and  sells  thy 
blood  to  me.'  Such  is  his  malice  against  Christ,  and  his  wrath  and  rage 
against  man,  that  he  will  take  all  advantages  to  draw  men  to  that,  that 
may  give  him  advantage  to  triumph  over  Christ  and  men's  souls  for 
ever. 

Prop.  (3).  The  third  proposition  is,  That  Satan  must  have,  a  double 
leave  before  he  can  do  anything  against  us.  He  must  have  leave  from 
God,  and  leave  from  ourselves,  before  he  can  act  anything  against  our 
happiness.  He  must  have  his  commission  from  God,  as  you  may  see 
in  the  example  of  Job,  Job  i.  11,  12,  ii.  3-5.  Though  the  devil  had 
malice  enough  to  destroy  him.  yet  he  had  not  so  much  as  power  to 
touch  him,  till  God  gave  him  a  commission. 

They  could  not  so  much  as  enter  into  the  swine  without  leave  from 
Christ,  Luke  viii.  32.  Satan  would  fain  have  combated  with  Peter,  but 
this  he  could  not  do  without  leave.  '  Satan  hath  desired  to  have  you, 
to  winnow  you,'  Luke  xxii.  31.  So  Satan  could  never  have  overthrown 
Ahab  and  Saul,  but  by  a  commission  from  God,  1  Kings  xxii.  Ah ! 
what  a  cordial,  what  a  comfort  should  this  be  to  the  saints,  that  their 

1  To  *Ui  *cto  tipZi  Ss  <p\ol  W/3aXat/  jro^asT*,  the  fire  is  our  wood,  though  it  be  the  devil's 
flame. — Nazianzen.  n 

2  Gen.  iii.  1-5  ;  1  Chron.  xxi.  1 ;  Mat.  xvi.  22,  23 ;  John  viii.  44,  xiii.  2 ;  Acts  v.  d.— b. 
*  Diabolus  tentat,  Deus  probat. — Tertullian. 


154-  PRECIOUS  REMEDIES  [2  COR.  IL  11. 

greatest,  subtlest,  and  watchfullest  enemy  cannot  hurt  nor  harm  them, 
without  leave  from  him  who  is  their  sweetest  Saviour,  their  dearest 
husband,  and  their  choicest  friend. 

And  as  Satan  must  have  leave  from  God,  so  he  must  have  leave  of 
us.  When  he  tempts,  we  must  assent ;  when  he  makes  offers,  we  must 
hearken  ;  when  he  commands,  we  must  obey,  or  else  all  his  labour  and 
temptations  will  be  frustrate,  and  the  evil  that  he  tempts  us  to  shall 
be  put  down  only  to  his  account.1  That  is  a  remarkable  passage  in 
Acts  v.  3,  '  Why  hath  Satan  filled  thy  heart  to  He  to  the  Holy  Ghost  ?' 
He  doth  not  expostulate  the  matter  with  Satan ;  he  doth  not  say,  Satan, 
'  Why  hast  thou  filled  Ananias's  heart  to  make  him  lie  to  the  Holy 
Ghost?'  but  he  expostulates  the  case  with  Ananias;  Peter  said, 
'  Ananias,  why  hath  Satan  filled  thine  heart  to  lie  to  the  Holy  Ghost  V 
Why  hast  thou  given  him  an  advantage  to  fill  thy  heart  with  infidelity, 
hypocrisy,  and  obstinate  audacity,  to  lie  to  the  Holy  Ghost  ?  As  if  he 
had  said,  Satan  could  never  have  done  this  in  thee,  which  will  now  for 
ever  undo  thee,  unless  thou  hadst  given  him  leave.  If,  when  a  tempta- 
tion comes,  a  man  cries  out,  and  saith,  Ah,  Lord  !  here  is  a  temptation 
that  would  force  me,  that  would  deflower  my  soul,  and  I  have  no 
strength  to  withstand  it ;  oh  !  help  !  help  !  for  thy  honour's  sake,  for  thy 
Son's  sake,  for  thy  promise'  sake;  it  is  a  sign  that  Satan  hath  not  gained 
your  consent,  but  committed  a  rape  upon  your  souls,  which  he  shall 
dearly  pay  for.2 

Prop.  (4).  The  fourth  proposition  is,  That  no  weapons  but  spiritual, 
weapons  will  be  useful  and  serviceable  to  the  soul  in  fighting  and 
combating  with  the  devil.  This  the  apostle  shews  :  '  Wherefore  take 
unto  you,'  saith  he,  '  the  whole  armour  of  God,  that  ye  may  be  able  to 
stand  in  the  evil  day,  and  having  done  all,  to  stand,'  Eph.  vi.  1 3.  So 
the  same  apostle  tells  you,  '  That  the  weapons  of  your  warfare  are  not 
carnal,  but  mighty  through  God,  to  the  casting  down  of  strongholds,' 
2  Cor.  x.  4.  You  have  not  to  do  with  a  weak,  but  with  a  mighty 
enemy,  and  therefore  you  had  need  to  look  to  it,  that  your  weapons 
are  mighty,  and  that  they  cannot  be,  unless  they  are  spiritual.  Carnal 
weapons  have  no  might  nor  spirit  in  them  towards  the  making  of  a 
conquest  upon  Satan.3  It  was  not  David's  sling  nor  stone  that  gave 
him  the  honour  and  advantage  of  setting  his  feet  upon  Goliah,  but  his 
faith  in  the  name  of  the  Lord  of  hosts.  '  Thou  comest  to  me  with  a 
sword,  with  a  spear,  and  with  a  shield,  but  I  am  come  to  thee  in  the 
name  of  the  Lord  of  hosts,  the  God  of  the  armies  of  Israel,  whom  thou 
hast  defied,'  1  Sam.  xvii.  45.  He  that  fights  against  Satan,  in  the 
strength  of  his  own  resolutions,  constitution  or  education,  will  certainly 
fly  and  fall  before  him.  Satan  will  be  too  hard  for  such  a  soul,  and 
lead  him  captive  at  his  pleasure.  The  only  way  to  stand,  conquer,  and  ' 
triumph,  is  still  to  plead,  'It  is  written,'  as  Christ  did,  Mat.  iv.  10. 
There  is  no  sword  but  the  two-edged  sword  of  the  Spirit,  that  will  be 

1  Adversaria  potestas  non  habet  vim  cogendi  sed  persuadendi — Isidore. 

*  They  are  the  worst  and  greatest  liars  who  pretend  religion,  and  the  Spirit,  and  yet 
are  acted  only  by  carnal  principles  to  carnal  ends. 

5  We  read  of  many  that,  out  of  greatness  of  spirit,  could  offer  violence  to  nature,  hut 
were  at  a  loss  when  they  came  to  deal  with  a  corruption  or  a  temptation.  Heraclitus 
[Heraclius]  his  motto  was,  A  Deo  victoria,  It  is  God  that  gives  victory;  and  that  should 
be  every  Christian's  motto. 


2  COK.  II.  11.]  AGAINST  SATAN'S  DEVICES.  155 

found  to  be  metal  of  proof  when  a  soul  comes  to  engage  against  Satan  ; 
therefore,  when  you  are  tempted  to  uncleanness,  plead,  '  It  is  written, 
be  ye  holy,  as  I  am  holy/  1  Peter  i.  16  ;  and,  'Let  us  cleanse  ourselves 
from  all  filthiness  of  the  flesh  and  spirit,  perfecting  holiness  in  the 
fear  of  the  Lord,'  2  Cor.  vii  1 .  If  he  tempts  you  to  distrust  God's  pro- 
vidence and  fatherly  care  of  you,  plead,  '  It  is  written,'  '  They  that  fear 
the  Lord  shall  want  nothing  that  is  good,'  Ps.  xxxiv.  9. 

It  is  written,  '  The  Lord  will  give  grace  and  glory,  and  no  good  thing 
will  he  withhold  from  them  that  purely  live/  Ps.  lxxxiv.  11.  If  he 
tempt  you  to  fear,  that  you  shall  faint,  and  fall,  and  never  be  able  to 
run  to  the  end  of  the  race  that  is  set  before  you,  plead,  It  is  written, 
'  The  righteous  shall  hold  on  his  way,  and  he  that  hath  clean  hands 
shall  be  stronger  and  stronger,'  Job  xvii.  9. 

It  is  written,  '  I  will  make  an  everlasting  covenant  with  them,  that 
I  will  not  turn  away  from  them,  to  do  them  good,  but  I  will  put  my 
fear  in  their  hearts,  that  they  may  not  depart  from  me,'  Jer.  xxxii.  40. 

It  is  written,  '  They  that  wait  upon  the  Lord,  they  shall  renew  their 
strength  ;  they  shall  mount  up  with  wings  as  eagles ;  they  shall  run, 
and  not  be  weary;  and  they  shall  walk,  and  not  faint,'  Isa.  xl.  31.  If 
Satan  tempt  you  to  think  that  because  your  sun  for  the  present  is  set 
in  a  cloud,  that  therefore  it  will  rise  no  more,  and  that  the  face  of  God 
will  shine  no  more  upon  you  ;  that  your  best  days  are  now  at  an  end, 
and  that  you  must  spend  all  your  time  in  sorrow  and  sighing;  plead, 
It  is  written,  '  He  will  turn  again,  he  will  have  compassion  upon  us, 
and  cast  all  our  sins  into  the  depth  of  the  sea,'  Micah  vii.  J  9. 

It  is  written,  '  For  a  small  moment  have  I  forsaken  thee,  but  with 
great  mercies  will  I  gather  thee.  In  a  little  wrath  I  hid  my  face  from 
thee  for  a  moment,  but  with  everlasting  kindness  will  I  have  mercy 
on  thee,  saith  the  Lord,  thy  Redeemer,'  Isa.  liv.  7,  8,  J  0. 

It  is  written,  '  The  mountains  shall  depart,  and  the  hills  be  removed, 
but  my  kindness  shall  not  depart  from  thee,  neither  shall  the  covenant 
of  my  peace  be  removed,  saith  the  Lord  that  hath  mercy  on  thee.' 

It  is  written,  '  Can  a  woman  forget  her  sucking  child,  that  she 
should  not  have  compassion  on  the  son  of  her  womb  l.  Yea,  they  may 
forget,  yet  will  not  I  forget  thee.  Behold,  I  have  graven  thee  upon 
the  palms  of  my  hands,  thy  walls  are  continually  before  me/  Isa.  xlix. 
15,  16. 

If  ever  you  would  be  too  hard  for  Satan,  and  after  all  your  assaults, 
have  your  bow  abide  in  strength,  then  take  to  you  the  word  of  God, 
which  is  '  the  two-edged  sword  of  the  Spirit,  and  the  shield  of  faith, 
whereby  you  shall  be  able  to  queuch  the  fiery  darts  of  the  devil/  Eph. 
vi.  17.  It  is  not  spitting  at  Satan's  name,  nor  crossing  yourselves,  nor 
leaning  to  your  own  resolutions,  that  will  get  you  the  victory. 

Luther  reports  of  Staupitius,  a  German  minister,  that  he  acknow- 
ledged himself,  that  before  he  came  to  understand  aright  the  free  and 
powerful  grace  of  God,  that  he  vowed  and  resolved  an  hundred  times 
against  some  particular  sin,  and  never  could  get  power  over  it.  At  last 
he  saw  the  reason  to  be  his  trusting  to  his  own  resolution.  Therefore 
be  skilful  in  the  word  of  righteousness,  and  in  the  actings  of  faith  upon 
Christ  and  his  victory,  and  that  crown  of  glory  that  is  set  before  you, 
and  Satan  will  certainly  fly  from  you,  &c,  James  iv.  7. 


^156  PRECIOUS  REMEDIES  [2  COR.  II.  11. 

Prop.  (o).  The  fifth  proposition  is,  That  we  may  read  much  of 
Satan's  nature  and  disposition  by  the  divers  names  and  epithets  that 
are  given  him  in  the  Scripture.  Sometimes  he  is  called  Behemoth, 
which  is  Briifn,  whereby  the  greatness  and  brutishness  of  the  devil  is 
figured,  Job  xl.  15.  Those  evil  spirits  are  sometimes  called  A/a/3oXo/, 
accusers,  for  their  calumnies  and  slanders  ;  and  Tonjgo/,  evil  ones,  for 
their  malice.  Satan  is  Adversarius,  an  adversary,  that  troubleth  and 
molesteth,  1  Pet.  v.  8.  Abaddon  is  a  destroyer.  They  are  tempters, 
for  their  suggestion  ;  lions,  for  their  devouring ;  dragons,  for  their 
cruolty  ;  and  serpents,  for  their  subtilty,  &c.  As  his  names  are,  so  is 
he ;  as  face  answers  to  face,  so  do  Satan's  names  answer  to  his  nature. 
He  hath  the  worst  names  and  the  worst  nature  of  all  created  crea- 
tures, &c. 

Prop.  (6).  The  sixth  proposition  is,  That  God  will  shortly  tread 
down  Satan  under  the  saints'  feet.  Christ,  our  champion,  hath  already 
won  the  field,  and  will  shortly  set  our  feet  upon  the  necks  of  our 
spiritual  enemies.  Satan  is  a  foiled  adversary.  Christ  hath  led  him 
captive,  and  triumphed  over  him  upon  the  cross.  Christ  hath  already 
overcome  him,  and  put  weapons  into  your  hands,  that  you  may  over- 
come him  also,  and  set  your  feet  upon  his  neck.  Though  Satan  be  a 
roaring  lion,  yet  Christ,  who  is  the  lion  of  the  tribe  of  Judah,  will  make 
Satan  fly  and  fall  before  you.  Let  Satan  do  his  worst,  yet  you  shall 
have  the  honour  and  the  happiness  to  triumph  over  him.1  Cheer  up, 
you  precious  sons  of  Sion,  for  the  certainty  and  sweetness  of  victory 
will  abundantly  recompense  you  for  all  the  pains  you  have  taken  in 
making  resistance  against  Satan's  temptations.  The  broken  horns  of 
Satan  shall  be  trumpets  of  our  triumph  and  the  cornets  of  our  joy,  &c. 

Now  I  shall  come  to  the  reasons  of  the  point,  and  so  draw  to  a  close,  &c. 

Reason  (1).  The  first  reason  is,  That  their  hearts  may  be  kept  in  an 
humble,  praying,  watching  frame.  Oh!  hath  Satan  so  many  devices 
to  ensnare  and  undo  the  souls  of  men  ?  How  should  this  awaken  dull, 
drowsy  souls,  and  make  them  stand  upon  their  watch  !  A  saint  should 
be  like  a  seraphim,  beset  all  over  with  eyes  and  lights,  that  he  may 
avoid  Satan's  snares,  and  stand  fast  in  the  hour  of  temptation. 

The  Lord  hath  in  the  Scripture  discovered  the  several  snares,  plots, 
and  devices  that  the  devil  hath  to  undo  the  souls  of  men,  that  so,  being 
forewarned,  they  may  be  forearmed  ;  that  they  may  be  always  upon 
their  watch-tower,  and  hold  their  weapons  in  their  hands,  as  the  Jews 
did  in  Nehemiah's  time.2 

Reason  (2).  The  second  reason  is,  From  that  malice,  envy,  and  en- 
mity that  is  in  Satan  against  the  souls  of  men.  Satan  is  full  of  envy 
and  enmity,  and  that  makes  him  very  studious  to  suit  his  snares  and 
plots  to  the  tempers,  constitutions,  fancies,  and  callings  of  men,  that  so 
he  may  make  them  as  miserable  as  himself.3 

The  Russians  are  so  malicious,  that  you  shall  have  a  man  hide  some  of 

1  Rom.  xvi.  '20,  ri/vrj/x^u,  from  vvfrpifia.  The  Greek  word  signifies  to  break  or  crush 
a  tiling  to  pieces.  Being  applied  to  the  feet,  it  noteth  that  breaking  or  crushing  which  is 
by  stamping  upon  a  thing. 

s  The  philosopher  had  a  ball  of  brass  in  his  hand,  which,  if  he  chanced  to  sleep  with, 
the  fall  into  a  basin  awaked  him  to  his  studies.     You  are  wise,  and  know  how  to  apply  it. 

8  Malice  cares  not  what  it  saith  or  doth,  so  it  may  kill  or  gall. 

I 


2  Cor.  II.  11.]  against  satan's  devices.  157 

his  own  goods  in  the  house  of  him  whom  he  hateth,  and  then  accuse 
him  for  the  stealth  of  them.1  So  doth  Satan,  out  of  malice  to  the  souls 
of  men,  hide  his  goods,  his  wares,  as  I  may  say,  in  the  souls  of  men, 
and  then  go  and  accuse  them  before  the  Lord  ;  and  a  thousand,  thousand 
other  ways  Satan's  malice,  envy,  and  enmity  puts  him  upon,  eternally 
to  undo  the  precious  souls  of  men,  &c. 

Reason  (3).  The  third  reason  is  drawn  from  that  long  experience 
that  Satan  hath  had.  He  is  a  spirit  of  mighty  abilities  ;  and  his 
abilities  to  lay  snares  before  us  are  mightily  increased  by  that  long 
standing  of  his.  He  is  a  spirit  of  above  five  thousand  years'  standing. 
He  hath  had  time  enough  to  study  all  those  ways  and  methods  which 
tend  most  to  ensnare  and  undo  the  souls  of  men.  And  as  he  hath  time 
enough,  so  he  hath  made  it  his  whole  study,  his  only  study,  his  constant 
study,  to  find  out  snares,  depths,  and  stratagems,  to  entangle  and  over- 
throw the  souls  of  men.  When  he  was  but  a  young  serpent,  he  did 
easily  deceive  and  outwit  our  first  parents,  Gen.  iii. ;  but  now  he  is 
grown  that  '  old  serpent,'  as  John  speaks,  Kev.  xii.  9,  he  is  as  old  as  the 
world,  and  is  grown  very  cunning  by  experience. 

Reason  (4).  The  fourth  reason  is,  In  judgment  to  the  men  of  the 
world,  that  they  may  stumble  and  fall,  and  be  ensnared  for  ever. 
Wicked  men  that  withstand  the  offers  of  mercy,  and  despise  the  Spirit 
of  grace,  that  will  not  open,  though  God  knocks  never  so  hard  by  his 
word  and  rod,  by  his  Spirit  and  conscience,  are  given  up  by  a  hand  of 
justice,  to  be  hardened,  deceived,  and  ensnared  by  Satan,  to  their  ever- 
lasting ruin,  1  Kings  xxii.  23.  And  what  can  be  more  just  than  that 
they  should  be  taken  and  charmed  with  Satan's  wiles,  who  have  fre- 
quently refused  to  be  charmed  by  the  Spirit  of  grace,  though  he  hath 
charmed  never  so  wisely,  and  never  so  sweetly,  &c.  ? 

Reason  (5).  The  fifth  reason  is,  That  the  excellency  and  power  of 
God's  grace  may  be  more  illustrated  and  manifested,  by  making  men 
able  to  grapple  with  this  mighty  adversary,  and  that  notwithstanding 
all  the  plots,  devices,  and  stratagems  of  Satan,  yet  he  will  make  them 
victorious  here,  and  crown  them  with  glory  hereafter.  The  greater 
and  the  subtler  the  enemies  of  the  children  of  Israel  were,  the  more 
did  divine  power,  wisdom,  and  goodness,  sparkle  and  shine  ;  and  that, 
notwithstanding  all  their  power,  plots,  and  stratagems,  &c,  yet  to 
Canaan  he  would  bring  them  at  last.  When  Paul  had  weighed  this, 
he  sits  down  and  glories  in  his  infirmities  and  distresses  and  Satan's 
buffetings,  that  the  power  of  Christ  might  rest  upon  him,  2  Cor. 
xii.  7-9. 

The  use  of  the  point. 

If  Satan  hath  such  a  world  of  devices  and  stratagems  to  ensnare  and 
undo  the  souls  of  men,  then,  instead  of  wondering  that  so  few  are  saved, 
sit  down  and  wonder  that  any  are  saved,  that  any  escape  the  snares  of 
this  cunning  fowler,  who  spreads  his  nets  and  casts  forth  his  baits  in  all 
places,  in  all  cases  and  companies. 

But  this  is  not  the  main  thing  that  I  intend  to  speak  to  ;  my  main 
business  shall  be,  to  set  before  you  some  special  rules  and  helps  against 
all  his  devices. 

1  An  envious  heart  and  plotting  head  are  inseparable  companions. 


158  PRECIOUS  REMEDIES  [2  CoR.  II.  11. 

The  first  help.  If  you  would  not  be  taken  by  any  of  Satan's  devices, 
then  ovalk  by  rule.1  He  that  walks  by  rule,  walks  most  safely  ;  he  that 
walks  by  rule,  walks  most  honourably  ;  he  that  walks  by  rule,  walks  most 
sweetly.  When  men  throw  off  the  word,  then  God  throws  off  them, 
and  then  Satan  takes  them  by  the  hand,  and  leads  them  into  snares  at 
his  pleasure.  He  that  thinks  himself  too  good  to  be  ruled  by  the 
word,  will  be  found  too  bad  to  be  owned  by  God  ;  and  if  God  do  not, 
or  will  not  own  him,  Satan  will  by  his  stratagems  overthrow  him. 
Them  that  keep  to  the  rule,  they  shall  be  kept  in  the  hour  of  tempta- 
tion. '  Because  thou  hast  kept  the  word  of  my  patience,  I  also  will 
keep  thee  from  the  hour  of  temptation,  which  shall  come  upon  all  the 
world,  to  try  them  that  dwell  upon  the  earth,'  Rev.  iii.  10. 

The  second  Itelp.  As  you  would  not  be  taken  with  any  of  Satan's 
devices,  take  heed  of  vexing  and  grieving  the  Holy  Spirit  of  God.2  It 
is  the  Spirit  of  the  Lord  Jesus  Christ  that  is  best  able  to  discover 
Satan's  snares  against  us  ;  it  is  only  he  that  can  point  out  all  his  plots, 
and  discover  all  his  methods,  and  enable  men  to  escape  those  pits  that 
he  hath  digged  for  their  precious  souls.  Ah  !  if  you  set  that  sweet  and 
blessed  Spirit  a-mourning,  that  alone  can  secure  you  from  Satan's 
depths,  by  whom  will  you  be  secured  ?  Man  is  a  weak  creature,  and 
no  way  able  to  discover  Satan's  snares,  nor  to  avoid  them,  unless  the 
Spirit  of  the  Lord  gives  skill  and  power  ;  therefore,  whoever  be  grieved, 
be  sure  the  Spirit  be  not  grieved  by  your  enormities,  nor  by  your  refu- 
sing the  cordials  and  comforts  that  he  sets  before  you,  nor  by  slighting 
and  despising  his  gracious  actings  in  others,  nor  by  calling  sincerity 
hypocrisy,  faith  fancy,  &c,  nor  by  fathering  those  things  upon  the  Spirit, 
that  are  the  brats  and  fruits  of  your  own  hearts.3  The  Spirit  of 
the  Lord  is  your  counsellor,  your  comforter,  your  upholder,  your 
strengthener.  It  is  only  the  Spirit  that  makes  a  man  too  great  for 
Satan  to  conquer.  '  Greater  is  he  that  is  in  you,  than  he  that  is  in  the 
world,'  1  John  iv.  4. 

The  third  help.  If  you  would  not  be  taken  with  any  of  Satan's 
devices,  then  labour  for  more  heavenly  ivisdom*  Ah,  souls  !  you  are 
much  in  the  dark,  you  have  but  a  little  to  that  others  have,  and  to  that 
you  might  have  had,  had  you  not  been  wanting  to  yourselves.  There 
are  many  knowing  souls,  but  there  are  but  a  few  wise  souls.  There  is 
oftentimes  a  great  deal  of  knowledge,  where  there  is  but  a  little  wis- 
dom to  improve  that  knowledge.  Knowledge  without  wisdom  is  like 
mettle  in  a  blind  horse,  which  often  is  an  occasion  of  the  rider's  fall, 
and  of  his  bones  being  jostled  against  the  walls.5  It  is  not  the  most 
knowing  Christian,  but  the  most  wise  Christian,  that  sees,  avoids,  and 
escapes  Satan's  snares.  '  The  way  of  life  is  above  to  the  wise,'  saith 
Solomon, '  that  he  may  depart  from  hell  beneath,'  Prov.  xv.  24«.  Heavenly 
wisdom  makes  a  man  delight  to  fly  high  ;  and  the  higher  any  man 
flies,  the  more  ho  is  out  of  the  reach  of  Satan's  snares.6    Ah,  souls  !  you 

1  Prov.  xii.  24;  Gal.  vi.  16. 

2  Spiritus  sanclus  est  res  delicata,  the  Divine  Spirit  is  a  very  tender  thing  :  if  you  grieve 
him,  he  will  certainly  grieve  and  vex  your  precious  souls,  Lam.  i.  16. 

3  Isa.  lxiii.  10  ;  Ps.  lxxiii.  23  ;   1  Thes.  v.  19  ;  Acts  ii.  13. 

4  If  men  could  but  see  the  fair  face  of  wisdom  with  mortal  eyes,  they  would  be  in  love 
with  her,  saith  Plato.  6  Sine prudentia  simplicitas  stultitiaest — Drusius. 

6  Malim  prxidentice  guttam  qnam  fozeundioris  fortunes  pelagus,  said  Nazianzen.  A  ser- 
pent's eye  is  a  singular  ornament  in  a  dove's  head. 


2  Cor.  II.  11.]  against  satan's  devices.  159 

had  need  of  a  great  deal  of  heavenly  wisdom,  to  see  where  and  how 
Satan  lays  his  baits  and  snares  ;  and  wisdom  to  find  out  proper  reme- 
dies against  his  devices,  and  wisdom  to  apply  those  remedies  season- 
ably, inwardly,  and  effectually  to  your  own  hearts,  that  so  you  may 
avoid  the  snares  which  that  evil  one  hath  laid  for  your  precious  souls. 

The  fourth  help.  If  you  would  not  be  taken  with  any  of  Satan's 
devices,  then  make  present  resistance  against  Satan's  first  motions. 
It  is  safe  to  resist,  it  is  dangerous  to  dispute.  Eve  disputes,  and  falls 
in  paradise,  Gen.  iii. ;  Job  resists,  and  conquers  upon  the  dunghill. 
He  that  will  play  with  Satan's  bait,  will  quickly  be  taken  with  Satan's 
book.  The  promise  of  conquest  is  made  over  to  resisting,  not  to  dis- 
puting :  '  Resist  the  devil,  and  he  will  fly  from  you,'  James  iv.  7.  Ah, 
souls  !  were  you  better  at  resisting  than  at  disputing,  though  happily 
you  were  not  very  expert  at  either,  your  temptations  would  be  fewer, 
and  your  strength  to  stand  would  be  greater  than  now  it  is,  &c. 

The  fifth  help.  If  you  would  not  be  taken  with  any  of  Satan's  devices, 
then  labour  to  be  filled  with  the  Spirit.  The  Spirit  of  the  Lord  is  a 
Spirit  of  light  and  power ;  and  what  can  a  soul  do  without  light  and 
power  'against  spiritual  wickedness  in  high  places'?  Eph.  vi.  12.  It 
is  not  enough  that  you  have  the  Spirit,  but  you  must  be  filled  with  the 
Spirit,  or  else  Satan,  that  evil  spirit,  will  be  too  hard  for  you,  and  his 
plots  will  prosper  against  you.  That  is  a  sweet  word  of  the  apostle, 
'Be  filled  with  the  Spirit,  Eph.  v.  18  ;*  i.e.  labour  for  abundance  of  the 
Spirit.  He  that  thinks  he  hath  enough  of  the  Holy  Spirit,  will  quickly 
find  himself  vanquished  by  the  evil  spirit.  Satan  hath  his  snares  to 
take  you  in  prosperity  and  adversity,  in  health  and  sickness,  in  strength 
and  weakness,  when  you  are  alone  and  when  you  are  in  company,  when 
you  come  on  to  spiritual  duties  and  when  you  come  off  from  spiritual 
duties,  and  if  you  are  not  filled  with  the  Spirit,  Satan  will  be  too  hard 
and  too  crafty  for  you,  and  will  easily  and  frequently  take  you  in  his 
snares,  and  make  a  prey  of  you  in  spite  of  your  souls.  Therefore  labour 
more  to  have  your  hearts  filled  with  the  Spirit  than  to  have  your  heads 
filled  with  notions,  your  shops  with  wares,  your  chests  with  silver,  or 
your  bags  with  gold  ;  so  shall  you  escape  the  snares  of  this  fowler,  and 
triumph  over  all  his  plots,  &c.2 

The  sixth  help.  If  you  would  not  be  taken  in  any  of  Satan's  snares, 
then  keep  humble.  An  humble  heart  will  rather  lie  in  the  dust  than 
rise  by  wickedness,  and  sooner  part  with  all  than  the  peace  of  a  good 
conscience.  Humility  keeps  the  soul  free  from  many  darts  of  Satan's 
casting,  and  snares  of  his  spreading ;  as  the  low  shrubs  are  free  from 
many  violent  gusts  and  blasts  of  wind,  which  shake  and  rend  the  taller 
trees.  The  devil  hath  least  power  to  fasten  a  temptation  on  him  that 
is  most  humble.  He  that  hath  a  gracious  measure  of  humility,  is  neither 
affected  with  Satan's  proffers  nor  terrified  with  his  threatenings.3     I 

1  irXn^ovah.     To  be  filled  with  the  Spirit,  as  the  sails  of  a  ship  is  filled  with  wind. 

2  Luther  saith,  a  holy  gluttony  is  to  lay  on,  to  feed  hard,  and  to  fetch  hearty  draughts, 
till  they  be  even  drunk  with  loves,  and  with  the  abundance  of  the  Spirit.  Oh  that  there 
were  more  such  holy  gluttony  in  the  world  ! 

3  It  is  reported  of  Satan  that  he  should  say  thus  of  a  learned  man,  Tu  me  semper  vincis, 
thou  dost  always  overcome  me  ;  when  1  would  exalt  and  promote  thee,  thou  keepest  thy- 
self in  humility ;  and  when  I  would  throw  thee  down,  thou  liftest  up  thyself  in  assurance 
of  faith. 


160  PRECIOUS  REMEDIES  [2  COR.  II.  11. 

have  read  of  one  who,  seeing  in  a  vision  many  snares  of  the  devil  spread 
upon  the  earth,  he  sat  down,  and  mourned,  and  said  in  himself,  Quis 
peHransiet  ista  ?  who  shall  pass  through  these  ?  whereunto  he  heard  a 
voice  answering,  Humilitas  peiiransiet,  humility  shall.  God  hath 
said,  that  '  he  will  teach  the  humble/  and  that  '  he  will  dwell  with  the 
humble,'  and  that  'he  will  fill  and  satisfy  the  humble.'1  And  if  the 
teachings  of  God,  the  indwellings  of  God,  if  the  pourings  in  of  God,  will 
not  keep  the  soul  from  falling  into  Satan's  snares,  I  do  not  know  what 
will.  And  therefore  as  you  would  be  happy  in  resisting  Satan,  and 
blessed  in  triumphing  over  Satan  and  all  his  snares,  keep  humble ;  I 
say  again,  keep  humble,  &c. 

The  seventh  help.  If  you  would  not  be  taken  in  any  of  Satan's  snares, 
then  keep  a  strong,  close,  and  constant  watch,  1  Thes.  v.  6.'2  A  secure 
soul  is  already  an  ensnared  soul.  That  soul  that  will  not  watch  against 
temptations,  will  certainly  fall  before  the  power  of  temptations.  Satan 
works  most  strongly  on  the  fancy  when  the  soul  is  drowsy.  The  soul's 
security  is  Satan's  opportunity  to  fall  upon  the  soul  and  to  spoil  the 
soul,  as  Joshua  did  the  men  of  Ai.  The  best  way  to  be  safe  and  secure 
from  all  Satan's  assaults  is,  with  Nehemiah  and  the  Jews,  to  watch  and 
pray,  and  pray  and  watch.  By  this  means  they  became  too  hard  for 
their  enemies,  and  the  work  of  the  Lord  did  prosper  sweetly  in  their 
hands.  Remember  how  Christ  chid  his  sluggish  disciples,  '  What !  could 
you  not  watch  with  me  one  hour  V  what,  cannot  you  watch  with  me  ? 
how  will  you  then  die  with  me  ?  if  you  cannot  endure  words,  how  will 
you  endure  wounds  ?  drc.  Satan  always  keeps  a  crafty  and  malicious 
watch,  '  seeking  whom  he  may  devour  (xaram^  or  whom  he  may  drink 
or  sip  up,  as  the  apostle  speaks  in  that  1  Peter  v.  8.  Satan  is  very 
envious  at  our  condition,  that  we  should  enjoy  that  paradise  out  of 
which  he  is  cast,  and  out  of  which  he  shall  be  for  ever  kept. 

Shall  Satan  keep  a  crafty  watch,  and  shall  not  Christians  keep  a  holy 
spiritual  watch  ?3  Our  whole  life  is  beset  with  temptations.  Satan 
watches  all  opportunities  to  break  our  peace,  to  wound  our  consciences, 
to  lessen  our  comforts,  to  impair  our  graces,  to  slur  our  evidences,  and 
to  damp  our  assurances,  &c.  Oh !  what  need  then  have  we  to  be 
always  upon  our  watch-tower,  lest  we  be  surprised  by  this  subtle  ser- 
pent. Watchfulness  includes  a  waking,  a  rousing  up  of  the  soul.  It 
is  a  continual,  careful  observing  of  our  hearts  and  ways,  in  all  the  turn- 
ings of  our  lives,  that  we  still  keep  close  to  God  and  his  word. 

Watchfulness  is  nothing  else  but  the  soul  running  up  and  down,  to 
and  fro,  busy  everywhere ;  it  is  the  heart  busied  and  employed  with 
diligent  observation  of  quid  inde,  what  comes  from  within  us,  and  of 
quid  inde,  what  comes  from  without  us  and  into  us.  Ah,  souls  !  you 
are  no  longer  safe  and  secure  than  when  you  are  upon  your  watch. 
While  Antipater  kept  the  watch,  Alexander  was  safe;  and  while  we 

1  Ps.  xxv.  9  ;  Isa.  lvii.  15 ;  James  iv.  6. 

2  We  must  not  be  like  Agrippa's  dormouse,  that  would  not  awake  till  cast  into  boil- 
ing lead,  but  effectually  mind  lliese  following  scriptures,  wherein  this  duty  of  watchful- 
ness is  so  strictly  enjoined  : — Mat.  xxvi.  40  ;  Mark  xiii.  33,  34,  35,  37  ;  1  Cor.  xvi.  13  ; 
Col.  iv.  2 ;  1  Peter  iv.  7  ;  Rev.  ii.  3. 

8  Hannibal  never  rested,  whether  he  did  conquer  or  was  conquered.  It  is  so  with 
Satan.  Learn,  for  shame  of  the  devil,  said  blessed  Latimer,  to  watch,  seeing  the  devil  is 
so  watchful. 


2  Cor.  II.  11.]  against  satan's  devices.  161 

keep  a  strict  watch,  we  are  safe.  A  watchful  soul  is  a  soul  upon  the 
wing,  a  soul  out  of  gun-shot,  a  soul  upon  a  rock,  a  soul  in  a  castle,  a 
soul  above  the  clouds,  a  soul  held  fast  in  everlasting  arms. 

I  shall  conclude  this  seventh  head  with  this  advice,  Remember  the 
dragon  is  subtle,  and  bites  the  elephant's  ear,  and  then  sucks  his  blood, 
because  he  knows  that  to  be  the  only  place  which  the  elephant  cannot 
reach  with  his  trunk  to  defend  ;  so  our  enemies  are  so  subtle,  that  they 
will  bite  us,  and  strike  us  where  they  may  most  mischief  us,  and  there- 
fore it  doth  very  much  concern  us  to  stand  always  upon  our  guard. 

The  eighth  help.  If  you  would  not  be  taken  with  any  of  Satan's 
snares  and  devices,  then  keep  up  your  communion  with  God.1  Your 
strength  to  stand  and  withstand  Satan's  fiery  darts  is  from  your  com- 
munion with  God.  A  soul  high  in  communion  with  God  may  be 
tempted,  but  will  not  easily  be  conquered.  Such  a  soul  will  fight  it 
out  to  the  death.  Communion  with  God  furnisheth  the  soul  with  the 
greatest  and  the  choicest  arguments  to  withstand  Satan's  temptations. 
Communion  is  the  result  of  union.  Communion  is  a  reciprocal  ex- 
change between  Christ  and  a  gracious  soul.  Communion  is  Jacob's 
ladder,  where  you  have  Christ  sweetly  coming  down  into  the  soul,  and 
the  soul,  by  divine  influences,  sweetly  ascending  up  to  Christ.  Com- 
munion with  Christ  is  very  inflaming,  raising  and  strengthening.  While 
Samson  kept  up  his  communion  with  God,  no  enemy  could  stand 
before  him,  but  he  goes  on  conquering  and  to  conquer ;  but  when  he 
was  fallen  in  his  communion  with  God,  he  quickly  falls  before  the  plots 
of  his  enemies.  It  will  be  so  with  your  souls.  So  long  as  your  com- 
munion with  God  is  kept  up,  you  will  be  too  hard  for  '  spiritual  wicked- 
ness in  high  places  ;'  but  if  you  fall  from  your  communion  with  God, 
you  will  fall,  as  others,  before  the  face  of  every  temptation.2  David,  so 
long  as  he  kept  up  his  communion  with  God,  he  stands,  and  triumphs 
over  all  his  enemies ;  but  when  he  was  fallen  in  his  communion  with 
God,  then  he  falls  before  the  enemies  that  were  in  his  own  bosom,  and 
flies  before  those  that  pursued  after  his  life.  It  will  be  so  with  your 
souls,  if  you  do  not  keep  up  your  communion  with  God.  Job  keeps  up 
his  communion  with  God,  and  conquers  Satan  upon  the  dunghill ; 
Adam  loses  his  communion  with  God,  and  is  conquered  by  Satan  in 
paradise.  Communion  with  God  is  a  shield  upon  land,  as  well  as  an 
anchor  at  sea ;  it  is  a  sword  to  defend  you,  as  well  as  a  staff  to  support 
you  ;  therefore  keep  up  your  communion. 

The  ninth  help.  If  you  would  not  be  taken  in  any  of  Satan's  snares, 
then  engage  not  against  Satan  in  your  own  strength,  but  be  every 
day  drawing  new  virtue  and  strength  from  the  Lord  Jesus.3  Cer- 
tainly that  soul  that  engages  against  any  old  or  new  temptation  without 

1  1  Cor.  vi.  19.  The  words  are  very  significant  in  the  original.  There  are  two  ins, 
as  though  God  could  never  have  near  enough  communion  with  them. 

2  The  sea  ehhs  and  flows,  the  moon  increases  and  decreases;  so  it  is  with  saints  in  their 
communion  with  God.  Plutarch  tells  of  Eudoxus,  that  he  would  be  willing  to  be  burnt 
up  presently  by  the  sun,  so  he  might  be  admitted  to  come  so  near  it  as  to  learn  the 
nature  of  it.  What!  should  not  we  be  content  to  suffer  for  the  keeping  up  communion 
with  Christ? — [Eudoxus  :  Delambre,  Hist.  Astron.  Anc,  1.  107. — G.] 

3  There  is  a  remarkable  saying  of  Moses,  Exod.  xv.,  God  is  fortitudo  mea,  et  laxts  mea, 
et  salus  mea,  my  strength,  and  my  praise,  and  my  salvation,  all  in  the  abstract.  It  is  but 
look  up  and  live ;  look  unto  me,  and  be  saved,  from  the  ends  of  the  earth,  Isa.  xlv.  22. 

VOL.  I.  L 


1(>2  PRECIOUS  REMEDIES  [2  COR.  II.  11. 

new  strength,  new  influences  from  on  high,  will  fall  before  tbe  power 
of  the  temptation.  You  may  see  this  in  Peter ;  he  rested  upon  some 
old  received  strength — '  Though  all  men  should  deny  thee,  yet  will  not 
I,'  Mat.  xx vi.  35 — and  therefore  he  falls  sadly  before  a  new  temptation. 
He  curses  and  swears,  and  denies  him  thrice,  that  had  thrice  appeared 
gloriously  to  him.  Ah,  souls !  when  the  snare  is  spread,  look  up  to 
Jesus  Christ,  who  is  lifted  up  in  the  gospel,  as  the  brazen  serpent  was 
in  the  wilderness,  and  say  to  him,  Dear  Lord  !  here  is  a  new  snare  laid 
to  catch  my  soul,  and  grace  formerly  received,  without  fresh  supplies 
from  thy  blessed  bosom,  will  not  deliver  me  from  this  snare.  Oh !  give 
me  new  strength,  new  power,  new  influences,  new  measures  of  grace, 
that  so  I  may  escape  the  snares.  Ah,  souls  !  remember  this,  that  your 
strength  to  stand  and  overcome  must  not  be  expected  from  graces 
received,  but  from  the  fresh  and  renewed  influences  of  heaven.1  You 
must  lean  more  upon  Christ  than  upon  your  duties ;  you  must  lean 
more  upon  Christ  than  upon  spiritual  tastes  and  discoveries ;  you  must 
lean  more  upon  Christ  than  upon  your  graces,  or  else  Satan  will  lead 
you  into  captivity,  &c. 

The  tenth  help.  If  you  would  not  be  taken  in  any  of  Satan's  snares, 
then  be  much  in  prayer.  Prayer  is  a  shelter  to  the  soul ;  a  sacrifice 
to  God  and  a  scourge  to  the  devil.  David's  heart  was  oft  more  out  of 
tune  than  his  harp.  He  prays,  and  then,  in  spite  of  the  devil,  cries, 
'  Return  unto  thy  rest,  O  my  soul.'  Prayer  is  porta  cosli,  clavis  para- 
disi,  the  gate  of  heaven,  a  key  to  let  us  into  paradise.  There  is  nothing 
that  renders  plots  fruitless  like  prayer  ;  therefore  saith  Christ,  '  Watch 
and  pray  that  ye  enter  not  into  temptation/  Mat.  xxvi.  41.  You  must 
watch  and  pray,  and  pray  and  watch,  if  you  would  not  enter  into  temp- 
tation.2 When  Sennacherib  and  Hamanhad  laid  plots  and  snares  to  have 
destroyed  the  Jews,  they  prayed,  and  their  souls  wrere  delivered,  and 
Sennacherib  and  Haman  destroyed.  David  had  many  snares  laid  for 
him,  and  this  puts  him  upon  prayer.  '  Keep  me,'  saith  he,  '  from  the 
snares  which  they  have  laid  for  me,  and  the  gins  of  the  workers  of  ini- 
quity.' '  Let  the  wicked  fall  into  their  own  nets,  whilst  that  I  escape,' 
Ps.  cxli.  9,  10.  'The  proud/  saith  he,  'have  hid  a  snare  for  me,  and 
cords :.  they  have  spread  a  net  by  the  wayside ;  they  have  set  gins 
for  me.  Selah.  I  said  unto  the  Lord,  Thou  art  my  God  :  hear  the 
voice  of  my  supplication,  O  Lord  !'  Ps.  cxl.  5,  6.  Saul  and  many  others 
bad  laid  snares  for  David,  and  this  puts  him  upon  prayer,  and  so  the 
snares  are  broken  and  he  is  delivered.3  Ah,  souls  !  take  words  to 
yourselves,  and  tell  God  that  Satan  hath  spread  his  snares  in  all  places 
and  in  all  companies ;  tell  God  that  he  digs  deep,  and  that  he  hath 
plot  upon  plot,  and  device  upon  device,  and  all  to  undo  you  ;  tell  God 
that  you  have  neither  skill  nor  power  to  escape  his  snares  ;  tell  God  that 
it  is  a  work  too  high  and  too  hard  for  any  created  creature  to  work  your 

1  John  xv.  5,  xui>f  lP<>"<  is  seorsim  a  me,  separate  from  me,  or  apart  from  me,  ye  can 
do  nothing. 

*  Of  Carolus  Magnus  it  was  spoken,  Carolus  plus  cum  Deoquam  cum  hominibus  loquitur, 
that  he  spake  more  with  God  than  with  men.  Ah !  that  I  could  say  so  of  the  Christians 
in  our  days. 

*  Nunquam  abs  te,  absque  te  recedo.—  Bernard.  O  Lord !  saith  he,  I  never  go  away  from 
thoe,  without  thee.  Let  us,  saith  Basil,  with  a  holy  impudence,  make  God  ashamed,  that 
he  cannot  look  us  in  the  face,  if  he  do  deny  our  importunity  :  Jacob-like,  '  I  will  not  let 

hee  go,  unless  thou  bless  me.' 


2  Cor.  II.  11.]  against  satan's  devices.  163 

deliverance,  unless  lie  put  under  his  own  everlasting  arms  ;  tell  God 
how  his  honour  is  engaged  to  stand  by  you,  and  to  bring  you  off,  that 
you  be  not  ruined  by  his  plots  ;  tell  God  how  the  wicked  would  triumph, 
if  you  should  fall  into  Satan's  snares  ;  tell  God  of  the  love  of  Christ,  of 
the  blood  of  Christ,  and  of  the  intercession  of  Christ  for  you,  that  a 
way  may  be  found  for  your  escape  ;  tell  God  if  he  will  make  it  his 
honour  to  save  you  from  falling  into  Satan's  snares,  you  will  make  it 
your  glory  to  speak  of  his  goodness  and  to  live  out  his  kindness.  Chris- 
tians must  do  as  Daedalus,  that  when  he  could  not  escape  by  a  way 
upon  earth,  went  by  a  way  of  heaven,1  and  that  is,  the  way  of  prayer, 
which  is  the  only  way  left  to  escape  Satan's  snares,  &c. 

Use.  The  next  use  is  a  use  of  thankfulness  to  those  that  escape  Satan's 
snares,  that  are  not  taken  by  him  at  his  will.  Ah  !  Christians,  it  stands 
upon  you  with  that  princely  prophet  David,  to  call  upon  your  souls, 
and  say,  '  Bless  the  Lord,  0  our  souls ;  and  all  that  is  within  us,  bless 
his  holy  name !  Bless  the  Lord,  O  our  souls,  and  forget  not  all  his 
benefits  !'  Ps.  ciii.  1,2;  who  hath  not  given  us  to  be  a  prey  to  Satan, 
and  to  be  ensnared  by  those  snares  that  he  hath  laid  for  our  souls.  The 
sense  of  this  great  favour  did  work  up  David's  heart  to  praises  :  '  Blessed 
be  the  Lord,'  saith  he, '  who  hath  not  given  us  a  prey  to  their  teeth. 
Our  soul  is  escaped  as  a  bird  out  of  the  snares  of  the  fowlers  :  the  snare 
is  broken,  and  we  are  escaped,'  Ps.  cxxiv.  7.  Ah  !  Christians,  remember 
that  the  greatest  part  of  the  world,  yea,  the  greatest  part  of  professors, 
are  taken  in  Satan's  snares.  Can  you  think  seriously  of  this,  and  not 
blush  to  be  unthankful  ?  What  are  you  better  than  others  ?  and  what 
have  ye  deserved  of  God,  or  done  for  God  more  than  others,  that  you 
should  by  the  help  of  a  divine  hand  escape  the  snares,  when  others  are 
taken  and  held  in  the  snares  of  the  devil  to  their  eternal  overthrow  ?  &c. 

Willyou  be  thankful  for  the  escaping  the  snares  that  men  spread  for  your 
lives  or  estates,  &c,  and  will  you  not  be  much  more  thankful  for  escaping 
those  snares  that  Satan  hath  laid  for  your  precious  souls  ?     Ps.  lxxi.  14.2 

Remember  this,  that  deliverance  from  Satan's  snares  doth  carry  with 
it  the  clearest  and  the  greatest  evidence  of  the  soul  and  heart  of  God 
to  be  towards  us.  Many  a  man  by  a  common  hand  of  providence 
escapes  many  a  snare  that  man  hath  laid  for  him,  but  yet  escapes  not 
the  snares  that  Satan  hath  laid  for  him.  Saul,  and  Judas,  and  Demas, 
doubtless  escaped  many  snares  that  men  had  laid  for  them,  but  none  of 
them  escaped  the  snares  that  the  devil  had  laid  for  them.  Many  men 
are  lifted  up  above  the  snares  of  men  by  a  common  hand  of  providence, 
that  are  left  to  fall  into  the  snares  of  the  devil  by  a  hand  of  justice  ; 
your  deliverance  from  Satan's  snares  is  a  fruit  of  special  love.  Can  you 
thus  look  upon  it  and  not  be  thankful,  0  precious  soul  ?     I  judge  not. 

Use.  The  last  use  of  this  point  is,  To  bespeak  Christians  to  long  to 
be  at  home.3     Oh  !  long  to  be  in  the  bosom  of  Christ !  long  to  be  in  the 

1  The  well-known  legend  of  the  '  wax-fixed  wings'  of  Dasdalus  and  Icarus.  — G. 

8  The  ancients  use  to  say,  Ingratum  dixeris,  omnia  dixeris,  say  a  man  is  unthankful,  and 
say  he  is  anything.  Ps.  lxxi.  14,  « I  will  yet  praise  thee  more  and  more.'  In  the  original 
it  is,  1  will  add  to  thy  praise.  The  stork  is  said  to  leave  one  of  her  young  ones  where 
Bhe  hatcheth  them  ;  and  the  elephant  to  turn  up  the  first  sprig  toward  heaven,  when  he 
cometh  to  feed,  out  of  some  instinct  of  gratitude.  Ah !  souls,  that  these  may  not  bear 
witness  against  you  in  the  day  of  Christ. 

8  Austin  wished  that  he  might  have  seen  three  things  :  Rome  flourishing,  I  aul  preacu- 


1G4?  PRECIOUS  REMEDIES  [2  COR.  II.  11. 

land  of  Canaan  !  for  this  world,  this  wilderness,  is  full  of  snares,  and  all 
employments  are  full  of  snares,  and  all  enjoyments  are  full  of  snares. 
In  civil  things,  Satan  hath  his  snares  to  entrap  us  ;  and  in  all  spiritual 
things,  Satan  hath  his  snares  to  catch  us.  All  places  are  full  of  snares, 
city  and  country,  shop  and  closet,  sea  and  land  ;  and  all  our  mercies  are 
surrounded  with  snares.  There  are  snares  about  our  tables  and  snares 
about  our  beds,  &c.  ;  yea,  Satan  is  so  powerful  and  subtle  that  he  will 
oftentimes  make  our  greatest,  nearest,  and  dearest  mercies  to  become 
our  greatest  snares.  Sometimes  he  will  make  the  wife  that  lies  in  the 
bosom  to  be  a  snare  to  a  man,  as  Samson's  was,  and  as  Job's  was. 
Sometimes  he  will  make  the  child  to  be  a  snare,  as  Absalom  was  and 
Eli's  sons  were  ;  and  sometimes  he  will  make  the  servant  to  be  a  snare, 
as  Joseph  was  to  his  mistress.  Ah  !  souls,  Satan  is  so  cunning  and 
artificial1  that  he  can  turn  your  cups  into  snares,  and  your  clothes  into 
snares,  and  your  houses  into  snares,  and  your  gardens  into  snares,  and 
all  your  recreations  into  snares,  &c.  And  oh  !  how  should  the  consider- 
ation of  these  things  work  all  your  souls  to  say  with  the  church,  '  Make 
haste,  my  beloved,  and  be  like  a  roe,  or  a  young  hart  upon  the  moun- 
tain of  spices,'  and  to  love,  and  look,  and  long  for  the  coming  of  Christ, 
Cant.  viii.  14.2  Shall  the  espoused  maid  long  for  the  marriage  day  ? 
the  servant  for  his  freedom  ?  the  captive  for  his  ransom  ?  the  traveller 
for  his  inn  ?  and  the  mariner  for  his  harbour  ?  and  shall  not  the  people 
of  the  Lord  long  much  more  to  be  in  the  bosom  of  Christ  ?  there  being 
nothing  below  the  bosom  of  Christ  that  is  not  surrounded  with  Satan's 
snares,  Philip,  i.  23,  and  2  Cor.  v.  2,  4. 

What  Paul  once  spake  of  bonds  and  afflictions,  that  they  attended 
him  in  every  place,  Acts  xx.  23,  that  may  all  the  saints  say  of  Satan's 
snares,  that  they  attend  them  in  every  place,  which  should  cause  thei 
to  cry  out,  Migremus  hinc,  Tinigremus  hinc,  let  us  go  hence,  let  us  gc 
hence  ;  and  to  say  with  Monica,  Austin's  mother,  What  do  we  here  ? 
why  depart  we  not  hence?  why  fly  we  no  swifter?3  Ah  !  souls,  till  you 
are  taken  up  into  the  bosom  of  Christ,  your  comforts  will  not  be  full, 
pure,  and  constant  ;  till  then,  Satan  will  still  be  thumping  of  you,  and 
spreading  snares  to  entangle  you  ;  therefore  you  should  always  be  crying 
out  with  the  church,  '  Come,  Lord  Jesus  !'  Rev.  xxii.  20.  Is  not  Christ 
the  star  of  Jacob,  that  '  giveth  light  to  them  that  are  in  darkness  V 
that  Prince  of  peace  who  brings  the  olive  branch  to  souls  that  are  per- 
plexed ?  Is  not  the  greatest  Avorth  and  wealth  in  him  ?  Is  not  the 
petty  excellencies  and  perfections  of  all  created  creatures  epitomized  in 
him  ?  Is  not  he  the  crown  of  crowns,  the  glory  of  glories,  and  the 
heaven  of  heavens  ?  Oh  then,  be  still  a-longing  after  a  full,  clear,  and 
constant  enjoyment  of  Christ  in  heaven  ;  for  till  then,  Satan  will  still 
have  plots  and  designs  upon  you.  He  acts  by  an  united4  power,  and 
will  never  let  you  rest  till  you  are  taken  up  to  an  everlasting  rest  in  the 
bosom  of  Christ.5 

ing,  and  Christ  conversing  with  men  upon  the  earth.  Bede  comes  after,  and,  correcting 
iliis  hist  wish,  saith,  Yea,  hut  let  me  see  the  King  in  his  beauty,  Christ  in  his  heavenly 
kingdom. 

1  '  Artful.' — G.  "  mi  ni2,  berach  dodi ;  flee  away  speedily,  my  heloved. 

a  Quid  hie  faciamus  ?  cur  nou  oeius  migramus?  cur  non  hinc  avolamus  *? 

4  Qu.  'untired'V— G. 

b  It  is  as  easy  to  compass  the  heavens  with  a  span,  and  contain  the  sea  in  a  nutshell, 
as  to  relate  fully  Christ's  excellencies,  or  heaven's  happiness. 


2  Cor.  II.  11.]  against  satan's  devices.  165 


THE  STATIONER  TO  THE  READER. 

Christian  Reader, — I  thought  good  to  present  to  thy  view  this 
letter  following,  which  came  to  my  hands,  being  sent  from  one  in  Devon- 
shire to  his  brother  in  London,  returning  him  much  thanks  for  this 
book,  and  declaring  the  great  benefit  he  received  by  it,  and  the  com- 
fortable effects  it  wrought  upon  him, — and  I  may  say,  not  upon  him 
only,  for  I  have  heard  of  several  others  that  have  reaped  much  profit 
and  comfort  from  it  and  the  other  works  of  this  author's  lately  pub- 
lished,— through  the  Lord's  blessing,  to  whom  be  ascribed  all  the  glory. 
I  was  induced  to  publish  it,  that  so  others  may  be  encouraged  to  a  more 
serious  perusal  of  this  and  other  solid  practical  divinity  books,  which 
may  tend  to  their,  eternal  welfare. 

For  as  there  are  good  and  bad  men  in  the  world,  so  there  are  many 
good  and  bad  books,  and  our  time  is  a  precious  thing.  Therefore  we 
ought  to  'redeem  it,'  Eph.  v.  15,  16,  and  improve  it  to  our  best  ad- 
vantage.1 I  deny  not  but  there  are  many  moral  historical  books  extant 
of  very  good  use,  yet  it  is  too  apparent  that  there  are  divers  vain,  idle, 
amorous  romances,  lascivious  and  vicious  poetry,  and  profane  play- 
books,  which  chiefly  tend  to  the  corruption  of  youth,  the  mis-spending 
their  precious  time,  and  undoing  their  immortal  souls.  As  I  have 
known  some  foolish,  ignorant  people  that  have  made  earnest  inquiry  for 
merry  books  to  pass  away  the  time,  Honest  Reader,  let  me  advise  thee, 
next  to  the  Bible,  let  it  be  thy  chief  care,  as  thou  art  curious  and  care- 
ful for  wholesome  food,  for  the  health  and  preservation  of  thy  body,  so 
be  no  less  careful  to  make  sound  and  solid  divinity  books  thy  chiefest 
study  and  delight ;  which  will  be  most  for  thy  profit  and  edification, 
especially  if  thou  readest  them  not  for  notion-sake,  only  to  know,  but 
to  practise  ;  then,  as  in  this  following  young  man's  example,  thou  mayest 
have  cause  to  bless  God,  and  to  be  thankful  to  the  author  or  instrument 
of  thy  good.      Vale,  J.  H.a 


A  TRUE  COPY  OF  THE  LETTER  ABOVE  MENTIONED. 

Brother  ! — I  thank  you  most  kindly  for  that  book  of  Mr  Brooks's 
'  Precious  Remedies' — you  sent  me ;  and  I  think  I  can  never  recompense 
you  in  a  better  manner  than  to  acquaint  you  with  what  benefit  I  have 
received  by  it ;  for  it  was  a  great  awaking  of  me,  to  see  in  what  a  lost 
condition  I  was  without  Christ,  and  how  many  ways  Satan  hath  de- 
ceived me,  in  making  me  delay  my  careful  providing  for  eternity. 
Brother  !  I  was  made  within  these  few  weeks  so  sensible  of  my  condition, 
that  for  a  week's  space  I  was  almost  ready  to  despair  of  God's  mercy  ; 
I  was  sore  troubled  that  I  had  sinned  so  much  against  the  mercy  of  the 
Lord,  who  had  afforded  me  so  much  means  of  grace,  and  followed  me 

1  See  Mr  Brooks's  '  Apples  of  Gold.'  Eccles.  i.  2,  '  Remember  now  thy  Creator  in 
the  days  of  thy  youth,'  &c.  See  Mr  Philip  Goodwin  in  his  '  Mystery  of  Dreams,'  p.  50. 
Satan  sends  out  his  books  as  baits,  by  which  many  are  cunningly  caught,  with  the  venom 
of  which  so  many  are  poisoned. 

2  John  Hancock.  See  title-page  in  note  prefixed  to  the  book,  '  Precious  Remedies,' 
&c— G. 


1G6  PRECIOUS  REMEDIES.  [2  COR.  II.  11. 

Avith  convictions,  wooing  and  entreating  me  by  his  messengers  for  many 
years,  which  made  me  think  that  my  day  of  grace  was  past.  But  since, 
'  praised  be  the  Lord,  who  hath  comforted  me,'  and  now  I  see  that  there 
is  yet  a  door  of  hope  open  for  me,  which  hath  brought  me  to  such  a 
great  change  in  the  very  thoughts  of  my  heart,  that  I  would  not  ex- 
change for  the  whole  world.  Brother  !  let  your  prayers  and  the  prayers 
of  God's  people  be,  that  the  Lord  would  increase  and  strengthen  his 
grace  in  me,  for  I  am  as  a  new-born  babe,  '  desiring  the  sincere  milk  of 
the  word,  that  I  may  grow  thereby/  1  Peter  ii.  2.  And  I  would 
gladly  have  more  acquaintance  with  the  Lord's  people.  Brother !  my 
prayer  shall  be  to  the  Lord  for  you,  that  you  may  grow  more  and  more 
in  grace,  and  in  the  knowledge  of  our  Lord  and  Saviour  Jesus  Christ ; 
and  so  I  rest,  yours  in  all  brotherly  love  and  affections  till  death, 

W.  L. 
Tiverton,  March  1655. 


APPLES  OF  GOLD. 


NOTE. 

'  Apples  of  Gold'  wag  originally  preached  as  a  '  funeral  sermon,'  and  published  in  1657. 
See  Appendix  to  our  reprint,  where  will  be  found,  (1.)  Copy  of  the  first  title-page,  as  it 
states  the  circumstances  ;  (2.)  The  original  '  Epistle  Dedicatory,'  afterwards  withdrawn 
and  another  substituted  ;  but  reprinted  thus  as  being  very  characteristic  and  pungent. 

Our  text  is  taken  from  the  '  third  edition,  corrected.'  Its  title-page  will  be  found 
below.*  The  '  17th'  edition  appeared  in  1693,  and  '  Apples  of  Gold'  has  always  ranked 
with  '  Precious  Remedies'  and  the  '  Mute  Christian,'  in  acceptance. — G. 

*  APPLES  OF  GOLD 

FOR 

Young  Men  and  Women, 

AND, 


A  CROWN  of  GLORY  for 
Old  Men  and  Women. 

OR, 

The  Happiness  of  being  Good  betimes. 

And  the  Honour  of  being  an  Old  Disciple. 

Clearly  and  fully  discovered,  and  closely 

and  faithfully  applied. 

ALSO, 

The    Young   Mans    Objections   answered. 
And  the  Old  Mans  Doubts  resolved. 

By  THOMAS  BROOKS  Preacher  of  the  Gospel 

at  Margarets  New  Fishstreet-hill. 

The  Third  Edition  corrected. 

But  I  thy  Servant  fear  the  Lord  from  my  youth,  1  Kings 

18.  12. 
The  hoary  head  is  a  Crovm  of  Glory,  if  it  bee  found  in  a 

way  of  Righteousness,  Prov.  16.  31. 

London,  Printed  by  R.  T.  for  John  Hancock,  to  be  sold 
at  the  first  Shop  in  Popes-head- Alley,  next  to  Corn- 
hill,  near  the  Exchange.     1660. 


THE  EPISTLE  DEDICATORY, 


TO  ALL  YOUNG  PERSONS  THROUGHOUT  THE  NATIONS, 

especially  those,  of  both  sexes,  who  begin  to  turn  their  faces 
towards  Zion. 

Dear  Hearts, — 'A  word  spoken  in  due  season,  how  good  is  it  I',1  Pro  v. 
xv.  23.  '  It  is'  often  '  like  apples  of  gold  in  pictures  of  silver/  Prov,  xxv. 
11.  Many  times  such  a  word  is  sweet,  precious,  pleasing,  delectable,  and 
strong  in  its  operation.  A  company  of  near  friends  dining  together  one 
Sabbath  day,  one  that  was  at  table,  to  prevent  impertinent2  discourse, 
said  '  that  it  was  a  question  whether  they  should  all  go  to  heaven  or 
no,'  which  struck  them  all  into  a  dump,  and  caused  every  one  to  enter 
into  a  serious  consideration  with  themselves.  One  thought,  if  any  of 
this  company  go  to  hell,  it  must  be  I ;  and  so  thought  another  and 
another,  and  indeed  so  thought  almost  every  one  then  present,  as  well 
servants  that  waited  as  those  that  sat  at  table,  as  it  was  afterwards 
acknowledged  ;  and  through  the  mercy  and  blessing  of  God  this  speech 
so  wrought  upon  the  spirits  of  most  of  them,  that  it  proved  the  first 
instrumental  means  of  their  conversion. 

I  have  my  hopes,  through  grace,  that  this  treatise,  though  it  be  sown 
in  weakness,  yet  by  the  blessing  of  the  Most  High  upon  it,  it  may  rise 
in  power,  and  be  an  instrumental  means  of  the  winning  of  souls  to 
Christ,  which  is  my  highest  ambition  in  this  world  ;  and  therefore  I 
have  broke  through  all  difficulties  and  carnal  reasonings  that  might 
otherwise  have  stifled  this  babe  in  the  womb,  and  kept  it  from  ever 
seeing  of  the  light. 

I  have  read  of  an  emperor  that  delighted  in  no  undertakings  so  much 
as  those  which  in  the  esteem  of  his  counsellors  and  captains  were  deemed 
most  difficult  and  impossible.  If  they  said  such  or  such  an  enterprise 
would  never  be  accomplished,  it  was  argument  enough  to  him  to  make 
the  adventure  ;  and  he  usually  prospered,  he  seldom  miscarried. 

I  have  never  found  greater  and  choicer  blessings  to  attend  any  of  my 
poor  weak  labours  than  those  that  have  been  brought  forth  into  the 
world  through  the  greatest  straits  and  difficulties. 

1  '  A  word  spoken  [gnal  ophnah)  upon  his  wheels,'  that  is,  with  a  due  concurrence  and 
observation  of  all  circumstances  of  time,  place,  person,  all  which  are  as  the  wheels  upon 
which  our  words  and  speeches  should  run,  such  a  word  is  like  apples  of  gold  in  pictures 
of  silver.  2  '  Not  pertinent,'  =  irrelevant  or  frivolous.— G. 


1  70  EPISTLE  DEDICATORY. 

Valerius  Maximus  reports,1  that  one  telling  a  soldier  going  to  war 
against  the  Persians,  that  they  would  hide  the  sun  with  their  arrows, 
he  answered,  We  shall  fight  best  in  the  shade.  Nothing  should  dis- 
courage nor  dishearten  a  soldier  of  Christ,  2  Tim.  ii.  3,  4.  Christ  saith  to 
all  his  soldiers  (as  the  Black  Prince  his  father  said  to  him,  fighting  as  it 
were  in  blood  to  the  knees,  and  in  great  distress),  Either  vanquish  or  die.2 
Men  of  no  resolution,  or  of  weak  resolution,  will  be  but  little  serviceable 
to  the  good  of  souls.  Such  watchmen  as  will  be  free  from  the  blood  of 
souls,  and  be  serviceable  to  the  interest  of  Christ  in  turning  sinners 
from  darkness  to  light,  must  be  men  of  spirit  and  resolution. 

I  remember  Austin  beginneth  one  of  his  sermons  thus  :  Ad  vos  mihi 
aervno,  0  j avenes  flos  cetatis,  periculum  mentis,  To  you  is  my  speech, 
O  young  men,  the  flower  of  age,  the  danger  of  the  mind.'3 

So  say  I,  To  you,  O  young  men !  do  I  dedicate  the  ensuing  treatise, 
and  that,  first,  Because  the  matter  contained  therein  doth  primarily  and 
eminently  concern  you. 

And  secondly,  Because  of  an  earnest  desire  that  I  have  of  your  internal 
and  eternal  welfare. 

And  thirdly,  Because  of  some  late  impulses  that  have  been  upon  my 
spirit  to  leave  this  treatise  in  your  hands  as  a  legacy  of  my  love,  and  as 
a  testimony  and  witness  of  my  great  ambition  to  help  forward  your 
everlasting  salvation. 

And  fourthly,  Because  there  is  most  hope  of  doing  good  amongst  you, 
as  I  evidence  more  at  large  in  the  following  treatise. 

And  fifthly,  To  countermine  the  great  undermmer  of  your  souls, 
whose  great  design  is  to  poison  you,  and  to  possess  you,  in  the  morning 
of  your  days. 

Sixthly,  To  provoke  others  that  are  more  able  and  worthy  to  be  more 
serviceable  to  you  in  declaring  themselves  fully  on  this  very  subject, 
which  none  yet  have  done  that  I  know  of,  though  it  be  a  point  of  as 
great  concernment  to  young  persons  especially,  as  any  I  know  in  all  the 
Scriptures,  Eph.  iv.  14*. 

Seventhly,  and  lastly,  Because  there  are  very  many  that  do  lie  in 
wait  to  deceive,  corrupt,  and  poison  your  persons  with  God-dishonouring, 
Christ-denying,  conscience-wasting,  and  soul-damning  opinions,  prin- 
ciples, and  blasphemies.4 

I  have  read  of  one  who  boasted  and  gloried  in  this,  that  he  had  spent 
thirty  years  in  corrupting  and  poisoning  of  youth.  Doubtless,  many 
wretches,  many  monsters  there  be  among  us,  who  make  it  their  business, 
their  glory,  their  all,  to  delude  and  draw  young  persons  to  those  dan- 
gerous errors  and  blasphemies  that  lead  to  destruction.  Error  and  folly, 
saith  one  very  well,  be  the  knots  of  Satan  wherewith  he  ties  children  to 
the  stake  to  be  burned  in  hell. 

There  is  a  truth  in  what  the  tragedian  [Terence?]  said  long  since, 
'  Venerium  in  auro  bibitur,'  poison  is  commonly  drunk  out  of  a  cup  of 
gold.  So  is  an  error  or  by-notion  soonest  taken  into  the  judgment  and 
conscience  from  persons  of  the  fairest  carriage  and  smoothest  conversations. 

1  Valerius  Maximus,  lib.  3.  c.  de  Fiducia.  *  Hist,  of  France,  p.  196. 

*  Augustine,  de  tempore,  serm.  266. 

4  A  blind  eye  is  worse  than  a  lame  foot.  lie  that  bad  the  leprosy  in  his  head,  was  to 
be  pronounced  utterly  unclean. 


EPISTLE  DEDICATORY.  171 

Error  is  so  foul  an  hag,  that  if  it  should  come  in  its  own  shape,  a  man 
would  loathe  it,  and  fly  from  it  as  from  hell.1 

If  Jezebel  had  not  painted  her  face,  she  had  not  gotten  so  many 
young  doating  adulterers  to  have  followed  her  to  their  own  ruin. 

Ah !  young  men,  young  men,  the  blessing  of  the  Lord  upon  your 
serious  and  diligent  perusal  of  this  treatise  may  be  a  happy  means  to 
preserve  you  from  being  ensnared  and  deluded  by  those  monsters  '  who 
compass  sea  and  land  to  make  proselytes  for  hell/  Mat.  xxiii.  1 5. 

And  thus  I  have  given  you  the  reasons  of  my  dedicating  this  treatise 
to  the  service  of  your  souls.  I  would  willingly  presume  that  it  will  be 
as  kindly  taken  as  it  is  cordially  tendered.  I  hope  none  of  you  into 
whose  hands  it  may  fall,  will  say  as  one  Antipater,  king  of  Macedonia, 
did  ;  when  one  presented  him  with  a  book  treating  of  happiness,  his 
answer  was,  On  ff^oXa^w,2  I  have  no  leisure. 

Ah !  Young  men  and  women,  young  men  and  virgins,  as  you  tender3 
the  everlasting  welfare  of  your  souls ;  as  you  would  escape  hell  and  come 
to  heaven  ;  as  you  would  have  an  interest  in  Christ,  a  pardon  in  your 
bosoms  ;  as  you  would  be  blessed  here  and  glorious  hereafter  ;  find  time, 
find  leisure,  to  read  over  and  over  the  following  treatise,  which  is  pur- 
posely calculated  for  your  eternal  good. 

But  before  I  go  further,  I  think  it  needful,  in  some  respects,  to  give 
the  world  some  further  account  of  other  reasons  or  motives  that  hath 
prevailed  with  me  to  appear  once  more  in  print  ;  and  they  are  these : 

First,  Having  preached  a  sermon  occasionally4  upon  these  words, 
on  which  this  following  discourse  is  built,  I  was  earnestly  importuned 
to  print  the  sermon  by  some  worthy  friends.  I  did  as  long  as  in  modesty 
I  could,  withstand  their  desires,  judging  it  not  worthy  of  them  ;  but 
being  at  last  overcome,  and  setting  about  the  work,  the  breathings  and 
comings  in  of  God  were  such  as  hath  occasioned  that  one  sermon  to  mul- 
tiply into  many.  Luther  tells  us,  that  when  he  first  began  to  turn  his 
back  upon  popery,  he  intended  no  more  but  to  withstand  popish  par- 
dons and  selling  indulgences ;  yet  neither  would  God  or  his  enemies 
let  him  alone  till  he  resolved  with  Moses  not  to  leave  a  hoof  of  popery 
unopposed,  Exod.  x.  26,  &c.  God  many  times  in  the  things  of  the  gospel 
carries  forth  his  servants  beyond  their  intentions,  beyond  their  resolu- 
tions.    But, 

Secondly,  The  kind  acceptance  and  good  quarter  that  my  other 
pieces  have  found  in  the  world,  and  those  signal  and  multiplied  blessings 
that  have  followed  them,  to  the  winning  of  many  over  to  Christ,  and 
to  the  building  up  of  others  in  Christ,  hath  encouraged  me  to  present 
this  treatise  to  the  world,  hoping  that  the  Lord  hath  a  blessing  in  store 
for  this  also.  Gracious  experiences  are  beyond  notions  and  impres- 
sions ;  they  are  very  quickening  and  encouraging. 

1  This  anticipates  by  nearly  a  century  Pope's  famous  couplet : — 
'  Vice  is  a  monster  of  so  frightful  mien, 
As,  to  be  hated,  needs  but  to  be  seen.' 
It  may  be  well  to  add  what  follows  : — 

•  Yet  seen  too  oft  familiar  with  her  face, 
We  first  endure,  then  pity,  then  embrace.' 

Epistle  ii.  lines  217-220.— G. 
8  Cf.  Sibbes's  Works,  vol.  ii.  p.  440.— G.  8  '  Care  for.'— G. 

4  '  On  a  particular  occasion.' — G. 


172  EPISTLE  DEDICATORY. 

Thirdly,  That  I  might  in  some  measure  make  up  other  neglects, 
whose  age,  whose  parts,  whose  experiences,  whose  graces  hath  long 
called  upon  them  to  do  something  considerable  in  this  way,  and  that 
they  may  be  provoked  by  my  weak  assay1  to  do  better,  and  to  make 
up  what  is  wanting  through  my  invincible  infirmities  and  spiritual 
wants  and  weaknesses,  which  are  so  many  as  may  well  make  a  suffi- 
cient apology  for  all  the  defects  and  weaknesses  that  in  this  treatise 
shall  appear  to  a  serious  judicious  eye.     But, 

Fov/rbhly,  The  love  of  Christ  and  souls  hath  constrained  me  to  it. 
As  there  is  an  attractive,  so  there  is  a  compulsive,  virtue  in  divine  love. 
Love  to  Christ  and  souls  will  make  a  man  willing  to  spend  and  be 
spent.2  He  that  prays  himself  to  death,  that  preaches  himself  to  death, 
that  studies  himself  to  death,  that  sweats  himself  to  death,  for  the 
honour  of  Christ  and  good  of  souls,  shall  be  no  loser  in  the  end.  Divine 
love  is  like  a  rod  of  myrtle,  which,  as  Pliny  reports,  makes  the  traveller 
that  carries  it  in  his  hand  that  he  shall  never  be  faint  or  weary.3  Divine 
love  is  very  operative ;  si  non  operatur,  non  est,  if  it  do  not  work,  it  is 
an  argument  it  is  not  at  all.  Divine  love,  like  fire,  is  not  idle,  but 
active.  He  that  loves  cannot  be  barren.  Love  will  make  the  soul 
constant  and  abundant  in  well-doing.  God  admits  none  to  heaven, 
saith  Justin  Martyr,  but  such  as  can  persuade  him  by  their  works  that 
they  love  him.  The  very  heathen  Seneca  hath  observed,  that  God 
doth  not  love  his  children  with  a  weak,  womanish  affection,  but  with  a 
strong,  masculine  love  ;  and  certainly,  they  that  love  the  Lord  strongly, 
that  love  him  with  a  masculine  love,  they  cannot  but  lay  out  their  little 
all  for  him  and  his  glory.     But, 

Fifthly,  I  observe  that  Satan  and  his  instruments  are  exceeding 
busy  and  unwearied  in  their  designs,  attempts,  and  endeavours  in  these 
days  to  corrupt  and  poison,  to  defile  and  destroy  the  young,  the  tender, 
the  most  hopeful,  and  most  flourishing  plants  among  us. 

Latimer  told  the  clergy  in  his  time,  that  if  they  would  not  learn  dili- 
gence and  vigilance  of  the  prophets  and  apostles,  they  should  learn  it  of 
the  devil,4  who  goes  up  and  down  his  dioceses,  and  acts  by  an  untired 
power,  seeking  whom  he  may  destroy.  When  the  wolves  are  abroad, 
the  shepherd  should  not  sleep,  but  watch ;  yea,  double  his  watch,  remem- 
bering that  he  were  better  have  all  the  blood  of  all  the  men  in  the 
world  upon  him  than  the  blood  of  one  soul  upon  him  by  his  negligence, 
or  otherwise. 

Satan  is  a  lion,  not  a  lamb  ;  a  roaring  lion,  not  a  sleepy  lion  ;  not  a 
lion  standing  still,  but  a  lion  going  up  and  down.  As  not  being  con- 
tented with  the  prey,  the  many  millions  of  souls  he  hath  got,  '  he  seeks 
whom  he  may  sip  up  at  a  draught,'  as  that  word,  xarwri/i,  in  the  1  Peter 
v.  8  imports ;  his  greatest  design  is  to  fill  hell  with  souls  ;  which  should 
awaken  every  one  to  be  active,  and  to  do  all  that  may  be  done  to  pre- 
vent his  design,  and  to  help  forward  the  salvation  of  souls. 

Chrysostom  compares  good  pastors   to  fountains  that  ever  send  forth 

1  '  Essay,  or  attempt.' — G. 

*  2  Cor.  v.  14,  2  Cor.  xii.  15,  Solus  amor  ncscit  difficultates,  love  knows  no  difficulties. 

3  Myrtle  :  lib.  xv.  35-38.— G. 

4  It  is  said  of  Marcollus  tho  Roman  general,  that  he  could  not  he  quiet,  Nee  victor,  nee 
viclus,  neither  conquered  nor  conqueror  ;  such  a  one  is  Satan.  [Plutarch,  Marcellus. — G.] 


EPISTLE  DEDICATORY.  173 

waters,  or  conduits  that  are  always  running,  though  no  pail  be  put 
under.1     But, 

Sixthly  and  lastly,  I  know  the  whole  life  of  man  is  but  an  hour  to 
work  in ;  and  the  more  work  any  man  doth  for  Christ  on  earth,  the 
better  pay  he  shall  have  when  he  comes  to  heaven.  Every  man  shall 
at  last  '  reap  as  he  sows.'  Opportunities  of  doing  service  for  Christ,  and 
souls,  are  more  worth  than  a  world ;  therefore  I  was  willing  to  take 
hold  on  this,  not  knowing  how  soon  '  I  may  put  off  this  earthly  taber- 
nacle ;'  and  remembering,  that  as  there  is  no  believing  nor  repenting 
in  the  grave,  so  there  is  no  praying,  preaching,  writing,  nor  printing  in 
the  grave;  we  had  need  to  be  up  and  doing,  to  put  both  hands  to  it, 
and  to  do  all  we  do  with  all  our  might,  knowing  that  '  the  night  draws 
on  upon  us,  wherein  no  man  can  work.'2  A  Christian's  dying  day  is 
the  Lord's  pay-day  ;  that  is,  a  time  to  receive  wages,  not  to  do  work. 

And  thus  I  have  given  the  world  a  true  account  of  the  reasons  that 
moved  me  to  print  the  following  discourse.  Before  I  close  up,  I  desire 
to  speak  a  word  to  young  persons,  and  another  to  aged  persons,  and 
then  I  shall  take  leave  of  both. 

My  request  to  you  who  are  in  the  primrose3  of  your  days  is  this,  If 
ever  the  Lord  shall  be  pleased  so  to  own  and  crown,  so  to  bless  and 
follow  this  following  discourse,  as  to  make  it  an  effectual  means  of  turn- 
ing you  to  the  Lord,  of  winning  you  to  Christ,  of  changing  your  natures, 
and  converting  your  souls — for  such  a  thing  as  that  I  pray,  hope,  and 
believe — that  then  you  would  do  two  things  for  me. 

First,  That  you  would  never  cease  bearing  of  me  upon  your  hearts 
when  you  are  in  the  mount,  that  I  may  be  very  much  under  the  pour- 
ings out  of  the  Spirit,  that  I  may  be  clear,  high,  and  full  in  my  com- 
munion with  God,  and  that  I  may  be  always  close,  holy,  humble, 
harmless,  and  blameless  in  my  walkings  with  God,  and  that  his  work 
may  more  and  more  prosper  in  my  hand. 

Secondly,  That  you  would  by  word  of  mouth,  letter,  or  some  other- 
way,  acquaint  me  with  what  the  Lord  hath  done  for  your  souls,  if  he 
shall  make  me  a  spiritual  father  to  you.4  Do  not  hide  his  grace  from 
me,  but  acquaint  me  how  he  hath  made  the  seed  that  was  sown  in 
weakness  to  rise  in  power  upon  you,  and  that 

(First)  That  I  may  do  what  I  can  to  help  on  that  work  begun  upon 
you  ;  that  your  penny  may  become  a  pound,  your  mite  a  million,  your 
drop  an  ocean. 

(Secondly)  That  I  may  the  better  English  some  impressions  that 
have  been  upon  my  own  spirit  since  I  began  this  work. 

(Thirdly),  That  my  joy  and  thankfulness  may  be  increased,  and  my 
soul  more  abundantly  engaged  to  that  God,  who  hath  blessed  the  day  of 
small  things  to  you,  1  Thes.  ii.  19,  20 ;  2  Cor.  ix.  2.  Ponder  these 
scriptures — 2  Cor.  vii.  3,  4,  13  ;  Philip,  ii.  2  ;  iv.  1  ;  Philem.  7  ;  2  John 
3,  4 — and  then  be  ashamed  to  declare  what  the  Lord  hath  done  for 
you,  if  you  can. 

(Fourthly)  It  is  better  to  convert  one,  than  to  civilise  a  thousand  ; 

1  Chrys.  in  Mat.  Ho.  15. 

2  1  Cor.  xv.  58  ;  2  Cor.  ix  6  ;  2  Peter  i.  13,  14  :  Eccles.  ix.  10  ;  John  ix.  4.— G. 

8  That  is,  '  in  the  early  spring  of  life.'     A  frequent  word  in  the  Elizabethan  writers. 
'  The  primrose  path  of  dalliance,'  Hamlet,  i.  3. — G. 
*  Ps.  lxvi.  16,  and  1  Peter  iii.  15.— G. 


174«  EPISTLE  DEDICATORY. 

and  will  turn  more  at  last  to  a  minister's  account  in  that  day,  wherein 
he  shall  say,  '  Lo,  here  am  I,  and  the  children  that  thou  hast  given  me,' 
Isa.  viii.  18.1  Such  a  man,  with  his  spiritual  children  about  him,  shall 
look  on  God  with  more  comfort  and  boldness,  than  those  that  are  only 
able  to  say,  '  Lo,  here  am  I,  and  the  many  benefices  ;'  '  Here  am  I,  and 
the  many  ecclesiastical  dignities  and  glories  ;'  '  Here  am  I,  and  the  many 
hundreds  a  year  that  man  had  given,  and  I  have  gotten.'     But, 

{Fifthly  and  lastly)  The  conversion  of  others  is  a  secondary  and 
more  remote  evidence  of  a  man's  own  renovation  and  conversion.  Paul 
was  converted  himself  before  God  made  him  instrumental  for  others' 
conversion.  God's  usual  method  is,  to  convert  by  them  who  are  con- 
verted.2 

I  do  not  remember  any  one  instance  in  all  the  Scripture  of  God's 
converting  any  by  such  who  have  not  been  converted  first  themselves  ; 
yet  I  know  his  grace  is  free,  and  the  wind  blows  where  it  lists,  when  it 
lists,  and  as  it  lists. 

To  aged  persons  I  have  a  word,  and  then  I  have  done. 

First,  To  grey-headed  saints.  Ah,  friends  !  ah,  fathers  !  would  you 
see  your  honour,  your  happiness,  your  blessedness  ?  Then  look  into  this 
treatise,  and  there  you  will  find  what  an  unspeakable  honour  it  is  to  be 
an  old  disciple,  what  a  glory  it  is  to  be  good  betimes,  and  to  continue 
so  to  old  age. 

Secondly,  To  white-headed  sinners  whose  spring  is  past,  whose 
summer  is  overpast,  and  who  are  arrived  at  the  fall  of  the  leaf,  and 
yet  have  a  hell  to  escape,  a  Christ  to  believe  in,  sins  to  pardon,  hearts 
to  change,  souls  to  save,  and  heaven  to  make  sure ;  would  such  be 
encouraged  from  Scripture  grounds  to  repent,  believe,  and  hope,  that 
yet  there  is  mercy  for  such,  let  them  seriously  peruse  this  treatise, 
especially  the  latter  part  of  it,  and  there  they  may  find  enough  to  keep 
them  from  despairing,  and  to  encourage  them  to  adventure  their  souls 
upon  him  that  is  mighty  to  save. 

There  are  many  things  in  this  treatise  that  are  of  use  to  all,  and 
several  things  of  moment,  that  are  not  every  day  preached  nor  read.  I 
have  made  it  as  pleasurable  as  time  would  permit,  that  so  it  might  be 
the  more  profitable  to  the  reader,  and  that  I  might  the  better  take  the 
young  man  by  a  holy  craft ;  which  is  a  high  point  of  heavenly  wisdom, 
there  being  no  wisdom  to  that  of  winning  of  souls,  2  Cor.  xii.  16  ;  Pro  v. 
xi.  13.  I  shall  now  follow  this  poor  piece  with  my  weak  prayers,  that 
it  may  be  so  blest  from  heaven,  as  that  it  may  bring  in  some,  and  build 
up  others,  and  do  good  to  all.     And  so  rest, 

Your  friend  and  servant  in  the  Gospel  of  Christ, 

Thomas  Brooks. 

1  Mat.  xxv.  23  ;  Dan.  xii.  3  ;  Prov.  xi.  30. 
8  Acts  ix.  3  ;  Isa.  vi.  5  ;  Mai.  ii.  5-7,  &c. 


THE  YOUNG  MAN'S  DUTY  AND  EXCELLENCY. 


And  all  Israel  shall  mourn  for  him,  and  bury  him  ;  for  he  only  of 
Jeroboam  shall  come  to  the  grave,  because  in  him  there  is  found 
some  good  thing  toivard  the  Lord  Ood  of  Israel,  in  the  house  of 
Jeroboam.' — 1  Kings  XIV.  13. 

9 

I  shall  only  stand  upon  the  latter  part  of  this  verse,  because  that 
affords  me  matter  most  suitable  to  my  design. 

'Because  in  him  there  is  found  some  good  thing  toward  the  Lord 
God  of  Israel,  in  the  house  of  Jeroboam.' 

These  words  are  a  commendation  of  Abijah's  life,  'in  him  was  found 
some  good  thing  toward  the  Lord,'  &c.  When  Abijah  was  a  child,  vers. 
3,  12,  when  he  was  in  his  young  and  tender  years,  he  had  the  seeds  of 
grace  in  him,  he  had  the  image  of  God  upon  him,  he  could  discern  be- 
tween good  and  evil,  and  he  did  that  which  pleased  the  Lord. 

The  Hebrew  word  [N'agnar]  translated  child,  ver.  3,  is  very  often 
applied  to  such  as  we  call  youth,  or  young  men  ;  Exod.  xxiv.  5 ;  Num. 
xi.  28 ;  1  Sam.  ii.  17,  &C.1 

Of  such  age  and  prudence  was  Abijah,  as  that  he  could  choose  good 
and  refuse  evil.  He  was  a  Lot  in  Sodom,  he  was  good  among  the 
bad.  The  bent  and  frame  of  his  heart  was  towards  that  which  was 
good,  when  the  heart  both  of  his  father  and  mother  was  set  upon  evil. 
Abijah  began  to  be  good  betimes.  He  crossed  that  pestilent  proverb, 
'  a  young  saint  and  an  old  devil.'  It  is  the  glory  and  goodness  of  God 
that  he  will  take  notice  of  the  least  good  that  is  in  any  of  his.  There 
was  but  one  good  word  in  Sarah's  speech  to  Abraham,  and  that  was 
this,  she  called  him  Lord  ;  and  this  God  mentions  for  her  honour  and 
commendation,  'She  called  him  lord/  1  Peter  iii.  6.  God  looks  more 
upon  one  grain  of  wheat,  than  upon  a  heap  of  chaff,  upon  one  shining 
pearl  than  upon  a  heap  of  rubbish.  God  finds  a  pearl  in  Abijah,  and 
he  puts  it  into  his  crown,  to  his  eternal  commendation,  '  There  was 
found  in  him  some  good  thing  toward  the  Lord,'  &c.  For  the  words, 
'  There  was  found  in  him,'  the  Hebrew  word  Matsa,  sometimes  signifies 

1  "80,  is  used  for  a  young  man,  or  stripling,  Gen.  xxii.  5,  and  often  for  a  servant,  though 
he  be  a  man  of  ripe  years,  Esther  ii.  2.  Such  as  one  evangelist  calleth  young  men,  Luke 
xii.  45,  another  calleth  fellow-servants,  Mat.  xxiv.  49. 


176  APPLES  OF  GOLD.  [1  KlNGS  XIV.  13. 

finding  without  seeking :  Isa.  lxv.  1,  '  I  am  found  of  them  that  sought 
me  not ;'  so  Ps.  cxvi.  3,  '  The  sorrows  of  death  compassed  me,  and  the 
pains  of  hell  got  hold  upon  me,  I  found  trouble  and  sorrow.'  I  found 
trouble  which  I  looked  not  for  ;  I  was  not  searching  after  sorrow,  but  I 
found  it.  There  is  an  elegancy  in  the  original ;  '  The  pains  of  hell  gat 
hold  upon  me,'  so  we  read,  but  the  Hebrew  is,  '  The  pains  of  hell  found 
me.'  One  word  signifies  both.  They  found  me,  I  did  not  find  them. 
'  There  was  found  in  Abijah  some  good  thing  towards  the  Lord,'  i.  e. 
there  was  found  in  him,  without  searching  or  seeking,  some  good  thing 
towards  the  Lord.  It  was  plain  and  visible  enough.  Men  might  see 
and  observe  it  without  inquiring  or  seeking.  They  might  run  and  read 
some  good  thing  in  him  towards  the  Lord. 

Secondly,  The  word  sometimes  signifies  finding  by  seeking  or  in- 
quiry :  Isa.  lv.  6,  '  Seek  ye  the  Lord  while  he  may  be  found/  &c.  So 
upon  search  and  inquiry  there  was  found  in  Abijah,  though  young, 
'  some  good  thing  toward  the  Lord.' 

Thirdly,  Sometimes  the  word  notes  the  obtaining  of  that  which  is 
sufficient :  Joshua  xvii.  1 6  ;  Num.  xi.  22  ;  Judges  xxi.  14.  In  Abijah 
there  was  that  good  in  him  towards  the  Lord  that  was  sufficient  to 
evidence  the  work  of  grace  upon  him,  sufficient  to  satisfy  himself  and 
others  of  the  goodness  and  happiness  of  his  condition,  though  he  died 
in  the  prime  and  flower  of  his  days,  &c. 

'  And  in  him  was  found  some  good  thing.'  The  Hebrew  word  Tob, 
that  is  here  rendered  good,  signifies, 

First,  That  which  is  right  and  just :  2  Sam.  xv.  3,  '  See  thy  matters 
are  good  and  right,'  i.  e.  just  and  right. 

Secondly,  That  which  is  profitable:  Deut.  vi.  11,  'Houses  full  of  all 
good  things/  i.  e.  houses  full  of  all  profitable  things. 

Thirdly,  That  which  is  pleasing  :  2  Sam.  xix.  27,  '  Do  what  is  good 
in  thine  eyes,'  i.  e.  do  what  is  pleasing  in  thine  eyes. 

Fourthly,  That  which  is  full  and  complete  :  Gen.  xv.  1 5,  '  Thou  shalt 
be  buried  in  a  good  old  age/  i.  e.  thou  shalt  be  buried  when  thine  age 
is  full  and  complete. 

Fifthly,  That  which  is  joyful  and  delightful :  1  SanL  xxv.  8,  '  We 
come  in  a  good  day/  i.  e.  we  come  in  a  joyful  and  delightful  day. 

Now  put  all  together,  and  you  may  see  that  there  was  found  in 
Abijah,  when  he  was  young,  that  which  was  right  and  just,  that  which 
was  pleasing  and  profitable,  and  that  which  was  matter  of  joy  and 
delight. 

In  the  words  you  have  two  things  that  are  most  considerable. 

First,  Thai  I  his  young  mans  goodness  was  towards  the  Lord  God 
of  Israel.  Many  there  are  that  are  good,  nay,  very  good  towards  men, 
who  yet  are  bad,  yea,  very  bad  towards  God.1  Some  there  are  who  are 
very  kind  to  the  creature,  and  yet  very  unkind  to  their  Creator.  Many 
men's  goodness  towards  the  creature  is  like  the  rising  sun,  but  their 
goodness  towards  the  Lord  is  like  a  morning  cloud,  or  as  the  early  dew, 
which  is  soon  dried  up  by  the  sunbeams,  Hosea  vi.  4  ;  but  Abijah 's 
o-oodness  was  towards  the  Lord,  his  goodness  faced  the  Lord,  it  looked 
towards  the  glory  of  God.  Two  tilings  makes  a  good  Christian,  good 
actions  and  good  aims  ;  and  though  a  good  aim  doth  not  make  a  bad 
1  This  age  affords  many  such  hypocrites,  such  monsters,  &c. 


1  Kings  XIV.  13.]  apples  of  gold.  177 

action  good,  as  in  Uzzah,  yet  a  bad  aim  makes  a  good  action  bad,  as  in 
Jehu,  whose  justice  was  approved,  but  his  policy  punished,  the  first 
chapter  of  Hosea,  and  the  fourth  verse.  Doubtless  Abijah's  actions  were 
good,  and  his  aims  good,  and  this  was  indeed  his  glory,  that  his  good- 
ness was  '  towards  the  Lord/1 

It  is  recorded  of  the  Catanenses,  that  the  made  a  stately  monument, 
of  kingly  magnificence,  in  remembrance  of  two  sons,  who  took  their 
aged  parents  upon  their  backs,  and  carried  them  through  the  fire,  when 
their  father's  house  was  all  in  a  flame.2  These  young  men  were  good 
towards  their  parents  ;  but  what  is  this  to  Abijah's  goodness  'towards 
the  Lord'  ?  &c.  A  man  cannot  be  good  towards  the  Lord  but  he  will 
be  good  towards  others  ;  but  a  man  may  be  good  towards  others,  that 
is  not  good  towards  the  Lord.  Oh  that  men's  practices  did  not  give  too 
loud  a  testimony  every  day  to  this  assertion  !  &c.3 

Secondly,  He  ivas  good  among  the  bad.  He  was  good  '  in  the  house 
of  Jeroboam.'  It  is  in  fashion  to  seem  at  least  to  be  good  among  the 
good ;  but  to  be  really  good  among  those  that  are  bad,  that  are  eminently 
bad,  argues  not  only  a  truth  of  goodness,  but  a  great  degree  of  good- 
ness. This  young  man  was  good  '  in  the  house  of  Jeroboam,  who  made 
all  Israel  to  sin  ;  who  was  naught,  who  was  very  naught,  who  was  stark 
naught ;  and  yet  Abijah,  as  the  fishes  which  live  in  the  salt  sea  are  fresh, 
so  though  he  lived  in  a  sink,  a  sea,  of  wickedness,  yet  he  retained  his 
'  goodness  towards  the  Lord.' 

They  say  roses  grow  the  sweeter  when  they  are  planted  by  garlic. 
They  are  sweet  and  rare  Christians  indeed  who  hold  their  goodness, 
and  grow  in  goodness,  where  wickedness  sits  on  the  throne  ;  and  such 
a  one  the  young  man  in  the  text  was. 

To  be  wheat  among  tares,  corn  among  chaff,  pearls  among  cockles, 
and  roses  among  thorns,  is  excellent. 

To  be  a  Jonathan  in  Saul's  court,  to  be  an  Obadiah  in  Ahab's  court, 
to  be  an  Ebed-melech  in  Zedekiah's  court,  and  to  be  an  Abijah  in  Jero- 
boam's court,  is  a  wonder,  a  miracle. 

To  be  a  Lot  in  Sodom,  to  be  an  Abraham  in  Chaldea,  to  be  a  Daniel 
in  Babylon,  to  be  a  Nehemiah  in  Damascus,  and  to  be  a  Job  in  the  land 
of  Husse,4  is  to  be  a  saint  among  devils ;  and  such  a  one  the  young 
man  in  the  text  was. 

The  poets  affirm  that  Venus  never  appeared  so  beauteous  as  when  she 
sat  by  black  Vulcan's  side.  Gracious  souls  shine  most  clear  when  they 
be  set  by  black-conditioned  persons.  Stephen's  face  never  shined  so 
angelically,  so  gloriously,  in  the  church  where  all  were  virtuous,  as 
before  the  council  where  all  were  vicious  and  malicious.  So  Abijah  was 
a  bright  star,  a  shining  sun,  in  Jeroboam's  court,  which  for  profaneness 
and  wickedness  was  a  very  hell. 

1  There  may  be  malum  opus  in  bona  materia,  as  in  Jehu's  zeal. 

2  The  allusion  is  to  the  imperishable  legend  of  the  '  Pii  Fratres,'  Amphinomus  and 
Anapias,  who,  on  an  eruption  of  iEtna,  acted  as  above.  The  place  of  their  burial  was 
known  as  '  Campus  Piorum.' — G. 

3  Happy  are  those  souls  that,  with  the  sturgeon  or  crab-fish,  can  swim  against  the 
stream  of  custom  and  example  ;  and  with  Atticus,  can  cleave  to  the  right,  though  losing, 
side.     [Atticus,  bishop  of  Constantinople,  who  sided  with  Chrysostom.— G.] 

4  '  Uz.'— G. 

VOL.  I.  M 


178  APPLES  OF  GOLD.  [1  KlNGS  XIV.  13. 

The  words  that  I  have  chosen  to  insist  upon  will  afford  us  several 
observations,  but  I  shall  only  name  one,  which  I  intend  to  prosecute  at 
this  time,  and  that  is  this,  viz. : 


CHAPTER  I. 

Doct.  That  it  is  a  very  desirable  and  commendable  thing  for  young 
men  to  be  really  good  betimes. 

Other  scriptures  speak  out  this  to  be  a  truth,  besides  what  you  have 
in  the  text  to  confirm  it ;  as  that  of  the  second  of  Chronicles,  chap, 
xxxiv.  1-3,  '  Josiah  was  eight  years  old  when  he  began  to  reign,  and  he 
reigned  in  Jerusalem  one  and  thirty  years.  And  he  did  that  which 
was  right  in  the  sight  of  the  Lord,  and  walked  in  the  ways  of  David  his 
father,  and  declined  neither  to  the  right  hand  nor  to  the  left ;  for  in  the 
eighth  year  of  his  reign,  while  he  was  yet  young,  he  began  to  seek  after 
the  God  of  David  his  father  ;  and  in  the  twelfth  year  he  began  to  purge 
Judah  and  Jerusalem,  from  the  high  places,  and  the  groves,  and  the 
carved  images,  and  the  molten  images/  It  was  Obadiah's  honour  that 
he  feared  the  Lord  from  his  youth,  1  Kings  xviii.  3 ;  and  Timothy's 
crown  that  he  knew  the  Scripture  from  a  child,  2  Tim.  vi.  1,  5, 15;  and 
John's  joy  that  he  found  children  walking  in  the  truth,  2  John  4,  5  ; 
this  revived  his  good  old  heart,  and  made  it  dance  for  joy  in  his  bosom. 
To  spend  further  time  in  the  proving  of  this  truth,  would  be  but  to  light 
candles  to  see  the  sun  at  noon. 

The  grounds  and  reasons  of  this  point,  viz. : 

That  it  is  a  very  desirable  and  commendable  thing  for  young  men  to 
be  really  good  betimes,  are  these  that  follow  :l 

Reason  1.  First,  Because  the  Lmyd  commands  it;  and  divine  com- 
mands are  not  to  be  disputed,  but  obeyed.  In  the  12th  chapter  of 
Ecclesiastes,  and  the  first  verse,  '  Remember  now  thy  Creator  in  the 
days  of  thy  youth,  while  the  evil  days  come  not,  nor  the  years  draw 
nigh,  when  thou  shalt  say,  I  have  no  pleasure  in  them.'  Remember  now ; 
I  say,  now.  Now  is  an  atom ;  it  will  puzzle  the  wisdom  of  a  philo- 
sopher, the  skill  of  an  angel,  to  divide.  Now  is  a  monosyllable  in  all 
learned  languages  :  '  Remember  now  thy  Creator.'  Remember  him 
presently,  instantly,  for  thou  dost  not  know  what  a  day,  what  an  hour, 
may  bring  forth  ;  thou  canst  not  tell  what  deadly  sin,  what  deadly 
temptation,  what  deadly  judgment,  may  overtake  thee,  if  thou  dost  not 
now,  even  now,  '  remember  thy  Creator.' 

1  Remember  now  thy  Creator.'  Remember  to  know  him,  remember 
to  love  him,  remember  to  desire  him,  remember  to  delight  in  him, 
remember  to  depend  upon  him,  remember  to  get  an  interest  in  him, 
remember  to  live  to  him,  and  remember  to  walk  with  him.  '  Remember 
now  thy  Creator  ;'  the  Hebrew  is  Creators,  Father,  Son,  and  Spirit.  To 
the  making  of  man,  a  council  was  called  in  heaven,  in  the  first  of  Genesis, 
and  26th  verse.  *  Remember  thy  Creators :'  Remember  the  Father,  so  as 
to  know  him,  so  as  to  be  inwardly  acquainted  with  him.    Remember  the 

1  Deut.  vi.  5,  xi.  13.  Augustine  beginneth  one  of  his  sermons  thus  :  '  Ad  vos  mihi 
sermo,  0  juvenes,  flos  aetatis,  periculum  mentis.' — August,  de  Tempore,  term.  246.  To 
you  is  my  speech,  0  young  men,  the  flower  of  age,  the  danger  of  the  mind. 


]  Kings  XIV.  13.]  apples  of  gold.  179 

Son,  so  as  to  believe  in  him,  so  as  to  rest  upon  him,  so  as  to  embrace 
him,  and  so  as  to  make  a  complete  resignation  of  thyself  to  him. 
Remember  the  Spirit,  so  as  to  hear  his  voice,  so  as  to  obey  his  voice,  so 
as  to  feel  his  presence,  and  so  as  to  experience  his  influence,  &c. 

'Remember  now  thy  Creator  in  the  days  of  thy  youth.'  He  doth 
not  say  in  the  time  of  thy  youth,  but  '  in  the  days  of  thy  youth,'  to 
note,  that  our  life  is  but  as  a  few  days.  It  is  but  as  a  vapour,  a  span, 
a  flower,  a  shadow,  a  dream ;  and  therefore  Seneca  saith  well,  that 
'  though  death  be  before  the  old  man's  face,  yet  he  may  be  as  near  the 
young  man's  back,'  &c. 

Man's  life  is  the  shadow  of  smoke,  the  dream  of  a  shadow.  One 
doubteth  whether  to  call  it  a  dying  life,  or  a  living  death.1 

Ah  !  young  men,  God  commands  you  to  be  good  betimes.  Remem- 
ber, young  men,  that  it  is  a  dangerous  thing  to  neglect  any  of  his  com- 
mands, who  by  another  is  able  to  command  you  into  nothing,  or  into 
hell.  To  act  or  run  cross  to  God's  command,  though  under  pretence  of 
revelation  from  God,  is  as  much  as  a  man  s  life  is  worth,  as  you  may 
see  in  that  sad  story,  1  Kings,  xiii.  24,  &c. 

Let  37oung  men  put  all  their  carnal  reasons,  though  never  so  many 
and  weighty,  into  one  scale,  and  God's  absolute  command  in  the  other, 
and  then  write  Tekel  upon  all  their  reasons,  they  are  '  weighed  in  the 
balance  and  found  too  light/ 

Ah,  sirs  !  what  God  commands  must  be  put  in  speedy  execution, 
without  denying  or  delaying,  or  disputing  the  difficulties  that  attend  it.2 
Most  young  men  in  these  days  do  as  the  heathens :  when  their  gods 
called  for  a  man,  they  offered  a  candle  ;  or,  as  Hercules,  offered  up  a 
painted  man  instead  of  a  living.  When  God  calls  upon  young  men  to 
serve  him  with  the  primrose  of  their  youth,  they  usually  put  him  off 
till  they  are  overtaken  with  trembling  joints,  dazzled  eyes,  fainting 
hearts,  failing  hands,  and  feeble  knees ;  but  this  will  be  bitterness  in  the 
end,  &c. 

Reason  (2).  Because  they  have  means  and  opportunities  of  being 
good  betimes. 

Never  had  men  better  means  and  greater  opportunities  of  being 
good,  of  doing  good,  and  of  receiving  good,  than  now.  Ah,  Lord  !  how 
knowing,  how  believing,  how  holy,  how  heavenly,  how  humble,  might 
young  men  be,  were  they  not  wanting  to  their  own  souls.  Young  men 
might  be  good,  very  good,  yea,  eminently  good,  would  they  but  im- 
prove the  means  of  grace,  the  tenders  of  mercy,  and  the  knockings  of 
Christ,  by  his  word,  works,  and  Spirit. 

The  ancients  painted  opportunity  with  a  hairy  forehead,  but  bald 
behind,  to  signify,  that  while  a  man  hath  opportunity  before  him,  he 
may  lay  hold  on  it,  but  if  he  suffer  it  to  slip  away,  he  cannot  pull  it 
back  again.3 

How  many  young  men  are  now  in  everlasting  chains,  who  would  give 
ten  thousand  worlds,  had  they  so  many  in  their  hands  to  give,  to  enjoy 
but  an  opportunity  to  hear  one  sermon  more,  to  make  one  prayer  more, 
to  keep  one  Sabbath  more,  but  cannot !  This  is  their  hell,  their  tor- 
ment ;  this  is  the  scorpion  that  is  still  biting,  this  is  the  worm  that  is 

1  Aug.  Confess,  lib.  i.  2  Obedientia  non  discutit  Dei  mandata  sedfacit. — Prosper. 

*  Erasmus  [and  '  The  Emblems']. — G. 


180  APPLES  OF  GOLD.  [1  KlNGS  XIV.  13. 

always  gnawing.  Woe!  woe!  to  us,  that  we  have  neglected  and  trifled 
away  those  golden  opportunities  that  once  we  had  to  get  our  sins  par- 
doned, our  natures  changed,  our  hearts  bettered,  our  consciences  purged, 
and  our  souls  saved,  &e.  I  have  read  of  a  king,1  who  having  no  issue 
to  succeed  him,  espying  one  day  a  well-favoured  youth,  took  him  to 
court,  and  committed  him  to  tutors  to  instruct  him,  providing  by  his 
will,  that  if  he  proved  fit  for  government,  he  should  be  crowned  king ; 
it'  not,  he  should  be  bound  in  chains  and  made  a  galley-slave.  Now 
when  he  grew  to  years,  the  king's  executors,  perceiving  that  he  had 
sadly  neglected  those  means  and  opportunities,  whereby  he  might  have 
been  tit  tor  state-government,  called  him  before  them,  and  declared  the 
king's  will  and  pleasure  concerning  him,  which  was  accordingly  per- 
formed, for  they  caused  him  to  be  fettered,  and  committed  to  the  gal- 
leys. Now  what  tongue  can  express  how  much  he  was  affected  and 
afflicted,  with  his  sad  and  miserable  state,  especially  when  he  considered 
with  himself,  that  now  he  is  chained,  who  might  have  walked  at  liberty; 
now  he  is  a  slave,  who  might  have  been  a  king  ;  now  he  is  overruled 
by  Turks,  who  might  once  have  ruled  over  Christians.  The  application 
is  easy. 

Ah  !  young  men  !  young  men  !  shall  Satan  take  all  opportunities  to 
tempt  you?  shall  the  world  take  all  opportunities  to  allure  you?  shall 
wicked  men  take  all  opportunities  to  ensnare  you,  and  to  undo  you  ? 
and  shall  Christian  friends  take  all  opportunities  to  better  you  ?  and 
shall  God's  faithful  messengers  take  all  opportunities  to  save  you?  and 
will  you,  will  you  '  neglect  so  great  salvation'  ?  Heb.  ii.  3.  Plutarch 
writes  of  Hannibal,  that  when  he  could  have  taken  Rome  he  would  not, 
and  when  he  would  have  taken  Rome  he  could  not.2  Mauy,  in  their 
youthful  days,  when  they  might  have  mercy,  Christ,  pardon,  heaven, 
they  will  not ;  and  in  old  age,  when  they  would  have  Christ,  pardon, 
peace,  heaven,  they  cannot,  they  may  not.  God  seems  to  say,  as 
Theseus  said  once,  Go,  says  he,  and  tell  Creon,  Theseus  offers  thee  a 
gracious  offer.  Yet  I  am  pleased  to  be  friends,  if  thou  wilt  submit ; 
this  is  my  first  message ;  but  if  this  offer  prevail  not,  look  for  me  to  be 
up  in  arms. 

Reason  (3).  Because,  when  they  have  fewer  and  lesser  sins  to  ansiver 
for  and  repent  of,  multitudes  of  sins  and  sorrows  are  prevented  by 
being  good  betimes. 

The  more  we  number  our  days,  the  fewer  sins  we  shall  have  to  num- 
ber.3 As  a  copy  is  then  safest  from  blotting  when  dust  is  put  upon  it, 
so  are  we  from  sinning  when,  in  the  time  of  our  youth,  we  remember 
that  we  are  but  dust.  The  tears  of  young  penitents  do  more  scorch  the 
devils  than  all  the  flames  of  hell ;  for  hereby  all  their  hopes  are  blasted, 
and  the  great  underminer  countermined  and  blown  up.  Mane  is  the 
devil's  verb  ;  he  bids  tarry,  time  enough  to  repent ;  but  mane  is  God's 
adverb  ;  he  bids  repent  early,  in  the  morning  of  thy  youth,  for  then  thy 

1  Bellarm[ine].     In  conscione  de  cruciatibus  Gehcnnce. 

4  It  is  storied  of  Charles,  king  of  Sicily  and  Jerusalem,  that  he  was  called  Carolus 
Cuvctator,  Charles  the  lingerer.  This  age  affords  many  such  lingerers,  &c.  [The  ag- 
nomen above  is  very  much  earlier,  baying  been  applied  to  and  accepted  by  the  Dictator 
<>.  FabhiB  Maximus.  Cf.  Livy,  30,  2G;  Quint.,  8,  2,  11.— G.] 

8  Lord,  saith  Austin.  I  have  loved  thee  late.  The  greater  was  his  sins,  and  the  more 
were  his  sorrows.— [Confessions,  Book  x.  (xxvii.)  38.    -G. 


1  Kings  XIV.  13.]  apples  of  gold.  181 

sins  will  be  fewer  and  lesser.  Well!  young  men,  remember  this  :  he 
that  will  not  at  the  first-hand  buy  good  counsel  cheap,  shall  at  the 
second-hand  buy  repentance  over  dear. 

Ah  !  young  men !  young  men !  if  you  do  not  begin  to  be  good  betimes, 
those  sins  that  are  now  as  jewels  sparkling  in  your  eyes,  will  at  last  be 
millstones  about  your  necks,  to  sink  you  for  ever.1  Among  many 
things  that  Beza,  in  his  last  will  and  testament,  gave  God  thanks  for, 
this  was  the  first  and  chief,  that  he,  at  the  age  of  sixteen  years,  had 
called  him  to  the  knowledge  of  the  truth,  and  so  prevented  many  sins 
and  sorrows  that  otherwise  would  have  overtaken  him,  and  have  made 
his  life  less  happy  and  more  miserable.  Young  saints  often  prove  old 
angels,  but  old  sinners  seldom  prove  good  saints,  &c.2 

Reason  4.  Because  time  is  a  precious  talent,  that  young  men  must 
be  countable  for.  The  sooner  they  begin  to  be  good,  the  more  easy 
will  be  their  accounts,  especially  as  to  that  great  talent  of  time.  Cato 
and  other  heathens  held  that  account  must  be  given,  not  only  of  our 
labour,  but  also  of  our  leisure.  At  the  great  day,  it  will  appear  that 
they  that  have  spent  their  time  in  mourning  have  done  better  than  they 
that  have  spent  their  time  in  dancing ;  and  they  that  have  spent  many 
days  in  humiliation,  than  they  that  have  spent  many  days  in  idle 
recreations. 

I  have  read  of  a  devout  man  who,  when  he  heard  a  clock  strike,  he 
would  say,  Here  is  one  hour  more  past  that  I  have  to  answer  for.  Ah ! 
young  men,  as  time  is  very  precious,  so  it  is  very  short.  Time  is  very 
swift ;  it  is  suddenly  gone.  In  the  9th  of  Job,  and  the  25th  verse, 
*  My  days  are  swifter  than  a  post,  they  flee  away,  they  see  no  good.' 
The  Hebrew  word  (Icalal)  translated  '  swifter  than  a  post,'  signifies  any- 
thing that  is  light,  because  light  things  are  quick  in  motion. 

The  ancients  emblemed  time  with  wings,  as  it  were,  not  running,  but 
flying.3  Time  is  like  the  sun,  that  never  stands  still,  but  is  still  a-run- 
ning  his  race.  The  sun  did  once  stand  still,  yea,  went  back,  but  so  did 
never  time.  Time  is  still  running  and  flying.  It  is  a  bubble,  a  shadow, 
a  dream.  Can  you  seriously  consider  of  this,  young  men,  and  not  begin 
to  be  good  betimes?  Surely  you  cannot.  Sirs!  if  the  whole  earth 
whereupon  we  tread  were  turned  into  a  lump  of  gold,  it  were  not  able 
to  purchase  one  minute  of  time.  Oh !  the  regrettings  of  the  damned  for 
misspending  precious  time  !4  Oh !  what  would  they  not  give  to  be  free, 
and  to  enjoy  the  means  of  grace  one  hour !  Ah!  with  what  attention, 
with  what  intention,5  with  what  trembling  and  melting  of  heart,  with 
what  hungering  and  thirsting,  would  they  hear  the  word  !  Time,  saith 
Bernard,  were  a  good  commodity  in  hell,  and  the  traffic  of  it  most 
gainful,  where  for  one  day  a  man  would  give  ten  thousand  worlds,  if  he 
had  them.  Young  men,  can  you  in  good  earnest  believe  this,  and  not 
begin  to  be  good  betimes  ? 

Ah  !  young  men  and  women,  as  you  love  your  precious  immortal 

1  Ps.  xxv.  7,  Job  xiii.  26. 

2  There  is  nothing  puts  a  more  serious  frame  into  a  man's  spirit,  than  to  know  the 
worth  of  his  time. 

8   Sophocles,  Phocilides.     [Query,  '  Philoctetes'  ? — G.] 

4  Who  is  there  among  us  that  knows  how  to  value  time,  and  prize  a  day  at  a  due 
rate?     [Senec.,  Epist.  i. — G.] 

5  Intentness,  earnestness.-  G. 


182  APPLES  OF  GOLD.  [1  KlNGS  XIV.  13. 

■souls,  as  you  would  escape  hell,  and  come  to  heaven,  as  you  would  be 
happy  in  life,  and  blessed  in  death,  and  glorious  after  death,  don't 
spend  any  more  of  your  precious  time  in  drinking  and  drabbing,1  in 
carding,  dicing,  and  dancing ;  don't  trifle  away  your  time,  don't  swear 
away  your  time,  don't  whore  away  your  time,  do  not  lie  away  your 
time,  but  begin  to  be  good  betimes,  because  time  is  a  talent  that  God 
will  reckon  with  you  for.2  Ah !  young  men  and  women,  you  may 
reckon  upon  years,  many  years  yet  to  come,  when  possibly  you  have 
not  so  many  hours  to  make  ready  your  accounts.  It  may  be  this  night 
you  may  have  a  summons,  and  then,  if  your  time  be  done,  and  your 
work  to  be  begun,  in  what  a  sad  case  will  you  be.  Will  you  not  wish 
that  you  had  never  been  born  ? 

Seneca  was  wont  to  jeer  the  Jews  for  their  ill  husbandry,  in  that  they 
lost  one  day  in  seven,  meaning  their  Sabbath.3  Oh  that  it  were  not  too 
true  of  the  most  of  professors,  both  young  and  old,  that  they  lose  not 
only  one  day  in  seven,  but  several  days  in  seven. 

Sirs  !  Time  let  slip  cannot  be  recalled.  The  foolish  virgins  found  it 
so,  and  Saul  found  it  so,  and  Herod  found  it  so,  and  Nero  found  it  so. 
The  Israelites  found  it  so  ;  yea,  and  Jacob,  and  Josiah,  and  David, 
though  good  men,  yet  they  found  it  so  to  their  cost.4 

The  Egyptians  draw  the  picture  of  time  with  three  heads  :  the  first 
of  a  greedy  wolf,  gaping,  for  time  past,  because  it  hath  ravenously  de- 
voured the  memory  of  so  many  things  past  recalling ;  the  second  of  a 
crowned  lion,  roaring,  for  time  present,  because  it  hath  the  principality 
of  all  actions,  for  which  it  calls  loud ;  the  third  of  a  deceitful  dog, 
fawning,  for  time  to  come,  because  it  feeds  some  men  with  many  flat- 
tering hopes  to  their  eternal  undoing.  Ah  !  young  men  and  women, 
as  you  would  give  up  your  accounts  at  last  with  joy,  concerning  this 
talent  of  time,  with  which  God  hath  trusted  you,  begin  to  be  good  be- 
times, &c. 

Reason  (5).  Because  they  ivill  have  the  greater  comfort  and  joy  when 
they  come  to  be  old.5 

The  7lst  psalm,  5,  17,  18,  compared,  '  Thou  art  my  hope,  O  Lord 
God  :  thou  art  my  trust  from  my  youth.  O  God,  thou  hast  taught  me 
from  my  youth  :  and  hitherto  I  have  declared  thy  wondrous  works. 
Now  also,  when  I  am  old  and  grey-headed,  0  God,  forsake  me  not,  un- 
til I  have  shewed  thy  strength  unto  this  generation,  and  thy  power  unto 
every  one  that  is  to  come.' 

Polycarpus  could  say,  when  old,  '  Thus  many  years  have  I  served  my 
Master  Christ,  and  hitherto  hath  he  dealt  well  with  me.'6  If  early  con- 
verts live  to  be  old,  no  joy  to  their  joy.  Their  joy  will  be  the  greatest 
joy,  a  joy  like  to  the  joy  of  harvest,  a  joy  like  to  their  joy  that  divide 
the  spoil.  Their  joy  will  be  soundest  joy,  the  weightiest  joy,  the  holiest 
joy,  the  purest  joy,  the  strongest  joy,  and  the  most  lasting  joy,'  Isa. 
ix.  3.     The  carnal  joy  of  the  wicked,  the  glistering  golden  joy  of  the 

1 '  Licentiousness.'     See  Halliwell,  sub  voce. —  G. 

*  A  heathen  said  he  lived  no  day  without  a  line  ;  that  is,  ho  did  something  remarkable 
every  day. — [Zcuxis,  tho  Paintor. — G.] 

3  Query,  '  Tacitus,'  not  Seneca?    Cf.  Annals,  ii.  85  ;  xii.  3  ;  xv.  44  ;   Hist.  i.  ]0  ;  ii. 
4  ;  ii.  79  ;  v.  1,  2,  et  alibi.— Q  .  *  Mat.  xxv.  5;  Heb.  iii.  17-19. 

6  Seneca,  though  a  heathen,  could  say,  Believe  me,  true  joy  is  no  light  thing. 
[Epist.  xxiii. — G.]  6  Martyrium  S.  Polycarpi,    Hefele,  as  before. — G. 


1  Kings  XIV.  13.]  apples  of  gold.  183 

worldling,  and  the  flashing  joy  of  the  hypocrite,  is  but  as  the  crackling 
of  thorns  under  a  pot,  to  the  joy  and  comfort  of  such,  who,  when  old, 
can  say  with  good  Obadiah,  that  they  '  feared  the  Lord  from  their 
youth.'  If,  when  you  are  young,  your  eyes  shall  be  full  of  tears  for  sin, 
when  you  are  old,  your  heart  shall  be  full  of  joys.  Such  shall  have  the 
best  wine  at  last. 

Oh  !  that  young  men  would  begin  to  be  good  betimes,  that  so  they 
may  have  the  greater  harvest  of  joy  when  they  come  to  be  old,  &c. 
It  is  sad  to  be  sowing  your  seed  when  you  should  be  reaping  your  har- 
vest ;  it  is  best  to  gather  in  the  summer  of  youth  against  the  winter  of 
old  age. 

Reason  6.  Because  an  eternity  of  felicity  and  glory  hangs  upon 
those  few  moments  that  are  allotted  to  them. 

It  was  a  good  question  the  young  man  proposed,  '  What  shall  I  do 
to  inherit  eternal  life  V  Luke  x.  25.  I  know  I  shall  be  eternally 
happy  or  eternally  miserable,  eternally  blessed  or  eternally  cursed,  eter- 
nally saved  or  eternally  damned,  &c. 

'  Oh!  what  shall  I  do  to  inherit  eternal  life  !'  My  cares,  my  fears,  my 
troubles  are  all  about  eternity  !  No  time  can  reach  eternity,  no  age 
can  extend  to  eternity,  no  tongue  can  express  eternity.  Eternity  is 
that  unum  perpetuum  hodie,  one  perpetual  day  which  shall  never  have 
end  ;  what  shall  I  do,  what  shall  I  not  do,  that  I  may  be  happy  to  all 
eternity  \ l 

I  am  now  young,  and  in  the  flower  of  my  days  ;  but  who  knows  what 
a  day  may  bring  forth  ?  The  greatest  weight  hangs  upon  the  smallest 
wires,2  an  eternity  depends  upon  those  few  hours  I  am  to  breathe  in 
this  world.  Oh  !  what  cause  have  I  therefore  to  be  good  betimes, 
to  know  God  betimes,  to  believe  betimes,  to  repent  betimes,  to  get  my 
peace  made  and  my  pardon  sealed  betimes,  to  get  my  nature  changed, 
my  conscience  purged,  and  my  interest  in  Christ  cleared  betimes,  before 
eternity  overtakes  me,  before  my  glass  be  out,  my  sun  set,  my  race 
run,  lest  the  dark  night  of  eternity  should  overtake  me,  and  I  made 
miserable  for  ever. 

I  have  read  of  one  Myrogenes,  who,  when  great  gifts  were  sent  unto 
him,  he  sent  them  all  back  again,  saying,  I  only  desire  this  one  thing 
at  your  master's  hand  :  to  pray  for  me  that  I  may  be  saved  for  eternity. 
Oh !  that  all  young  men  and  women,  who  make  earth  their  heaven,  plea- 
sures their  paradise,  that  eat  the  fat  and  drink  the  sweet,  that  clothe 
themselves  richly,  and  crown  their  heads  with  rose-buds,  that  they 
would  seriously  consider  of  eternity,  so  as  to  hear  as  for  eternity,  and 
pray  as  for  eternity,  and  live  as  for  eternity,  and  provide  as  for  eternity  ! 
Luke  xv.  12-20.  That  they  might  say  with  that  famous  painter 
Zeuxis,  JZternitati  pingo,  I  paint  for  eternity.3  We  do  all  for  eter- 
nity, we  believe  for  eternity,  we  repent  for  eternity,  we  obey  for  eter- 
nity, &c. 

1  JEternitas  est  semper  et  immutabile  esse.  The  old  Komans  were  out,  that  thought  eter- 
nity dwelt  in  statues  and  in  marble  monuments. 

2  This  is  a  favourite  '  Emblem'  of  the  Puritans,  and  is  prefixed  to  several  of  their  books, 
e.  g.  John  Goodwin's. — G. 

3  The  proverb  is  more  accurately  Pingo  in  ceternitatem,  from  the  great  artist's  reply  to 
Agatharcus,  preserved  by  Plutarch  (De  Amic.  Mull.  v.  p.  94  f.),  '  I  confess  that  I  take  a 
long  time  to  paint ;  for  1  paint  works  to  last  a  long  time.' — G. 


184  APPLES  OF  GOLD.  [1  KlNGS  XIV.  13. 

Oh !  thai  you  would  not  make  those  things  eternal  for  punishment  that 
cannot  be  eternal  for  use.1 

Ah  !  vounjr  men  and  women,  God  calls,  and  the  blood  of  Jesus  Christ 
calls,  and  the  Spirit  of  Christ  in  the  gospel  calls,  and  the  rage  of  Satan 
calls,  and  your  sad  state  and  condition  calls,  and  the  happiness  and 
blessedness  of  glorified  saints  calls  ;  these  all  call  aloud  upon  you  to 
make  sure  a  glorious  eternity,  before  you  fall  out  into  that  dreadful 
ocean.  All  your  eternal  good  depends  upon  the  short  and  uncertain 
moments  of  your  lives  ;  and  if  the  thread  of  your  lives  should  be  cut 
before  a  happy  eternity  is  made  sure,  woe  to  you  that  ever  you  were 
born  !  Do  not  say,  O  young  man,  that  thou  art  young,  and  hereafter 
will  be  time  enough  to  provide  for  eternity,  for  eternity  may  be  at  the 
door,  ready  to  caiTy  thee  away  for  ever.  Every  day's  experience  speaks 
out  eternity  to  be  as  near  the  young  man's  back  as  it  is  before  the  old 
man's  face. 

Oh  grasp  to-day  the  diadem  of  a  blessed  eternity,  lest  thou  art  cut 
off  before  the  morning  comes  !  Though  there  is  but  one  way  to  come 
into  this  world,  yet  there  is  a  thousand  thousand  ways  to  be  sent  out 
of  this  world.  Well !  young  men  and  women,  remember  this,  as  the 
motions  of  the  soul  are  quick,  so  are  the  motions  of  divine  justice  quick 
also  ;  and  if  you  will  not  hear  the  voice  of  God  to-day,  if  you  will  not 
provide  for  eternity  to-day,  God  may  swear  to-morrow  that  you  shall 
never  enter  into  his  rest,  Heb.  iii.  7,  8,  15,  16,  18,  19.  It  is  a  very  sad 
and  dangerous  thing  to  trifle  and  dally  with  God,  his  word,  his  offers, 
our  own  souls,  and  eternity.  Therefore,  let  all  young  people  labour  to 
be  good  betimes,  and  not  to  let  him  that  is  goodness  itself  alone  till  he 
hath  made  them  good,  till  he  hath  given  them  those  hopes  of  eternity 
that  will  both  make  them  good  and  keep  them  good  ;  that  will  make 
them  happy,  and  keep  them  happy,  and  that  for  ever.  If  all  this  will 
not  do,  then  know  that  ere  long  those  fears  of  eternity,  of  misery,  that 
beget  that  monster  Despair,  which,  like  Medusa's  head,  astonisheth 
with  its  very  aspect,  and  strangles  hope,  which  is  the  breath  of  the 
soul,  will  certainly  overtake  you  ;  as  it  is  said,  Duvi  Sjnro,  Spero,  so  it 
may  be  inverted  Dum  Spero,  Spiro;  other  miseries  may  wound  the 
spirit,  but  despair  kills  it  dead.  My  prayer  shall  be,  that  none  of  you 
may  ever  experience  this  sad  truth,  but  that  you  may  all  be  good  in 
good  earnest,  betimes,  which  will  yield  you  two  heavens,  a  heaven  on 
earth,  and  a  heaven  after  death. 

Reason  8.  Because  they  do  not  begin  to  live  till  they  begin  to  be 
really  good. 

Till  they  begin  to  be  good,  they  are  dead  God-wards,  and  Christ- 
wards,  and  heaven-wards,  and  holiness-wards.  Till  a  man  begins  to  be 
really  good,  he  is  really  dead,  and  that  first  in  respect  of  working  ;  his 
works  are  called  dead  works,  Heb.  ix.  J  4.  The  most  glistering  services 
of  unregenerate  persons  are  but  dead  works,  because  they  proceed  not 
from  a  principle  of  life,  and  they  lead  to  death,  Rom.  vi.  23,  and  leave 
a  sentence  of  death  upon  the  soul,  till  it  be  washed  off  by  the  blood  of 
the  Lamb.  Secondly,  he  is  dead  in  respect  of  honour ;  he  is  dead  to 
all  privileges,  he  is  not  fit  to  inherit  mercy.     Who  will  set  the  crown  of 

1  Cur  ea  quae,  ad  usum  diuturna  esse  non  possunt,  ad  supplicium  diuturna  deposcet  ? — Am- 
brose in  Luke  iv.  5. 


1  Kings  XIV.  13.]  apples  of  gold.  185 

life  upon  a  dead  man  ?  The  crown  of  life  is  only  for  living  Christians, 
Rev.  ii.  10.  The  young  prodigal  was  dead  till  he  begun  to  be  good,  till 
he  begun  to  remember  his  father's  house,  and  to  resolve  to  return  home: 
'  My  son  was  dead,  but  is  alive,'  Luke  xv.  24  ;  and  the  widow  that 
'  liveth  in  pleasure  is  dead  while  she  liveth,'  1  Tim.  v.  6. 

When  Joshaphat  asked  Barlaam  how  old  he  was,  he  answered,  Five 
and  forty  years  old  ;  to  whom  Joshaphat  replied,  Thou  seemest  to  be 
seventy.  True,  saith  he,  if  you  reckon  ever  since  I  was  born  ;  but  I 
count  not  those  years  which  were  spent  in  vanity.1 

Ah,  sirs !  you  never  begin  to  live  till  you  begin  to  be  good,  in  good 
earnest.  There  is  the  life  of  vegetation,  and  that  is  the  life  of  plants  ; 
secondly,  there  is  the  life  of  sense,  and  that  is  the  life  of  beasts  ;  thirdly, 
there  is  the  life  of  reason,  and  that  is  the  life  of  man  ;  fourthly,  there 
is  the  life  of  grace,  and  that  is  the  life  of  saints  ;  and  this  life  you  do 
not  begin  to  live  till  you  begin  to  be  good.  If  '  a  living  dog  is  better 
than  a  dead  lion,'  as  the  wise  man  speaks,  Eccles.  ix.  4,  and  if  a  fly  is 
more  excellent  than  the  heavens,  because  the  fly  hath  life,  which  the 
heavens  have  not,  as  the  philosopher  saith,  what  a  sad,  dead,  poor  no- 
thing is  that  person  that  is  a  stranger  to  the  life  of  grace  and  goodness, 
that  is  dead  even  whilst  he  is  alive  ! 

Most  men  will  bleed,  sweat,  vomit,  purge,  part  with  an  estate,  yea, 
with  a  limb,  ay,  limbs,  yea,  and  many  a  better  thing,  viz.,  the  honour 
of  God  and  a  good  conscience,  to  preserve  their  natural  lives ;  as  he 
I  cries  out,  Give  me  any  deformity,  any  torment,  any  misery,  so  you  spare 
my  life  ;  and  yet  how  few,  how  very  few,  are  to  be  found  who  make  it 
their  work,  their  business,  to  attain  to  a  life  of  goodness,  or  to  begin  to 
be  good  betimes,  or  to  be  dead  to  the  world  and  alive  to  God,  rather 
than  to  be  dead  to  God  and  alive  to  the  world.  This  is  for  a  lamenta- 
tion, and  shall  be  for  a  lamentation,  that  natural  life  is  so  highly  prized, 
and  spiritual  life  so  little  regarded,  &c.2 

Reason  9.  Because  the  -promise  of  finding  God,  of  enjoying  God, 
is  made  over  to  an  early  seeking  of  God. 

Prov.  viii.  17,  '  I  love  them  that  love  me,  and  they  that  seek  me  early 
shall  find  me  ;'  or,  as  the  Hebrew  hath  it,  they  that  '  seek  me  in  the 
morning  shall  find  me.'  By  the  benefit  of  the  morning  light  we  come 
to  find  the  things  we  seek.  Shahhar  [irw]  signifies  to  seek  inquisitively, 
to  seek  diligently,  to  seek  timely  in  the  morning.  As  the  Israelites 
went  early  in  the  morning  to  seek  for  manna,  Exod.  xvi.  21,  and  as 
students  rise  early  in  the  morning  and  sit  close  to  it  to  get  knowledge, 
so  saith  wisdom,  they  that  '  seek  me  in  the  spring  and  morning  of  their 
youth,  shall  find  me.'3 

Now,  to  seek  the  Lord  early  is  to  seek  the  Lord  firstly.  God  hath 
in  himself  all  the  good  of  angels,  of  men,  and  universal  nature  ;  he  hath 
all  glories,  all  dignities,  all  riches,  all  treasures,  all  pleasures,  all  com- 
forts, all    delights,  all  joys,  all  beatitudes.     God  is  that  one  infinite 

1  As  it  is  a  reproach  to  an  old  man  to  be  in  coats,  so  it  is  a  disgrace  to  be  an  old  babe, 
i.  e.  to  be  but  a  babe  in  grace  wben  old  in  years,  Heb.  v.  12-14.  _ 

2  Maecenas  in  Seneca  had  rather  live  in  many  diseases  than  die.  [Epist.  CI.— G.J 
And  Homer  reporteth  of  his  Achilles,  that  he  had  rather  be  a  servant  to  a  poor  country 
clown  here  than  to  be  a  king  to  all  the  souls  departed.     [Odyssey,  xi.  488.— G.] 

3  Scipio  went  first  to  the  capitol  and  then  to  the  senate.  Tully,  an  heathen,  frequently 
called  God  Optimum  maximum,  the  best  and  greatest.     God  is  omnis  super  omnia. 


186  APPLES  OF  GOLD.  [1  KlNGS  XIV.  13. 

perfection  in  himself,  which  is  eminently  and  virtually  all  perfections  of 
the  creatures,  and  therefore  he  is  firstly  to  be  sought.  Abstracts  do 
better  express  him  than  concretes  and  adjectives ;  he  is  being,  bonity, 
power,  wisdom,  justice,  mercy,  goodness,  and  love  itself,  and  therefore 
worthy  to  be  sought  before  all  other  things.  Seek  ye  first  the  good 
things  of  the  mind,  saith  philosophy,  and  doth  not  divinity  say  as  much  ? 

Again,  To  seek  early  is  to  seek  opportunely,  to  seek  while  the  oppor- 
tunity does  present :  Judges  ix.  33,  '  Thou  shalt  rise  early,  and  set  upon 
the  city,'  that  is,  thou  shall  opportunely  set  upon  the  city.1 

Such  there  have  been  who,  by  having  a  glass  of  water  opportunely, 
have  obtained  a  kingdom,  as  you  may  see  in  the  story  of  Thaumastus 
and  king  Agrippa. 

Ah  !  young  men  and  women,  you  do  not  know  but  that  by  an  early, 
by  an  opportune,  seeking  of  God,  you  may  obtain  a  kingdom  that  shakes 
not,  and  glory  that  passeth  not  away,  Heb.  xil  28. 

There  is  a  season  wherein  God  may  be  found :  '  Seek  ye  the  Lord 
while  he  may  be  found,  call  ye  upon  him  while  he  is  near/  Isa.  lv.  6 ; 
and  if  you  slip  this  season,  you  may  seek  him  and  miss  him  :  '  Though 
they  cry  unto  me,  I  will  not  hearken  unto  them  ;  '  When  ye  make  many 
prayers,  I  will  not  hear  ;'  '  Then  shall  they  cry  unto  the  Lord,  but  he 
will  not  hear  ;'  '  Then  shall  they  call  upon  me,  but  I  will  not  answer  ; 
they  shall  seek  me  early,  but  shall  not  find  me.'2  This  was  Saul's 
misery  :  '  The  Philistines  are  upon  me,  and  God  will  not  answer  me,' 
1  Sam.  xxviii.  15.  It  is  justice  that  they  should  seek  and  not  find  at 
at  last,  who  might  have  found  had  they  but  sought  seasonably  and 
opportunely,  &c. 

Again,  To  seek  early  is  to  seek  earnestly,  affectionately  :  '  With  my 
soul  have  I  desired  thee  in  the  night ;  yea,  with  my  spirit  within  me 
will  I  seek  thee  early/  Isa.  xxvi.  9.  The  Hebrew  word  signifies  both 
an  earnest  and  an  early  seeking.  In  the  morning  the  spirits  are  up, 
and  men  are  earnest,  lively,  and  affectionate. 

Ah!  such  a  seeking  shall  certainly  be  crowned  with  finding:  'My 
voice  shalt  thou  hear  in  the  morning,  0  Lord!  in  the  morning  will  I 
direct  [Heb.  marshal]  my  prayer  unto  thee,  and  will  look  up'  [Hebrew, 
look  out  like  a  watchman].  '  Let  all  those  that  put  their  trust  in  thee 
rejoice,  let  them  ever  shout  for  joy  ;  because  thou  defendest  them ' 
[Hebrew,  '.  thou  coverest  over,  or  'protectcst  them'].  'Let  them  also  that 
love  thy  name  be  joyful  in  thee  :  for  thou,  Lord,  wilt  bless  the  righteous; 
with  favour  wilt  thou  compass  him  [Hebrew,  ; crown  him]  as  with  a 
shield. 'J  None  have  ever  thus  sought  the  Lord,  but  they  have,  or  cer- 
tainly shall  find  him  :  '  Seek  and  ye  shall  find,'  Mat.  vii.  7  ;  '  your  hearts 
shall  live  that  seek  God,'  Ps.  lxix.  32  ;  '  The  effectual  fervent  prayer  of 
a  righteous  man  availeth  much/  Jas.  v.  16,  or,  as  the  Greek  hath  it, 
'  The  working  prayer  of  a  righteous  man  availeth  much.'*  That  prayer 
that  sets  the  whole  man  a- work  will  work  wonders  in  heaven,  in  the 
heart,  and  in  the  earth.  Earnest  prayer,  like  Saul's  sword  and  Jona- 
than's bow,  never  returns  empty. 

1  Days  of  grace  have  their  dates  ;  therefore  take  heed  of  saying  eras,  eras,  to-morrow, 
tomorrow.  *  Jer.  xi.  11,  Isa.  i.  16,  Micah  iii.  4,  Prov.  i.  28. 

s  Ps.  v.  3,  xi.  12.     nfittfl  r\"\))X. 
*  in^yovfiitt),  it  signilies  such  a  working  as  notes  the  liveliest  activity  that  can  be. 


1  Kings  XIV.  13.]  apples  of  gold.  187 

One  speaking  of  Luther,  who  was  a  man  very  earnest  in  prayer,  said, 
Hie  homo  potuit  apud  Deum  quod  voluit,  this  man  could  have  what 
he  would  of  God,  &c. 

Again,  to  seek  early  is  to  seek  chiefly,  'primarily,  after  this  or  that 
thing.  What  we  first  seek,  we  seek  as  chief.1  Now,  to  seek  the  Lord 
early  is  to  seek  him  primarily,  chiefly ;  in  the  63d  psalm,  and  the  1st 
verse,  '  Thou  art  my  God,  early  will  I  seek  thee/  that  is,  I  will  seek  thee 
as  my  choicest  and  my  chiefest  good.  God  is  Alpha,  the  fountain  from 
whence  all  grace  springs,  and  Omega,  the  sea  to  which  all  glory  runs, 
and  therefore  early  and  primarily  to  be  sought.  God  is  a  perfect  good, 
a  solid  good,  Id  bonum  perfectum  dicitur,  cui  nil  accedere,  solidum, 
cui  nil  decedere  potest  (Lactantius),  That  is  a  perfect  good,  to  which 
nothing  can  be  added  ;  that  a  solid,  from  which  nothing  can  be  spared. 
Such  a  good  God  is,  and  therefore  early  and  chiefly  to  be  sought.  God 
is  a  pure  and  simple  good  ;  he  is  a  light  in  whom  there  is  no  darkness, 
a  good  in  whom  there  is  no  evil,  ]  John  i.  5.  The  goodness  of  the  creature 
is  mixed,  yea,  that  little  goodness  that  is  in  the  creature  is  mixed  with 
much  evil ;  but  God  is  an  unmixed  good ;  he  is  good,  he  is  pure  good,  he 
is  all  over  good,  he  is  nothing  but  good.2  God  is  an  all-sufficient  good  : 
'  Walk  before  me,  and  be  upright  :  I  am  God  all-sufficient,'  in  the  17th 
of  Genesis  and  the  first  verse.  Habet  omnia,  qui  habet  habentem  omnia, 
(Augustine),  He  hath  all  that  hath  the  haver  of  all.  God  hath  in 
himself  all  power  to  defend  you,  all  wisdom  to  direct  you,  all  mercy 
to  pardon  you,  all  grace  to  enrich  you,  all  righteousness  to  clothe  you, 
all  goodness  to  supply  you,  and  all  happiness  to  crown  you.  God  is  a 
satisfying  good,  a  good  that  fills  the  heart  and  quiets  the  soul,  Cant. 
ii.  3.  In  the  33d  of  Genesis,  and  the  11th  verse,  'I  have  enough,'  saith 
good  Jacob ;  '  I  have  all,'  saith  Jacob,  for  so  the  Hebrew  hath  it  {Cholli), 
I  have  all,  I  have  all  comforts,  all  delights,  all  contents,  &c.  In  having 
nothing,  I  have  all  things,  because  I  have  Christ;  having  therefore  all 
things  in  him,  '  I  seek  no  other  reward,  for  he  is  the  universal  reward/ 
saith  one.  As  the  worth  and  value  of  many  pieces  of  silver  is  to  be 
found  in  one  piece  of  gold,  so  all  the  petty  excellencies  that  are  scattered 
abroad  in  the  creatures  are  to  be  found  in  God,  yea,  all  the  whole 
volume  of  perfections,  which  is  spread  through  heaven  and  earth,  is 
epitomised  in  him.  No  good  below  him  that  is  the  greatest  good,  can 
satisfy  the  soul.  A  good  wife,  a  good  child,  a  good  name,  a  good  estate, 
a  good  friend,  cannot  satisfy  the  soul.  These  may  please,  but  they 
cannot  satisfy.  '  All  abundance,  if  it  be  not  my  God,  is  to  me  nothing 
but  poverty  and  want,'  said  one. 

Ah!  that  young  men  and  women  would  but  in  the  morning  of  their 
youth  seek,  yea,  seek  early,  seek  eai*nestly,  seek  affectionately,  seek 
diligently,  seek  primarily,  and  seek  unweariedly  this  God,  who  is  the 
greatest  good,  the  best  good,  the  most  desirable  good;  who  is  a  suitable 
good,  a  pure  good,  a  satisfying  good,  a  total  good,  and  an  eternal  good.3 

Reason  ]  0.  Because  the  time  of  youth  is  the  choicest  and  fittest  time 
for  service. 

Now  your  parts  are  lively,  senses  fresh,  memory  strong,  and  nature 
vigorous.     The  days  of  your  youth  are  the  spring  and  morning  of  your 

1  Omne  bonum  in  summo  bono.  u  Quicquid  est  in  Deo,  est,  ipse  Deus. 

3  Omnis  copia  quce  non  est  Deus  meus,  mihi  egestas  est — Aug  [ustine]  Soliloq.  c.  13. 


183  APPLES  OF  GOLD.        [1  KlNGS  XIV.  13. 

time,  they  are  the  first-born  of  your  strength;  therefore  God  requires 
your  non-age,  as  well  as  your  dotage,  the  wine  of  your  times  as  well 
as  the  lees,  as  you  may  see  typified  to  you  in  the  first-fruits,  which 
were  dedicated  to  the  Lord,  and  the  first-born,  Exod.  xxiii.  16,  Num. 
iii.  13.  The  time  of  youth  is  the  time  of  salvation,  it  is  the  acceptable 
time  ;  it  is  thy  summer,  thy  harvest-time.1  O  young  man  !  therefore 
do  not  sleep,  but  up  and  be  doing;  awaken  thy  heart,  rouse  up  thy  soul, 
and  improve  all  thou  hast;  put  out  thy  reason,  thy  strength,  thy  all,  to 
the  treasuring  up  of  heavenly  graces,  precious  promises,  divine  experi- 
ences, and  spiritual  comforts,  against  the  winter  of  old  age ;  and  then 
old  age  will  not  be  to  thee  an  evil  age,  but  as  it  was  to  Abraham,  '  a 
good  old  age/  Gen.  xv.  15  ;  do  not  put  off  God  with  fair  promises,  and 
large  pretences,  till  your  last  sands  are  running,  and  the  days  of  dotage 
have  overtaken  you.  That  is  a  sad  word  of  the  prophet,  '  Cursed  be 
the  deceiver,  which  hath  in  his  Hock  a  male,  and  yet  offereth  to  the 
Lord  a  corrupt  thing,'  Mai.  i.  14. 

Ah  '  young  men  and  women,  who  are  like  the  almond  tree;2  you  have 
many  males  in  the  flock,  your  strength  is  a  male  in  your  flock,  your 
time  is  a  male  in  the  flock,  your  reason  is  a  male  in  the  flock,  your 
parts  are  a  male  in  the  flock,  and  your  gifts  are  a  male  in  the  flock. 
Now,  if  he  be  cursed  that  hath  but  one  male  in  his  flock,  and  shall  offer 
to  God  a  corrupt  thing,  a  thing  of  no  worth,  of  no  value,  how  will  you  be 
cursed,  and  cursed,  cursed  at  home,  and  cursed  abroad,  cursed  temporally, 
cursed  spiritually,  and  cursed  eternally,  who  have  many  males  in  your 
flock,  and  yet  deal  so  unworthily,  so  fraudulently,  and  false-heartedly 
with  God,  as  to  put  him  off  with  the  dregs  of  your  time  and  strength, 
while  you  spend  the  primrose  of  your  youth  in  the  service  of  the  world, 
the  flesh,  and  the  devil,  Mat.  xxi.  20. 

The  fig-tree  in  the  Gospel,  that  did  not  bring  forth  fruit  timely  and 
seasonably,  was  cursed  to  admiration.3  The  time  of  youth  is  the  time 
and  season  for  bringing  forth  the  fruits  of  righteousness  and  holiness, 
and  if  these  fruits  be  not  brought  forth  in  their  season,  you  may  justly 
fear,  that  the  curses  of  heaven  will  secretly  and  insensibly  soak  and 
sink  into  your  souls,  and  then  woe !  woe !  to  you  that  ever  you  were  born. 
The  best  way  to  prevent  this  hell  of  hells,  is  to  give  God  the  cream  and 
flower  of  your  youth,  your  strength,  your  time,  your  talents.  Vessels 
that  are  betimes  seasoned  with  the  savour  of  life  never  lose  it,  Pro  v. 
xx  ii.  6. 

Reason  11.  Because  death  may  suddenly  and  unexpectedly  seize 
upon  you  ;  you,  have  no  lease  of  your  lives. 

Youth  is  as  fickle  as  old  age.  The  young  man  may  find  graves 
enough  of  his  length  in  burial  places.  As  green  wood  and  old  logs 
meet  in  one  fire,  so  young  sinners  and  old  sinners  meet  in  one  hell  and 
burn  together.  When  the  young  man  is  in  his  spring  and  prime,  then 
he  is  cut  off  and  dies ;  '  One  dying  in  his  full  strength  (or  in  the  strength 
of  his  perfection,  as  the  Hebrew  hath  it)  being  wholly  at  ease  and  quiet, 
his  breasts  are  full  of  milk,  and  his  bones  are  moistened  with  marrow,' 

1  The  days  of  youth  are  called  oetas  bona,  in  Cicero,  and  alas  optima,  in  Seneca. 
[Epist.  xlix.— G.] 

*  Jer.  i.  11,  the  almond  tree  blossoms  in  January,  while  it  is  yet  winter,  and  the  fruit 
is  ripe  in  March.  3  '  Amazement.' — G. 


1  Kings  XIV.  13.]  apples  of  gold.  139 

Job  xxi.  23,  24.  David's  children  die  when  young,  so  did  Job's  and 
Jeroboam's,  &c.  Every  day's  experience  tells  us,  that  the  young  man's 
life  is  as  much  a  vapour  as  the  old  man's  is.1 

I  have  read  of  an  Italian  poet,  who  brings  in  a  proper  youno-  man, 
rich  and  potent,  discoursing  with  death  in  the  habit  of  a  mower,  with 
his  scythe  in  his  hand,  cutting  down  the  life  of  man,  '  For  all  flesh  is 
grass/  Isa.  xl.  6.  And  wilt  thou  not  spare  any  man's  person,  saith  the 
young  man?  I  spare  none,  saith  death  ;  man's  life  is  but  a  day,  a  short 
day,  a  winter's  day.  Ofttimes  the  sun  goes  down  upon  a  man  before 
it  be  well  up.  Your  day  is  short,  your  work  is  great,  your  journey 
long,  and  therefore  you  should  rise  early,  and  set  forward  towards 
heaven  betimes,  as  that  man  doth  that  hath  a  long  journey  to  go  in  a 
winter's  day.2 

The  life  of  man  is  absolutely  short :  '  Behold,  thou  hast  made  my 
days  as  an  hand's-breadth,'  Ps.  xxxix.  5.  The  life  of  man  is  compara- 
tively short,  and  that  if  you  compare  man's  life  now  to  what  he  might 
have  reached  had  he  continued  in  innocency.  Sin  brought  in  death  ; 
death  is  a  fall,  that  came  in  by  a  fall.  Or  if  you  compare  man's  life 
now  to  what  they  did  reach  to  before  the  flood :  then  several  lived  six, 
seven,  eight,  nine  hundred  years,  Gen.  i.  9  ;  or  if  you  compare  men's 
days  with  the  days  of  God,  '  Mine  age  is  as  nothing  before  thee/  Ps. 
xxxix.  5  ;  or  if  you  compare  the  days  of  man  to  the  days  of  eternity.3 

Ah  !  young  men,  young  men  !  can  you  seriously  consider  of  the 
brevity  of  man's  life,  and  trifle  away  your  time,  the  offers  of  grace, 
your  precious  souls,  and  eternity  ?  &c.  Surely  you  cannot,  surely  you 
dare  not,  if  you  do  but  in  good  earnest  ponder  upon  the  shortness  of 
man's  life.  It  is  recorded  of  Philip,  king  of  Macedon,  that  he  gave  a 
pension  to  one  to  come  to  him  every  day  at  dinner,  and  to  cry  to  him, 
Memento  te  esse  mortalem,  Remember  thou  art  but  mortal.4 

Ah !  young  men  and  old  had  need  be  often  put  in  mind  of  their 
mortality;  they  are  too  apt  to  forget  that  day,  yea,  to  put  far  from 
them  the  thoughts  of  that  day.  I  have  read  of  three  that  could  not 
endure  to  hear  that  bitter  word  death  mentioned  in  their  ears ;  and 
surely  this  age  is  full  of  such  monsters. 

And  as  the  life  of  man  is  very  short,  so  it  is  very  uncertain :  now 
well,  now  sick ;  alive  this  hour,  and  dead  the  next.  Death  doth  not 
always  give  warning  beforehand  ;  sometimes  he  gives  the  mortal  blow 
suddenly  ;  he  comes  behind  with  his  dart,  and  strikes  a  man  at  the 
heart,  before  he  saith,  'Have  I  found  thee,  O  mine  enemy?'  1  Kings 
xxi.  30.  Eutychus  fell  down  dead  suddenly,  Acts  xx.  9  ;5  death  sud- 
denly arrested  David's  sons  and  Job's  sons ;  Augustus  died  in  a  com- 
pliment, Galba  with  a  sentence,  Vespasian  with  a  jest;6  Zeuxis  died 

1  Pares  nascuntur,  pares  morivntur,  in  the  womb  and  in  the  tomb  they  are  all  alike, 
Job  xxi.  23,  24.     It  is  an  allegorical  description  of  the  highest  prosperity. 

2  Death's  motto  is,  Nulli  cedo,  I  yield  to  none. 

3  The  heathen  could  say  that  the  whole  life  of  man  shonld  be  nothing  else  but  medi- 
tatio  mortis,  a  meditation  of  death.  [That  rare  little  Puritan  book  by  the  Earl  of  Man- 
chester, '  Almondo,  or  Contemplatio  Mortis  et  Immortalitatis'  (5th  edition,  1642),  illus- 
trates and  unfolds  above  very  suggestively  — G  ] 

4  Cf.  Sibbes's  Works,  vol.  ii.  pp.  433,  435.— G. 

5  Petrarch  telleth  of  one  who,  being  invited  to  dinner  the  next  day.  answered,  Ego  a 
mnltis  annis  crastinvm  non  habiti,  I  have  not  had  a  morrow  for  this  many  years. 

6  See  Bacon"s  Essays.    On  Death. — G. 


190  APPLES  OF  GOLD.  [1  KlNGS  XIV.  13. 

laughing  at  the  picture  of  an  old  woman  which  he  drew  with  his  own 
hand  ;  Sophocles  was  choked  with  the  stone  in  a  grape  ;  Diodorus  the 
logician  died  for  shame  that  he  could  not  answer  a  joculary  question 
propounded  at  the  table  by  Stilpo ;  Joannes  Measius,  preaching  upon 
the  raising  of  the  woman  of  Nain's  son  from  the  dead,  within  three 
hours  after  died  himself. 

Ah !  young  men  and  women,  have  you  not  cause,  great  cause,  to  be 
good  betimes  ?  for  death  is  sudden  in  his  approaches.  Nothing  more 
sure  than  death,  and  nothing  more  uncertain  than  life.  Therefore 
know  the  Lord  betimes,  turn  from  your  sins  betimes  ;  lay  hold  on  the 
Lord,  and  make  peace  with  him  betimes,  that  you  may  never  say,  as 
CaBsar  Borgias  said  when  he  was  sick  to  death,  '  When  I  lived,'  said  he, 
'  I  provided  for  everything  but  death  ;  now  I  must  die,  and  am  unpro- 
vided to  die/  &c.x 

Reason  (12).  Because  it  is  ten  to  one,  nay,  a  hundred  to  ten,  if 
ever  they  are  converted,  if  they  are  not  converted  when  they  are  young. 

God  usually  begins  with  such  betimes  that  he  hath  had  thoughts  of 
love  and  mercy  towards  them  from  everlasting.2  The  instances  cited 
to  prove  the  doctrine  confirms  this  argument ;  and  if  you  look  abroad 
in  the  world,  you  shall  hardly  find  one  saint  among  a  thousand  but 
dates  his  conversion  from  the  time  of  his  youth.  It  was  the  young  ones 
that  got  through  the  wilderness  into  Canaan,  Num.  xxvi.3  If  the  tree 
do  not  bud  and  blossom,  and  bring  forth  fruit  in  the  spring,  it  is  com- 
monly dead  all  the  year  after.  If,  in  the  spring  and  morning  of  your 
days,  you  do  not  bring  forth  fruit  to  God,  it  is  an  hundred  to  one  that 
ever  you  bring  forth  fruit  to  him  when  the  evil  days  of  old  age  shall 
'  overtake  you,  wherein  you  shall  say  you  have  no  pleasure,'  Eccles. 
xii.  1.  For,  as  the  son  of  Sirach  observes,  if  thou  hast  gathered  no- 
thing in  thy  youth,  what  canst  thou  find  in  thy  age  ?4  It  is  rare,  very 
rare,  that  God  sows  and  reaps  in  old  age.  Usually  God  sows  the  seed 
of  grace  in  youth,  that  yields  the  harvest  of  joy  in  age. 

Though  true  repentance  be  never  too  late,  yet  late  repentance  is  seldom 
true.  Millions  are  now  in  hell,  who  have  pleased  themselves  with  the 
thoughts  of  after-repentance.  The  Lord  hath  made  a  promise  to  late 
repentance,  but  where  hath  he  made  a  promise  of  late  repentance  ? 
Yea,  what  can  be  more  just  and  equal,  that  such  should  seek  and  not 
find,  who  might  have  found  but  would  not  seek  ;  and  that  he  should 
shut  his  ears  against  their  late  prayers,  who  have  stopped  their  ears 
against  his  early  calls  ?  Prov.  i.  24-32.  The  ancient  warriors  would 
not  accept  an  old  man  into  their  army,  as  being  unfit  for  service  ;  and 
dost  thou  think  that  God  will  accept  of  thy  dry  bones,  when  Satan  hath 
sucked  out  all  the  marrow  ?  What  lord,  what  master,  will  take  such 
into  their  service,  who  have  all  their  days  served  their  enemies  ?  and 
will  God  ?  will  God  ?  The  Circassians,  a  kind  of  mongrel  Christians, 
are  said  to  divide  their  life  betwixt  sin  and  devotion,  dedicating  their 

1  Much  earlier  than  Borgia,  being  recorded  of  the  dying  emperor  Septimus  Severus  as 
follows  :  '  Omnia  fui.  nihil  expedit.' — G. 

»  Hosea  xi.  1,  '  When  Israel  was  a  child,  then  I  loved  him,'  &c. 

3  An  Hebrew  doctor  observes,  that  of  those  six  hundred  thousand  that  went  out  of 
Efjypt,  there  were  but  two  persons  that  entered  Canaan. 

4  Ecclesiasticus  xxv.  3  ;  the  first  quotation  by  Brooks  thus  far  from  the  Apocrypha.—  G. 


1  Kings  XIV.  13.]  apples  of  gold.  191 

youth  to  rapine,  and  their  old  age  to  repentance.1     If  this  be  thy  case, 
I  would  not  be  in  thy  case  for  ten  thousand  worlds. 

I  have  read  of  a  certain  great  man  that  was  admonished  in  his  sick- 
ness to  repent,  who  answered,  that  he  would  not  repent  yet,  for  if  he 
should  recover,  his  companions  would  laugh  at  him ;  but  growing  sicker 
and  sicker,  his  friends  pressed  him  again  to  repent,  but  then  he  told 
them  that  it  was  too  late,  Quia  jam  judicatus  sum,  et  condemnatus 
for  now,  said  he,  I  am  judged  and  condemned.2 


CHAPTER   II. 

Reason  13.  Because  else  they  will  never  attain  to  the  honour  of 
being  old  disciples. 

It  is  a  very  great  honour  to  be  an  old  disciple. 

Now  this  honour  none  reach  to,  but  such  as  are  converted  betimes 
but  such  as  turn  to  the  Lord  in  the  spring  and  morning  of  their  youth. 
It  is  no  honour  for  an  old  man  to  be  in  coats,  nor  for  an  old  man  to  be 
a  babe  in  grace.  An  ABC  old  man  is  a  sad  and  shameful  sight.  Oh ! 
but  it  is  a  mighty  honour  to  be  a  man,  when  he  is  old,  that  he  can  date 
his  conversion  from  the  morning  of  his  youth.  Now  that  it  is  an 
honour  to  be  an  old  disciple,  I  shall  prove  by  an  induction  of  parti- 
culars.3    As, 

Particular  1.  All  men  will  honour  an  old  disciple  :  Pro  v.  xvi.  31, 
'  The  hoary  head  is  a  crown  of  glory,  if  it  be  found  in  the  way  of  right- 
eousness.'4 God  requires  that  the  aged  should  be  honoured  :  Lev.  xix. 
32,  'Thou  shalt  rise  up  before  the  hoary  head,  and  honour  the  face  of 
the  old  man'  (the  old  man  here  is  by  some  expounded  the  wise  man), 
'  and  fear  thy  God.  I  am  the  Lord.'  Hoariness  is  only  honourable  when 
found  in  a  way  of  righteousness.  A  white  head,  accompanied  with  a 
holy  heart,  makes  a  man  truly  honourable.  There  are  two  glorious 
sights  in  the  world  :  the  one  is,  a  young  man  walking  in  his  upright- 
ness ;  and  the  other  is,  an  old  man  walking  in  ways  of  righteousness. 
It  was  Abraham's  honour  that  he  went  to  his  grave  in  a  good  old  age, 
or  rather,  as  the  Hebrew  hath  it,  with  a  good  grey  head,  Gen.  xxv.  8. 
Many  there  be  that  go  to  their  graves  with  a  grey  head,  but  this  was 
Abraham's  crown,  that  he  went  to  his  grave  with  a  good  grey  head. 
Had  Abraham's  head  been  never  so  grey,  if  it  had  not  been  good,  it 
would  have  been  no  honour  to  him.  A  hoary  head,  when  coupled  with 
an  unsanctified  heart,  is  rather  a  curse  than  a  blessing.  When  the 
head  is  as  white  as  snow,  and  the  soul  as  black  as  hell,  God  usually 
gives  up  such  to  the  greatest  scorn  and  contempt.  'Princes  are  hanged 
up  by  their  hands,  the  faces  of  elders  were  not  honoured,'  Lam.  v.  12, 
and  this  God  had  threatened  long  before.  'The  Lord  shall  bring 
against  thee  a  nation  from  far,  a  nation  of  fierce  countenance,  which 
shall  not  regard  the  person  of  the  old,  nor  shew  favour  to  the  young,' 
Deut.  xxviii.  49,  50. 

1  Breerw.  Enqui.     [This  is  Edward  Brerewood's  c  Enquiries  touching  the  diversity  of 
languages,'  &c.     1614. — G.]  a  Bede  hath  this  story. 

8  What  more  ridiculous  than  piter  centum  annorum,  a  child  of  an  hundred  years  old  ? 
*  A  crown  is  a  very  glorious  thing,  but  there  are  but  few  of  them. 


192  APPLES  OF  GOLD.  [1  KlNGS  XIV.  13. 

I  have  read  of  Cleanthes,  who  was  wont  sometimes  to  chide  himself. 
Ariston  wondering  thereat,  asked  him,  Whom  chidest  thou?  Cleanthes 
laughed,  and  answered,  I  chide  an  old  fellow,  Qui  canos  quidem  habet, 
sad  mentem  non  habet,  who  hath  grey  hairs  indeed,  but  wants  under- 
standing, and  prudence  worthy  of  them.1  The  application  I  will  leave 
to  the  grey  heads  and  grey  beards  of  our  time,  who  have  little  else  to 
commend  them  to  the  world  but  their  hoary  heads  and  snowy  beards. 

Particular  2.  God  usually  reveals  himself  most  to  old  disciples,  to 
old  saints :  Job  xii.  12,  'With  the  ancient  is  wisdom  ;  and  in  length 
of  days  understanding.'3  God  usually  manifests  most  of  himself  to  aged 
saints.  They  usually  pray  most  and  pay  most,  they  labour  most  and 
long  most  after  the  choicest  manifestations  of  himself  and  of  his  grace; 
and  therefore  he  opens  his  bosom  most  to  them,  and  makes  them  of  his 
cabinet  council.  Gen.  xviii.  17-19,  '  And  the  Lord  said,  Shall  I  hide 
from  Abraham  that  thing  which  I  do  ;  for  I  know  him,  that  he  will 
command  his  children,  and  his  household  after  him,  and  they  shall  keep 
the  way  of  the  Lord,  to  do  justice  and  judgment ;  that  the  Lord  may 
bring  upon  Abraham  that  which  he  hath  spoken  of  him/  Abraham  was 
an  old  friend,  and  therefore  God  makes  him  both  of  his  court  and 
council.  We  usually  open  our  hearts  most  freely,  fully,  and  familiarly, 
to  old  friends.  So  doth  God  to  his  ancient  friends.  Ah,  what  a  blessed 
sight  and  enjoyment  of  Christ  had  old  Simeon,  that  made  his  very  heart 
to  dance  in  him  !  '  Now,  Lord,  lettest  thou  thy  servant  depart  in  peace, 
according  to  thy  word,  for  mine  eyes  have  seen  thy  salvation,'  &c, 
Luke  ii.  25-28.  I  have  seen  him,  who  is  my  light,  my  life,  my  love, 
my  joy,  my  crown,  my  heaven,  my  all ;  therefore  now  '  Let  thy  servant 
depart  in  peace/  verses  36-38.  So  Anna,  when  she  was  fourscore  and 
four  years  old,  was  so  filled  with  the  discoveries  and  enjoyments  of 
Christ,  that  she  could  not  but  declare  what  she  had  tasted,  felt,  seen, 
heard,  and  received  from  the  Lord.  She  was  ripe  and  ready  to  discover 
the  fulness,  sweetness,  goodness,  excellency,  and  glory  of  that  Christ 
whom  she  had  long  loved,  feared,  and  served.  So  Paul  lived  in  the  light, 
sight,  and  sweet  enjoyments  of  Christ,  when  he  was  aged  in  years  and  in 
grace,  Philip,  iv.  5,  7,  9.  So,  when  had  John  that  glorious  vision  of 
Christ  among  the  golden  candlesticks,  and  those  discoveries  and  mani- 
festations of  the  ruin  of  Rome,  the  fall  of  antichrist,  the  casting  the 
beast  and  false  prophet  into  a  lake  of  fire,  the  conquest  of  the  kingdoms 
of  the  world  by  Christ's  bow  and  sword,  the  binding  up  of  Satan,  and 
the  new  Jerusalem  coming  down  from  God  out  of  heaven,  Rev.  i.  7,  seq., 
but  when  he  was  old,  when  he  was  aged  in  years  and  in  grace?  The 
Lord  speaks  many  a  secret  in  the  ears  of  saints,  of  old  Christians,  which 
young  Christians  are  not  acquainted  with,  as  that  phrase  imports, 
2  Sam.  vii.  27,  '  Thou,  0  Lord  Gcd  of  hosts,  hast  revealed  to  thy  ser- 
vant ;'  so  you  read  it  in  your  books,  but  in  the  Hebrew  it  is,  '  Lord, 
thou  hast  revealed  this  to  the  ear  of  thy  servant.'3  Some  wonder  how 
that  word  'to  the  ear'  comes  to  be  left  out  in  your  books,  in  which 
indeed  the  emphasis  lies.     We  will  tell  many  things  in  an  old  friend's 

1  The  'quaint  penitence'  of  above  saying,  as  it  has  been  described,  belongs  to  the 
Stoic  of  the  name.  Cf.  Bp.  Cotton's  Memoirs  in  Smith's  '  Dictionary  of  Greek  and  Roman 
Biography  and  Mythology." — G. 

•-■  □,>t>>i!£">3  In  the  ancient  is  wisdom.  Valentianins  the  emperor's  motto  was,  Amicus 
veterimus  optmut,  an  old  friend  is  best.  3  Jt^-nx  FlWJ'  ^alillia  ethozen. 


1  Kings  XIV.  13.]  apples  of  gold.  193 

ear,  which  we  will  not  acquaint  young  ones  with.  So  doth  God  many- 
times  whisper  an  old  disciple  in  the  ear,  and  acquaints  him  with  such 
things  that  he  hides  from  those  that  are  of  younger  years.  And  by  this 
you  may  see  what  an  honour  it  is  to  be  an  old  disciple. 

Particular  3.  An  old  disciple,  an  old  Christian,  he  hath  got  the  art 
of  serving  God,  the  art  of  religion  ;  got  the  art  of  hearing,  the  art  of 
praying,  the  art  of  meditating,  the  art  of  repenting,  the  art  of  believ- 
ing, the  art  of  denying  his  natural  self,  his  sinful  self,  his  religious 
self1 

All  trades  have  their  mystery  and  difficulty,  so  hath  the  trade  of 
Christianity.  Young  Christians  usually  bungle  in  religious  works,  but 
old  Christians  acquit  themselves  like  workmen  that  '  need  not  be 
ashamed/  A  young  carpenter  gives  more  blows  and  makes  more  chips, 
but  an  old  artist  doth  the  most  and  best  work.  A  youno*  Christian 
may  make  most  noise  in  religious  duties,  but  an  old  Christian  makes 
the  best  work.  A  young  musician  may  play  more  quick  and  nimble 
upon  an  instrument  than  an  old,  but  an  old  musician  hath  more  skill 
and  judgment  than  a  young.  The  application  is  easy,  and  by  this  you 
may  also  see  what  an  honour  it  is  to  be  an  old  Christian,  &c. 

Particular  4.  An  old  disciple,  an  old  Christian,  is  rich  in  spiritual 
experiences.  Oh  !  the  experiences  that  he  hath  of  the  ways  of  God,  of 
the  workings  of  God,  of  the  word  of  God,  of  the  love  of  God!  1  Johnii.  1. 
Oh !  the  divine  stories  that  old  Christians  can  tell  of  the  power  of  the  word, 
of  the  sweetness  of  the  word,  of  the  usefulness  of  the  word!  Ps.  cxix.49,50, 
as  a  light  to  lead  the  soul,  as  a  staff  to  support  the  soul,  as  a  spur  to 
quicken  the  soul,  as  an  anchor  to  stay  the  soul,  and  as  a  cordial  to  comfort 
and  strengthen  the  soul  !2  Oh  !  the  stories  that  he  can  tell  you  concerning 
the  love  of  Christ,  the  blood  of  Christ,  the  offices  of  Christ,  the  merits 
of  Christ,  the  righteousness  of  Christ,  the  graces  of  Christ,  and  the 
influence  of  Christ !  Oh !  the  stories  that  an  old  disciple  can  tell  you 
of  the  indwellings  of  the  Spirit,  of  the  operations  of  the  Spirit,  of  the 
teachings  of  the  Spirit,  of  the  leadings  of  the  Spirit,  of  the  sealings  of 
the  Spirit,  of  the  witnessings  of  the  Spirit,  and  of  the  comforts  and  joys 
of  the  Spirit !  Oh  !  the  stories  that  an  old  Christian  can  tell  you  of  the 
evil  of  sin,  the  bitterness  of  sin,  the  deceitfulness  of  sin,  the  pre  valency 
of  sin,  and  the  happiness  of  conquest  over  sin  !  Oh  !  the  stories  that  he 
can  tell  you  of  the  snares  of  Satan,  the  devices  of  Satan,  the  temptations 
of  Satan,  the  rage  of  Satan,  the  malice  of  Satan,  the  watchfulness  of 
Satan,  and  the  ways  of  triumphing  over  Satan  !  As  an  old  soldier  can 
tell  you  of  many  battles,  many  scars,  many  wounds,  many  losses,  and 
many  victories,  even  to  admiration  ;3  so  an  old  saint  is  able  to  tell  you 
many  divine  stories  even  to  admiration. 

Pliny  writes  of  the  crocodile,  that  she  grows  to  her  last  day,  Hosea 
xiv.  5-7.4  So  aged  saints,  they  grow  rich  in  spiritual  experiences  to  the 
last.     An  old   Christian   being  once  asked   if  he  grew  in  goodness, 

1  Heb.  v.  11-14.  Yet  as  Solon  was  not  ashamed  to  say  that  in  his  old  age  he  was  a 
learner,  so  those  that  are  the  greatest  artists  in  Christianity  will  confess,  that  they  are 
still  but  learners.     [Plutarch's  Solon. — Q-.] 

2  Old  men  love  to  speak  of  ancient  things.  3  '  Wonder.' — G. 

4  The  following  are  references  in  Pliny  to  the  crocodile  :  lib.  viii.  c.  37,  38,  40,  72  ; 
xxviii.  29.     Probably  Brooks's  is  a  vague  recollection  of  the  first. — G. 
VOL.  I.  N 


194-  APPLES  OF  GOLD.  [1  KlNGS  XIV.  13. 

answered,  Yea,  doubtless  I  do;  for  God  hath  said,  'The  righteous  shall 
flourish  like  the  palm  tree,'  Ps.  xcii.  12-14,  (now  the  palm  tree  never 
loseth  his  leaf  or  fruit,  saith  Pliny) ;  '  he  shall  grow  like  a  cedar  in  Leba- 
non. Those  that  be  planted  in  the  house  of  the  Lord  shall  flourish  in 
the  courts  of  our  God.  They  shall  still  bring  forth  fruit  in  old  age;  they 
shall  be  Lit  and  flourishing.'  A  fellow  to  this  promise  Isaiah  mentions, 
Isa.  xlvi.  3,  4,  '  Hearken  unto  me,  O  house  of  Jacob,  and  all  the  rem- 
nant of  the  house  of  Israel,  which  are  borne  by  me  from  the  belly,  which 
are  carried  from  the  womb  :  and  even  to  your  old  age  I  am  he  ;  and 
even  to  hoary  hairs  will  I  carry  you  :  I  have  made,  and  I  will  bear ; 
even  I  will  carry,  and  will  deliver  you.' 

There  is  nothing  more  commendable  in  fulness  of  age  than  fulness 
of  knowledge  and  experience,  nor  nothing  more  honourable  than  to  see 
ancient  Christians  very  much  acquainted  with  the  Ancient  of  days,  Dan. 
vii.  9,  13-22. 

It  is  a  brave  sight  to  see  ancient  Christians  like  the  almond  tree. 
Now  the  almond  tree  doth  flourish  and  is  full  of  blossoms  in  the  winter 
of  old  age ;  for  as  Pliny  tells  us,  the  almond  tree  doth  blossom  in  the 
month  of  January.  Experiments1  in  religion  are  beyond  notions  and 
impressions.  A  sanctified  heart  is  better  than  a  silver  tongue.  No 
man  so  rich,  so  honourable,  so  happy  as  the  old  disciple,  that  is  rich  in 
spiritual  experiences ;  and  yet  there  is  no  Christian  so  rich  in  his  ex- 
periences but  he  would  be  richer. 

As  Julianus  said,  that  when  he  had  one  foot  in  the  grave,  he  would 
have  the  other  in  the  school ;  so,  though  an  old  disciple  hath  one  foot 
in  the  grave,  yet  he  will  have  the  other  in  Christ's  school,  that  he  may 
still  be  treasuring  up  more  and  more  divine  experiments.  And  by  this 
also  you  see  what  an  honour  it  is  to  be  an  old  disciple,  &c. 

Particular  5.  An  old  disciple  is  very  stout,  cob vrageous,  Ji)vm,,  and 
fixed  in  his  resolution.  An  old  Christian  is  like  a  pillar,  a  rock  ;  no- 
thing can  move  him,  nothing  can  shake  him,  Ps.  xliv.  9,  26.  What  is 
sucked  in  in  youth  will  abide  in  old  age.  Old  soldiers  are  stout  and 
courageous  ;  nothing  can  daunt  nor  discourage  them.  When  Joshua 
was  an  hundred  and  ten  years  old,  oh  how  courageous  and  resolute  was 
he  !  Joshua  xxiv.  1 5,  29,  '  And  if  it  seem  evil  unto  you  to  serve  the  Lord, 
choose  you  this  day  whom  you  will  serve  :  whether  the  gods  that  your 
fathers  served,  that  were  on  the  other  side  of  the  flood  ;  or  the  gods  of 
the  Amorites,  in  whose  land  ye  dwell ;  but  as  for  me  and  my  house,  we 
will  serve  the  Lord.  And  it  came  to  pass,  after  these  things,  that  Joshua 
the  son  of  Nun,  the  servant  of  the  Lord,  died,  being  an  hundred  and  ten 
years  old.' 

[Q.]  Considius,  a  senator  of  Rome,  told  Caesar  boldly  that  the  sena- 
tors durst  not  come  to  council  for  fear  of  his  soldiers.  He  replied,  Why 
then  dost  thou  go  to  the  senate  ?  He  answered,  Because  my  age  takes 
away  my  fear.2 

Ah  !  none  so  courageous,  none  so  divinely  fearless,  none  so  careless  in 
evil  days,  as  ancient  Christians.  An  old  Christian  knoAvs  that  that  good 
will  do  him  no  good  which  is  not  made  good  by  perseverance  ;  his 
resolution  is  like  that  of  Gonsalvo,  who  protested  to  his  soldiers,  shew- 
ing them  Naples,  that  he  had  rather  die  one  foot  forwards,  than  to  have 
1  'Experiences.'— G.  '  I'lutarch,  Ccesar,  14  ;  Cicero,  ad  A «.,  ii.  24.— G. 


1  Kings  XIV.  13.]  apples  of  gold.  195 

his  life  secured  for  long  by  one  foot  of  retreat.  Shall  such  a  man  as  I 
am  flee?  said  undaunted  Nehemiah,  chap.  vi.  11.  He  will  courageously 
venture  life  and  limb  rather  than  by  one  foot  of  retreat  discredit  pro- 
fession with  the  reproach  of  fearfulness.  It  was  a  brave,  magnanimous 
speech  of  Luther,  when  dangers  from  opposers  did  threaten  him  and  his 
associates,  Come,  saith  he,  let  us  sing  the  forty-sixth  psalm,  and  then 
let  them  do  their  worst. 

When  Polycarpus  was  fourscore  and  six  years  old,  he  suffered  martyr- 
dom courageously,  resolutely,  and  undauntedly.1 

When  one  of  the  ancient  martyrs  was  very  much  threatened  by  his 
persecutors,  he  replied,  There  is  nothing  of  things  visible,  nothing  of 
things  invisible,  that  I  fear.  I  will  stand  to  my  profession  of  the  name 
of  Christ,  and  '  contend  earnestly  for  the  faith  once  delivered  to  the 
saints/  Jude  3,  come  on  it  what  will.2 

Old  disciples,  old  soldiers  of  Christ,  that  have  the  heart  and  courage 
of  Shammah,  one  of  David's  worthies,  who  stood  and  defended  the  field 
when  all  the  rest  fled,  2  Sam.  xxiii.  11,  12.  The  Hebrews  call  a  young 
man  Nagnar,  which  springs  from  a  root  that  signifies  to  shake  off,  or  to 
be  tossed  to  and  fro,  to  note  how  fickle  and  how  constant  in  inconstancy 
young  men  are,  Mat.  xix.  20-22.  They  usually  are  persons  either  of 
no  resolution  for  good,  or  of  weak  resolution ;  they  are  too  often  won 
with  a  nut,  and  lost  with  an  apple.  But  now,  aged  Christians  in  all 
earthquakes  they  stand  fast,  '  like  mount  Sion,  that  cannot  be  removed/ 
And  by  this  also  you  may  see  what  an  honour  it  is  to  be  an  old  disciple, 
an  old  Christian. 

Particular  6.  An  old  disciple,  an  old  Christian,  is  prepared  for  death ; 
he  hath  been  long  a-dying  to  sin,  to  the  world,  to  friends,  to  self,  to  re- 
lations, to  all,  and  no  man  so  prepared  to  die  as  he  that  thus  daily 
dies.s 

An  old  disciple  hath  lived  sincerely  to  Christ,  he  hath  lived  eminently 
to  Christ,  he  hath  lived  in  all  conditions,4  and  under  all  changes,  to 
Christ ;  he  hath  lived  exemplarily  to  Christ,  he  hath  lived  long  to  Christ, 
and  therefore  the  more  prepared  to  die  and  be  with  Christ.  An  old 
disciple  hath  a  crown  in  his  eye,  a  pardon  in  his  bosom,  and  a  Christ  in 
his  arms,  and  therefore  may  sweetly  sing  it  out  with  old  Simeon, '  Lord, 
now  let  thy  servant  depart  in  peace,'  Luke  ii.  29.  As  Hilary  said  to  his 
soul,  Soul,  thou  hast  served  Christ  this  seventy  years,  and  art  thou  afraid 
of  death?     Go  out,  soul,  go  out.5 

'  Many  a  day,'  said  old  Cowper,  '  have  I  sought  death  with  tears,  not 
out  of  impatience,  distrust,  or  perturbation,  but  because  I  am  weary  of 
sin,  and  fearful  to  fall  into  it.'  Nazianzen  calls  upon  the  king  of  terrors, 
Devour  me,  devour  me.  And  Austin,  when  old,  could  say,  Shall  I  die 
ever  ?  yes,  or  shall  I  die  at  all  %  yes.  Why,  then,  Lord,  if  ever,  why  not 
now  ?6  So  when  Modestus,  the  emperor's  lieutenant,  threatened  to  kill 
Basil,  he  answered,  If  that  be  all,  I  fear  not ;  yea,  your  master  cannot 

1  As  before. — G. 

2  Aristotle,  though  heathen,  could  say  that  in  some  cases  a  man  had  better  lose  his  life 
than  be  cowardly. — Arist.,  Ethic.  3,  cap.  1. 

3  Rom.  vi.  6,  Gal.  v.  24,  vi.  14.  4  Rom.  xiv.  7,  8  ;  Philip,  ii.  21-23. 

5  The  correspondent  of  Augustine — G. 

6  Zeno,  a  wise  heathen,  said,  I  have  no  fear  but  of  old  age.  Cyprian  could  receive  the 
cruellest  sentence  of  death  with  a  Deo  gratias,  God,  I  thank  thee. 


19G  APPLES  OF  GOLD.  [1  KlNGS  XIV.  13. 

more  pleasure  mc  than  in  sending  me  nnto  my  heavenly  Father,  to 
whom  I  dow  live,  and  to  whom  I  desire  to  hasten. 

I  cannot  Bay  as  he,  said  old  Mr  Stephen  Martial1  a  little  before  bis 
death.  I  have  not  so  lived  that  I  should  now2  he  afraid  to  die  ;  but  this 
1  can  say,  I  have  so  learned  Christ  that  I  am  not  afraid  to  die.  Old 
Christians  have  made  no  more  to  die  than  to  dine.  It  is  nothing  to  die 
when  the  Comforter  stands  by,  Isa.  lvii.  1,  2.  Old  disciples  know  that 
to  die  is  but  to  lie  down  in  their  beds  ;  they  know  that  their  dying  day 
is  hotter  than  their  birthday;  and  this  made  Solomon  to  prefer  his 
coffin  before  his  crown,  the  day  of  his  dissolution  before  the  day  of  his 
coronation,  Eccles.  vii.  1. 

The  ancients  were  wont  to  call  the  days  of  their  death  Natalia,  not 
dying  days,  hut  birthdays. 

The  Jews  to  this  day  stick  not  to  call  their  Golgothas  Bat/e  Gaiim, 
the  houses  or  places  of  the  living.  Old  Christians  know  that  death  is 
but  an  entrance  into  life  ;  it  is  but  a  passover,  a  jubilee  ;  it  is  but  the 
Lord's  gentleman-usher  to  conduct  them  to  heaven  ;  and  this  prepare! 
them  to  die,  and  makes  death  more  desirable  than  life  ;  and  by  this  you 
may  see  that  it  is  an  honour  to  be  an  old  disciple. 

Particular  7.  An  old  disciple,  an  old  Christian,  shall  lci.ee  a  great 
reward  in  heaven. 

Old  Christians  have  done  much  and  suffered  much  for  Christ  ;  and 
the  more  any  man  doth  or  suffers  for  Christ  here,  the  more  glory  he 
shall  have  hereafter.3  It  was  the  saying  of  an  old  disciple  upon  his 
dying  bed,  '  He  is  come,  he  is  come' — meaning  the  Lord — '  with  a  great 
reward  for  a  little  work/  Agrippa  having  suffered  imprisonment  for 
wishing  Caius  emperor,  the  first  thing  Caius  did  when  he  came  to  the 
empire,  was  to  prefer  Agrippa  to  a  kingdom  ;  he  gave  him  also  a  chain 
of  gold,  as  heavy  as  the  chain  of  iron  that  was  upon  him  in  prison.  And 
will  not  Christ  richly  reward  all  his  suffering  saints  ?  Surely  he  will. 
Christ  will  at  last  pay  a  Christian  for  every  prayer  he  hath  made,  for 
every  sermon  he  hath  heard,  for  every  tear  he  hath  shed,  for  every 
morsel  he  hath  given,  for  every  burden  he  hath  borne,  for  every  battle 
he  hath  fought,  for  every  enemy  he  hath  slain,  and  for  every  tempta- 
tation  that  he  hath  overcome. 

Cyrus,  in  a  great  expedition  against  his  enemies,  the  better  to  en- 
courage his  soldiers  to  fight,  in  an  oration  that  he  made  at  the  head  of 
his  army,  promised  upon  the  victory,  to  make  every  foot-soldier  an 
horseman,  and  every  horseman  a  commander,  and  that  no  officer  that 
did  valiantly  should  be  unrewarded  ;  but  what  are  Cyrus  his  rewards  to 
the  rewards  that  Christ  our  general  promises  to  his?4  Rev.  iii.  21,  'To 
him  that  overcometh,  will  I  grant  to  sit  with  me  in  my  throne,  even  as 
I  also  overcame,  and  am  set  down  with  my  Father  in  his  throne.'  As 
there  is  no  lord  to  Christ,  so  there  is  no  rewards  to  Christ's.  His  re- 
wards are  the  greatest  rewards.  He  gives  kingdoms,  crowns,  thrones  ; 
he  gives  grace  and  glory,  Ps.  xlviii.  11. 

1  Misprint  undoubtedly  for  '  Mars] Kill,'  not  at  all  uncommon.     Marshall  was  one 
holiest,  as  lie  was  ono  of  t ho  most  veneraMo  and  revered,  of  the  Westminster  Assembly  "t 
Divines.     His  life  was  published  in  1680,  4to.— G.  2  Qu.  '  not '  ?— Ki>. 

3  1  Cor.  xv.  58;  2  Cor.  ix.  G;  Mat.  v.  10-12.  God  will  reward  liis  servants  seevndum 
faborem,  according  to  their  labour,  though  not  secundum proventum,  according  I"  the  suc- 
cess of  their  labour.  4  Mat.  xix.  28  ;  Luke  zzii.  80 ;  Mat.  v.  12. 


1  Kings  XIV.  13.]  apples  of  gold.  197 

It  is  said  of  Araunah,  that  noble  Jebusite,  renowned  for  his  bounty, 
that  he  had  but  a  subject's  purse,  but  a  king's  heart ;  but  Jesus  Christ 
hath  a  king's  purse  as  well  as  a  king's  heart,  and  accordingly  he  gives. 
'  And  as  Christ's  rewards  are  the  greatest  rewards,  so  his  rewards 
are  the  surest  rewards :  '  He  is  faithful  that  hath  promised/  1  Thes. 
v.  241 

Antiochus  promised  often  but  seldom  gave,  upon  which  he  was  called, 
in  way  of  derision,  a  great  promiser  ;  but  Jesus  Christ  never  made  any 
promise,  but  he  hath  or  will  perform  it,  2  Cor.  i.  20,  nay,  he  is  often 
better  than  his  word,  1  Cor.  ii.  9,  he  gives  many  times  more  than  we 
ask.  The  sick  man  of  the  palsy  asked  but  health,  and  Christ  gave  him 
health  and  a  pardon  to  boot,  Mat.  ix.  2.  Solomon  desired  but  wisdom, 
and  the  Lord  gave  him  wisdom,  and  honour,  and  riches,  and  the  favour 
of  creatures,  as  paper  and  pack-thread  into  the  bargain,  2  Chron.  i. 
10-15.  Jacob  asked  him  but  clothes  to  wear,  and  bread  to  eat,  and 
the  Lord  gave  him  these  things,  and  riches,  and  other  mercies  into  the 
bargain.2 

Christ  doth  not  measure  his  gifts  by  our  petitions,  but  by  his  own 
riches  and  mercies.  Gracious  souls  many  times  receive  many  gifts  and 
favours  from  God  that  they  never  dreamt  of,  nor  durst  presume  to  beg, 
which  others  extremely  strive  after  and  go  without. 

Archelaus  being  much  importuned  by  a  covetous  courtier  for  a  cup 
of  gold  wherein  he  drank,  gave  it  unto  Euripides  that  stood  by,  saying, 
Thou  art  worthy  to  ask,  and  be  denied,  but  Euripides  is  worthy  of  gifts, 
although  he  ask  not. 

The  prodigal  craves  no  more  but  the  place  of  a  hired  servant,  but  he 
is  entertained  as  a  son,  he  is  clad  with  the  best  robe,  and  fed  with  the 
fatted  calf,  he  hath  a  ring  for  his  hand,  and  shoes  for  his  feet,  rich  sup- 
plies more  than  he  deserved,  Luke  xv.  19-25.  Jacob's  sons,  in  a  time 
of  famine,  desired  only  corn,  and  they  return  with  corn  and  money  in 
their  sacks,  and  with  good  news  too — Joseph  is  alive,  and  governor  of 
all  Egypt,  Gen.  xlii. 

And  as  his  rewards  are  greater  and  surer  than  other  rewards,  so  they 
are  more  durable  and  lasting  than  other  rewards.  The  kingdom  that 
he  gives  is  a  kingdom  that  shakes  not ;  the  treasures  that  he  gives  are 
treasures  that  corrupt  not ;  and  the  glory  that  he  gives  is  glory  that 
fadeth  not  away ;  but  the  rewards  that  men  give  are  like  themselves, 
fickle  and  unconstant,  they  are  withering  and  fading.3 

Xerxes  crowned  his  steersman  in  the  morning,  and  beheaded  him  in 
the  evening  of  the  same  day. 

And  Andronicus,  the  Greek  emperor,  crowned  his  admiral  in  the 
morning,  and  then  took  off  his  head  in  the  afternoon. 

Rossensis4  had  a  cardinal's  hat  sent  him,  but  his  head  was  cut  off 
before  it  came  to  him.  Most  may  say  of  their  crowns  as  that  king  said 
of  his,  O  crown  !  more  noble  than  happy.  It  was  a  just  complaint 
which  long  ago  was  made  against  the  heathen  gods,  0  faciles  dare 
summa  deos,  eademque  tuerl  diffi,ciles,  they  could  give  their  favourites 
great  gifts,  but  they  could  not  maintain  them  in  the  possession  of  them. 

1  As  the  King  in  Plutarch  said  of  a  groat,  it  is  no  kingly  gift,  and  of  a  talent,  it  is  no 
base  bribe.  2  Gen.  xxviii.  20  compared  with  Gen.  xxxii.  10. 

3  Heh.  xii.  28  ;  Mat.  vi.  19,  20  ;  1  Peter  i.  4.  4  Qu.  '  Roffensis  '  ?— Ed. 


198  APPLES  OF  GOLD.  [1  KlXGS  XIV.  13. 

The  world  may  give  you  great  things,  but  the  world  cannot  maintain 
you  in  the  possession  of  them  ;  but  the  great  things,  the  great  rewards 
that  Christ  gives  his,  he  will  for  ever  maintain  them  in  the  possession 
of  them,  otherwise  heaven  would  not  be  heaven,  glory  would  not  bo 
glory.  Now  by  all  these  things  you  see  that  it  is  a  very  great  honour 
to  be  an  old  disciple,  an  old  Christian  ;  and  this  honour  you  will  never 
attain  to,  except  you  begin  to  be  really  good  betimes,  except  in  the 
morning  of  your  youth  you  return  to  the  Lord,  and  get  an  interest  in 
him. 

1  shall  now  come  to  make  some  use  and  application  of  this  weighty 
truth  to  ourselves. 

You  see,  beloved,  that  it  is  the  great  duty  and  concernment  of  young 
men  to  be  really  good  betimes.     If  this  be  so,  then, 

Use  1.  First,  This  truth  looks  sourly  and  sadly  upon  such  young 
'imii  thai  arc  only  seemingly  good,  Had  make  some  shows  of  goodness, 
li/if  are  not  right  toivards  God  at  the  root. 

As  Joash,  when  he  was  young,  he  seemed  to  have  good  things  in  him 
towards  the  Lord,  whilst  good  Jehoiada  lived;  but  when  Jehoiada  was 
dead,  Joash  his  goodness  was  buried  with  him,  2  Chron.  xxiv.  1-6, 
13-16. 

Ah  !  how  many  in  these  days,  that  have  been  seemingly  good,  have 
turned  to  be  naught,  very  naught,  yea,  stark  naught ! 

It  is  said  of  Tiberius,  that  whilst  Augustus  ruled,  he  was  no  ways 
tainted  in  his  reputation  ;  and  that,  whilst  Drusus  and  Germauicus 
were  alive,  he  feigned  those  virtues  which  he  had  not,  to  maintain  a 
good  opinion  of  himself  in  the  hearts  of  the  people  ;  but  after  he  had 
got  himself  out  of  the  reach  of  contradiction  and  controlment,  there 
was  no  fact  in  which  he  was  not  faulty,  no  crime  to  which  he  was  not 
accessory.1 

Oh  !  that  this  were  not  applicable  to  many  young  persons  in  these 
days,  who  have  made  great  shows  and  taken  upon  them  a  great  name, 
who  have  begun  to  outshine  the  stars,  but  are  now  gone  out  like  so 
many  snuffs,  to  the  dishonour  of  God,  the  reproach  of  the  gospel,  the 
grief  of  others,  and  the  hazard  of  their  own  souls. 

It  was  a  custom  of  old,  when  any  was  baptized,  the  minister  delivered 
a  white  garment  to  be  put  on,  saying,  Take  thou  this  white  vestment, 
and  see  thou  bring  it  forth  without  spot  at  the  judgment-seat  of  Jesus 
Christ ;  whereupon  one  Maritta  baptizing  one  Elpidophorus,  who, 
when  he  was  grown  up,  proved  a  profane  wretch,  he  brings  forth  the 
white  garment,  and  holding  it  up,  shakes  it  against  him,  saying,  This 
linen  garment,  Elpidophorus,  shall  accuse  thee  at  the  coming  of  Christ, 
which  I  have  kept  by  me  as  a  witness  of  thy  apostasy.2 

Ah  !  young  men  and  women,  your  former  professions  will  be  a  sad 
witness  against  you  in  the  great  day  of  our  Lord  Jesus,  except  you 
repent  and  return  in  good  earnest  to  the  Lord,  Pro  v.  xiv.  14. 

Oh  !  it  had  been  better  that  you  had  never  made  profession,  that  you 

1  Nero's  first  live  yi-urs  are  famous,  but  afterwards  who  more  cruel?  There  are  some 
that  write  that,  after  Demas  had  forsaken  Paul,  he  became  a  priest  in  an  idol-temple. 
[The  one  authority  for  such  apostasy  is  an  over-pressing  of  the  following  in  Epiphaaioa  : 

....  Ka/  Ay/tat,  xeti  'Eofioyivnv,  ml;  ayxirriravras  to\  \vrav6a  alava,  xai  xaraXs/^avra;  rut 
iii*  tvs  aXritiiaf. — llaeres.  xli.  ti. — G.] 

2  Crabs  that  go  backwards  are  reckoned  among  the  unclean  creatures,  Lev.  xi.  10. 


1  Kings  XIV.  13.]  apples  of  gold.  199 

had  never  set  your  faces  towards  heaven,  that  you  had  never  pretended 
to  God  and  Christ,  that  you  had  never  known  the  way  of  righteousness, 
than,  after  you  have  known  it,  to  turn  from  the  holy  commandment. 

Cyprian,  in  his  sermon  de  lapsis,  reporteth  of  divers  who,  forsaking 
the  faith,  were  given  over  to  evil  spirits  and  died  fearfully. 

Oh  !  the  delusions  and  the  Christ-dethroning,  conscience-wasting,  and 
soul-undoing  opinions  and  principles  that  many  young  ones,  who  once 
were  hopeful  ones,  are  given  up  to  !  That  dreadful  scripture  seems  to 
be  made  good  in  power  upon  them  :  '  All  you  that  forsake  the  Lord 
shall  come  to  be  ashamed,  and  they  that  depart  from  him  shall  be 
written  upon  the  dust/  Jer.  xvii.  13.  To  begin  well  and  not  to  proceed, 
is  but  to  aspire  to  a  higher  pitch,  that  the  fall  may  be  the  more  despe- 
rate. Backsliding  is  a  wounding  sin,  Hos.  iv.  14.  You  read  of  no  arms 
for  the  back,  though  you  do  for  the  breast,  Eph.  vi.  11-18.  He  that  is 
but  seemingly  good  will  prove  at  last  exceeding  bad :  2  Tim.  iii.  13, 
'  They  wax  worse  and  worse,  deceiving,  and  being  deceived.' 

The  wolf,  though  he  often  dissembles  and  closely  hides  his  nature, 
yet  he  will  one  time  or  other  shew  himself  to  be  a  wolf. 

In  the  days  of  Hadrian  the  emperor,  there  was  one  Ben-cosbi,  who, 
gathering  a  multitude  of  Jews  together,  called  himself  Ben-cocuba,  the 
son  of  a  star,  applying  that  prophecy  to  himself,  Num.  xxiii.  17;  but  his 
mask  was  taken  off,  his  hypocrisy  discovered,  and  he  found  to  be  Bar- 
chosaba,  the  son  of  a  lie.1 2  This  age  hath  afforded  many  such  monsters, 
but  their  folly  is  discovered,  and  their  practices  abhorred.  This  was 
the  young  man's  commendation  in  the  text,  '  That  there  was  found  in 
him  some  real  good  towards  the  Lord.' 

Use  2.  This  truth  looks  sourly  and  sadly  upon  such  young  men  who 
are  so  far  from  having  good  things  in  them  towards  the  Lord,  that  they 
give  themselves  up  to  those  youthful  lusts  and  vanities  that  are  dis- 
honouring, provoking,  and  displeasing  to  the  Lord,  who  roar  and 
revel,  and  gad*  and  game,  and  dice, and  drink,  and  drab* and  u'hat 
not.  These  make  work  with  a  witness  for  repentance,  or  hell,  or  the 
physician  of  souls. 

I  shall  but  touch  upon  the  evils  of  youth,  and  then  come  to  that 
which  is  mostly  intended. 


CHAPTER   III. 

The  first  evil  that  most  properly  attends  youth  is  pride. 

Evil  1.  Pride  of  heart,  pride  of  apparel,  pride  of  parts,  1  Tim.  iii.  6. 
Young  men  are  apt  to  be  proud  of  health,  strength,  friends,  relations, 
wit,  wealth,  wisdom.  Two  things  are  very  rare  :  the  one  is,  to  see  a 
young  man  humble  and  watchful ;  and  the  other  is,  to  see  an  old  man 
contented  and  cheerful. 

Bernard  saith,  that  pride  is  the  rich  man's  cozen,  and  experience 
every  day  speaks  out  pride  to  be  the  }roung  man's  cozen.5     God,  said 

1  For  vivid  account  of  the  different  '  False  Christs,'  see  Hepworth  Dixon's  '  Holy  Land.' 
2  vols.  8vo.     1865. — G.  2  Comets  make  a  greater  blaze  than  fixed  stars. 

3  '  To  go  about  giddily.'— G.  *  Are  '  licentious.'— G.  5  '  Cheat.' — G. 


200  APPLES  OF  GOLD.  [1  KlNGS  XIV.  13. 

one,  had  three  sons,  Lucifer,  Adam,  and  Christ  ;  the  first  aspired  to  be 
like  God  in  power,  and  was  therefore  thrown  down  from  heaven  ;  the 
second  to  be  like  him  in  knowledge,  and  was  therefore  deservedly 
driven  out  of  Eden  when  young  ;  the  third  did  altogether  imitate  and 
follow  Him  in  his  goodness,  mercy,  and  humility,  and  by  so  doing 
obtained  everlasting  inheritance.1 

Remember  this,  young  men,  and  as  you  would  get  a  paradise,  and 
keep  a  paradise,  get  humble,  and  keep  humble.  Pride  is  an  evil  that 
puts  men  upon  all  manner  of  evil.  Accius  the  poet,  though  he  were  a 
dwarf,  yet  would  be  pictured  tall  of  stature.2 

Psaphon,  a  proud  Lybian,  would  needs  be  a  god,  and  having  caught 
some  birds,  he  taught  them  to  speak  and  prattle  :  the  great  god 
Psaphon.8 

Menecrates,  a  proud  physician,  wrote  thus  to  king  Philip:  Menecrates 
a  god,  to  Philip  a  king.' 

Proud  Simon  in  Lucian,  having  got  a  little  wealth,  changed  his 
name  from  Simon  to  Simonides,  for  that  there  were  so  many  beggars 
of  his  kin  ;  and  set  the  house  on  hre  wherein  he  was  born,  because  no- 
body should  point  at  it.5 

What  sad  evils  Pharaoh's  pride,  and  Haman's  pride,  and  Herod's 
pride,  and  Belshazzar's  pride,  put  them  upon,  I  shall  not  now  mention.6 

Ah  !  young  men,  young  men,  had  others  a  window  to  look  into  your 
breasts,  or  did  your  hearts  stand  where  your  faces  do,  you  would  even 
be  afraid  of  yourselves,  you  would  loathe  and  abhor  yourselves. 

Ah  !  young  men,  young  men,  as  you  would  have  God  to  keep  house 
with  you,  as  you  would  have  his  mind  and  secrets  made  known  to  }*ou, 
as  you  would  have  Christ  to  delight  in  you,  and  the  Spirit  to  dwell  in 
you,  as  you  would  be  honoured  among  saints,  and  attended  and  guarded 
by  angels,  get  humble,  and  keep  humble. 

Tertullian's  counsel  to  the  young  gallants  of  those  times  was  excel- 
lent :  '  Clothe  yourselves/  said  he,  'with  the  silk  of  piety,  with  the  satin 
of  sanctity,  and  with  the  purple  of  modesty ;  so  shall  you  have  God 
himself  to  be  your  suitor.'7 

Evil  2.  The  second  evil  that  youth  is  subject  to  is,  sensual  'pleasures 
and  delights.8  'Rejoice,  0  young  man,  in  thy  youth,  and  let  thy  heart 
cheer  thee  in  the  days  of  thy  youth,  and  walk  in  the  ways  of  thy  heart, 
and  in  the  sight  of  thine  eyes,'  Eccles.  xi.  9.  The  wise  man,  by  an 
ironical  concession,  bids  him  rejoice,  &c,  sin,  &c.  Thou  art  wilful,  and 
resolved  upon  taking  thy  pleasure ;  go  on,  take  thy  course.  This  la- 
speaks  by  way  of  mockage  and  bitter  scoff,  &c. ;  but  know  thou,  that 
for  all  these  things  God  will  bring  thee  into  judgment.  So  Samson 
'  made  a  feast  ;  for  so  used  the  young  men  to  do,'  Judges  xiv.  10.  The 
hearts  of  young  men  usually  are  much  given  up  to  pleasure.  I  have 
read  of  a  young  man,  who  was  very  much  given  up  to  pleasures ;  he 

1  Pride  cannot  climb  so  high,  but  justice  will  sit  above. 

2  Mentioned  by  Cicero.     Brutus,  28— G.  8  Qu.  '  Psaon'?— G. 

4  'Die  letter  to  Philip  beginning,  Miiu^m,-  Ztus  "f/X/Vtrw,  xa'il,v>  received  tins  answer  , 
•ki'AtrToi  UiviK^aru  iiyiaimv.  Of.  AthenSBUB,  Yii.  p.  289;  Aelian,  Piar.  Hist.,  xii.  61,  and 
Buidas,  s  v.  Mivtxgccrns. — G.  6  Cf.  Suidas,  sub  nomine. — G. 

0  Acco,  an  old  woman,  seeing  ber  deformity  in  a  glass,  went  mad.  fltc.  [Qn.  '  Acca 
Lanrentia'? — G.]  "  Tertnllian  de  Cnlt.  feem,  cap.  18. 

*  2  Sam-  xiii.  23-29.     Oloth  Vi\ia.a  KaxZ\>.  Pleasure  is  tbe  bait  of  sin,  saitb  Plato. 


1  Kings  XIV.  13.]  apples  of  gold.  201 

standing  by  St  Ambrose,  and  seeing  his  excellent  death,  turned  to 
other  young  men  by  him,  and  said,  '  Oh,  that  I  might  live  with  you,  and 
die  with  him.' 

Sensual  pleasures  are  like  to  those  locusts,  Rev.  ix.  7,  the  crowns 
upon  whose  heads  are  said  to  be  only  as  it  were  such,  or  such  in  ap- 
pearance, and  like  gold  ;  but  verse  10,  it  is  said  there  were — not  as  it 
were,  but — stings  in  their  tails. 

Sensual  pleasures  are  but  seeming  and  appearing  pleasures,1  but  the 
pains  that  attend  them  are  true  and  real.  He  that  delights  in  sensual 
pleasures,  shall  find  his  greatest  pleasures  become  his  bitterest  pains. 

The  heathens  looked  upon  the  back  parts  of  pleasure,  and  saw  it 
going  away  from  them,  and  leaving  a  sting  behind. 

Pleasures  pass  away  as  soon  as  they  have  wearied  out  the  body,  and 
leave  it  as  a  bunch  of  grapes  whose  juice  has  been  pressed  out  ;  which 
made  one  to  say,  Nulla  major  volwptas,  quam  volwptatis  fastidium, 
1  see  no  greater  pleasure  in  this  world  than  the  contempt  of  pleasure. 

Julian,  though  an  apostate,  yet  professed  that  the  pleasures  of  the 
body  were  far  below  a  great  spirit ;  and  Tully  saith,  he  is  not  worthy 
of  the  name  of  man,  qui  unum  diem  velit  esse  in  voluptate,  that  would 
entirely  spend  one  whole  day  in  pleasures.  It  is  better  not  to  desire 
pleasures,  than  to  enjoy  them.  '  I  said  of  laughter,  it  is  mad  ;  and  of 
mirth,  What  dost  thou  ?'  Eccles.  ii.  2.  The  interrogation  bids  a  challenge 
to  all  the  masters  of  mirth,  to  produce  any  one  satisfactory  fruit  which 
it  affordeth,  if  they  could. 

Xerxes,  being  weary  of  all  pleasures,  promised  rewards  to  the  inventors 
of  new  pleasures,  which  being  invented,  he  nevertheless  remained  un- 
satisfied. As  a  bee  flieth  from  flower  to  flower  and  is  not  satisfied, 
and  as  a  sick  man  removes  from  one  bed  to  another,  from  one  seat  to 
another,  from  one  chamber  to  another  for  ease,  and  finds  none  ;  so  men 
given  up  to  sensual  pleasures  go  from  one  pleasure  to  another,  but  can 
find  no  content,  no  satisfaction  in  their  pleasures  :  '  The  eye  is  not 
satisfied  with  seeing,  nor  the  ear  filled  with  hearing,'  Eccles.  i.  8.  There 
is  a  curse  of  unsatisfiableness  lies  upon  the  creature.  Honours  cannot 
satisfy  the  ambitious  man,  nor  riches  the  covetous  man,  nor  pleasures 
the  voluptuous  man.  Man  cannot  take  off  the  weariness  of  one  plea- 
sure by  another,  for  after  a  few  evaporated  minutes  are  spent  in  plea- 
sures, the  body  presently  fails  the  mind,  and  the  mind  the  desire,  and 
the  desire  the  satisfaction,  and  all  the  man. 

Pleasures  are  Junos  in  the  pursuit,  and  but  clouds  in  the  enjoyment. 
Pleasure  is  a  beautiful  harlot  sitting  in  her  chariot,  whose  four  wheels 
are  pride,  gluttony,  lust,  and  idleness.  The  two  horses  are  prosperity 
and  abundance,  the  two  drivers  are  idleness  and  security,  her  attendants 
and  followers  are  guilt,  grief,  late  repentance,  if  any,  and  oft  death 
and  ruin.  Many  great  men,  and  many  strong  men,  and  many  rich  men, 
and  many  hopeful  men,  and  many  young  men,  have  come  to  their  ends 
by  her  ;  but  never  any  enjoyed  full  satisfaction  and  content  in  her.2 

Ah!  young  men,  young  men,  avoid  this  harlot,  and  come  not  near 
the  door  of  her  house.     And  as  for  lawful  pleasures,  let  me  only  say  this, 

1  They  were  much  out  that  held  pleasure  to  be  man's  sitmmum  Ionian. 

2  Becanus  saith,  that  the  fruit  of  the  tree  of  knowledge  is  sweet,  but  in  the  end  it 
breeds  ckoler ;  so  do  worldly  pleasures. 


202  APPLES  OF  GOLD.  [1   KlNGS  XIV.  13. 

it  is  your  wisdom  only  to  touch  them,  to  taste  them,  and  to  use  them,  as 
Mithridatea  used  poison,  to  fortify  yourselves  against  casual  extremities 
and  maladies.  When  Mr  Roger  Ascham  asked  the  Lady  Jane  Grey 
how  she  could  lose  such  pastime,  her  father  with  the  duchess  being 
a-hunting  in  the  park,  smilingly  answered,  All  the  sport  in  the  park 
is  but  a  shadow  of  that  pleasure  I  find  in  this  book, — having  a  good  book 
in  her  hand.1 

Augustine,  before  his  conversion,  could  not  tell  how  to  live  without 
those  pleasures  which  he  delighted  much  in,  but  when  his  nature  was 
changed,  and  his  heart  graciously  turned  to  the  Lord,  Oh  !  how  sweet, 
saith  he,  is  it  to  be  without  those  sweet  delights. 

Ah!  young  men,  when  once  you  come  to  experience  the  goodness  and 
sweetness  that  is  in  the  Lord,  and  in  his  word  and  ways,  you  will  then 
sit  down  and  grieve  that  you  have  spent  more  wine  in  the  cup  than  oil 
in  the  lamp. 

There  are  no  pleasures  so  delighting,  so  satisfying,  so  ravishing,  so 
engaging,  and  so  abiding  as  those  that  spring  from  union  and  com- 
munion with  God,  as  those  that  flow  from  a  sense  of  interest  in  God, 
and  from  an  humble  and  holy  walking  with  God. 

Evil  3.  The  third  sin  of  youth  is  rashness. 

They  many  times  know  little  and  fear  less,  and  so  are  apt  rashly  to 
run  on,  and  run  out  often  to  their  hurt,  but  more  often  to  their  hazard.2 
'  Exhort  young  men  to  be  sober-minded  or  discreet,'  Titus  ii.  6.  They 
are  apt  to  be  rash,  to  be  Hotspurs.  As  you  may  see  in  Rehoboam's 
young  counsellors,  who  counselled  him  to  tell  the  people,  1  Kings  xii. 
8-11,  that  groaned  under  their  burdens,  that  'his  little  finger  should 
be  thicker  than  his  father's  loins,  and  that  he  would  add  to  their  yoke ; 
and  that  whereas  his  father  had  chastised  them  with  whips,  he  would 
chastise  them  with  scorpions.'  This  rash  counsel  proved  Rehoboam's 
ruin  ;  yea,  David  himself,  though  a  good  man,  yet  being  in  his  warm 
blood  and  young,  how  sadly  was  he  overtaken  with  rashness  !  'As  the 
Lord  God  of  Israel  liveth,'  saith  he,  'except  thou  hadst  hastened  and  come 
to  meet  me,  surely  there  had  not  been  left  unto  Nabal,  by  to-morrow 
light,  any  that  pisseth  against  the  wall,'  1  Sam.  xxv.  34,  35.  And  this 
he  binds  with  an  oath.  Because  the  master  was  foolishly  wilful,  the 
innocent  servants  must  all  be  woful ;  and  because  Nabal  had  been  nig- 
gardly of  his  bread,  David  would  be  prodigal  of  his  blood.3 

Ah !  how  unlike  a  Christian,  yea,  how  below  a  man  doth  David  carry 
it  when  his  blood  is  up,  and  he  is  a  captive  to  rashness  and  passion  ! 
Rashness  will  admit  of  nought  for  reason,  but  what  unreasonable  self 
shall  dictate  for  reason.  As  sloth  seldom  bringeth  actions  to  good 
birth,  so  rashness  makes  them  always  abortive  ere  well  formed.  A 
rash  spirit  is  an  ungodlike  spirit  ;  a  rash  spirit  is  a  weak  spirit,  it  is 
an  effeminate  spirit.  '  A  man  of  understanding  is  of  an  excellent  spirit,' 
or  as  the  Hebrew  will  bear,  is  of  a  cool  spirit,  not  rash  and  hot,  ready 
at  every  turn  to  put  out  his  soul  in  wrath,  Prov.  xvii.  27.  Rashness 
unmans  a  man,  it  will  put  a  man  upon  things  below  manhood.     Ero- 

1  Tho  memorable  scene  when  Lady  Jane  was  reading  Plato,  as  quaintly  told  by  the 
old  '  Schoolmaster.'— G.  2  Arist.  Polit. 

3  Diis  proximns  We  est,  quem  ratio,  non  ira,  movct,  He  is  next  to  God,  whom  reason, 
not  anger,  moveth. — Seneca.     [De  Ira,  very  often. — G.] 


1  Kings  XIV.  13.]  apples  of  gold.  20.3 

stratus,  a  hotspur,  an  obscure  base  fellow,  did  in  one  night  by  fire 
destroy  the  temple  of  Diana  at  Ephesus,  which  was  two  hundred  and 
twenty  years  in  building,  of  all  Asia,  at  the  cost  of  so  many  princes, 
and  beautified  with  the  labours  and  cunning  of  so  many  excellent  work- 
men. The  truth  is,  there  would  be  no  end  were  I  to  discover  the  many 
sad  and  great  evils  that  are  ushered  into  the  world  by  that  one  evil, 
rashness,  which  usually  attends  youth,  &c.  ;  and  therefore,  young  men, 
decline  it,  and  arm  yourselves  against  it,  &c. 

Evil  4.  The  fourth  sin  that  ordinarily  attends  on  youth  is,  Mocking 
and  scoffing  at  religious  men  and  religious  things. 

They  were  young  ones  that  scoffingly  and  scornfully  said  to  the 
prophet,  '  Go  up,  thou  bald-head  ;  go  up,  thou  bald-head,'  2  Kings 
ii.  23,  24.  And  the  young  men  derided  and  mocked  Job  :  '  But  now 
they  that  are  younger  than  I  have  me  in  derision,  whose  fathers  I 
would  have  disdained  to  have  set  with  the  dogs  of  my  flock.  Upon 
my  right  hand  rise  the  youth  ;  they  push  away  my  feet,  and  they  raise 
up  against  me  the  ways  of  their  destruction,'  &c,  Job.  xxx.  1,  12-15. 
And  oh  !  that  this  age  did  not  afford  many  such  monsters,  who  are 
notable,  who  are  infamous  in  this  black  art  of  scoffing  and  deriding  the 
people  of  God,  and  the  ways  of  God  ! 

The  Athenians  once  scoffed  at  Sylla's  [Sulla]  wife,  and  it  had  well 
nigh  cost  the  razing  of  their  city,  he  was  so  provoked  with  the  indig- 
nity ;'  and  will  you  think  it  safe  to  scoff  at  the  people  of  God,  who  are 
the  spouse  of  Christ,  who  are  as  the  apple  of  his  eye,  who  are  the  signet 
on  his  right  hand,  his  portion,  his  pleasant  portion,  his  inheritance,  his 
jewels,  his  royal  diadem  ?2  Ah  !  young  men,  young  men  !  will  you 
seriously  consider  how  sadly  and  sorely  he  hath  punished  other  scoffers 
and  mockers,  and  by  his  judgments  on  them,  be  warned  never  to  scoff 
at  the  people  of  God  or  his  ways  more  ?  Julian  the  emperor  was  a 
great  scoffer  of  Christians  ;  but  at  last  he  was  struck  with  an  arrow 
from  heaven,  that  made  him  cry  out,  Vicisti,  Galilcee,  thou  Galilean — 
meaning  our  Saviour  Christ — hast  overcome  me.3  Felix,  for  one  mali- 
cious scoff,  did  nothing  day  and  night  but  vomit  blood,  till  his  unhappy 
soul  was  separated  from  his  wretched  body.  Pherecydes  was  consumed 
by  worms  alive,  for  giving  religion  but  a  nickname.  Lucian,  for  bark- 
ing against  religion  like  a  dog,  was,  by  the  just  judgment  of  God,  de- 
voured of  dogs.4  Remember  these  dreadful  judgments  of  God  on 
scoffers,  and  if  you  like  them,  then  mock  on,  scoff  on  ;  but  know,  that 
justice  will  at  last  be  even  with  you,  nay,  above  you. 

Evil  5.  The  fifth  and  last  evil  that  I  shall  mention  that  attends  and 
waits  on  youth  is,  lustfulness  and  wantonness. 

Which  occasioned  aged  Paul  to  caution  his  young  Timothy  to  '  flee 
youthful  lusts/  2  Tim.  ii.  22.  Timothy  was  a  chaste  and  chastened 
piece  ;  he  was  much  sanctified  and  mortified ;  his  graces  were  high, 
and  corruptions  low  ;  he  walked  up  and  down  this  world  with  dying 
thoughts,  and  with  a  weak,  distempered,  declining,  dying  body  ;  his 
heart  was  in  heaven,  and  his  foot  in  the  grave  ;  and  yet  youth  is  such 

1  Plutarch,  Sulla.— G. 

s  Cant.  v.  1  ;  Zech.  ii.  8  ;  Deut.  xxxii.  9  ;  Isa.  xix.  25  ;  Joel  ii.  17  ;  Ps.  xxxiii.  12; 
Isa.  lxii.  3. 
3  A  commonplace  of  quotation  ascribed  to  Julian. — G.  4  Very  doubtful. — G. 


204  APPLES  OF  GOLD.  [1  Kings  XIV.  13. 

;i  slippery  age,  that  Paul  commands  him  to  flee,  to  post  from,  youthful 
lusts.  Though  Timothy  was  a  good  man,  a  weak,  sickly  man,  a  mar- 
vellous temperate  man,  drinking  water  rather  than  wine,  yet  he  was 
but  a  man,  yea,  a  young  man  ;  and  therefore  Paul's  counsel  and  com- 
mand is,  that  he  'flee  youthful  lusts.'  And  Solomon,  who  had  sadly 
experienced  the  slipperiness  of  youth,  gives  this  counsel:  '  Put  away 
the  evils  of  thy  flesh  :  for  childhood  and  youth  are  vanity/  Eccles. 
xi.  10.  He  was  a  young  man  that  followed  the  harlot  to  her  house  ; 
he  was  young  in  years,  and  young  in  knowledge,  Prov.  vii.  7-11,  &c. 
Salazer  upon  the  words  saith  :  That  was  a  happy  age  that  afforded  but 
one  simple  young  man  among  many,  whereas  late  times  afford  greater 
store  Ah  !  too  many  of  the  youths  of  this  age,  instead  of  flying  from 
youthful  lusts,  they  post  and  pursue  after  youthful  lusts. 

Chrysostom,  speaking  of  youth,  saith,  it  is  difficilem,  jactctMlem, 
f<tll!bll,m,  vehementissinnsqne  egentem  frosnis,1  hard  to  be  ruled, 
easy  to  be  drawn  away,  apt  to  be  deceived,  and  standing  in  need  of 
very  violent  reins. 

The  ancients  did  picture  youth  like  a  young  man  naked,  with  a  veil 
over  his  face  ;  his  right  hand  bound  behind  him,  his  left  hand  loose, 
and  Time  behind  him  pulling-  one  thread  out  of  his  veil  every  day  ; 
intimating  that  young  men  are  void  of  knowledge,  and  blind,  unfit  to 
do  good,  ready  to  do  evil  ;  till  time,  by  little  and  little,  make  them 
wiser.2  Well !  young  man,  remember  this,  that  the  least  sparklings 
and  kindlings  of  lusts  will,  first  or  last,  cost  thee  groans  and  griefs, 
tears  and  terrors  enough. 

These  five  are  the  sins  that  usually  are  waiting  and  attending  on 
youth  ;  but  from  these  the  young  man  in  the  text  was  by  grace  pre- 
served and  secured,  which  is  more  than  I  dare  affirm  of  all  into  wboSfl 
hand  this  treatise  shall  fall.  But  though  these  five  are  the  sins  of 
youth,  yet  they  are  not  all  the  sins  of  youth  ;  for  youth  is  capable  of 
and  subject  to  all  other  sins  whatsoever ;  but  these  are  the  special  sins 
that  most  usually  wait  and  attend  on  young  men  when  they  are  in  the 
spring  and  morning  of  their  youth. 


CHAPTER  IV. 

I  shall  now  hasten  to  the  main  use  that  I  intend  to  stand  upon,  and 
that  is  an  use  of  exhortation  to  all  young  'persons. 

Ah,  sirs  !  as  you  tender3  the  glory  of  God,  the  good  of  your  bodies, 
the  joy  of  your  Christian  friends,  and  the  salvation  of  your  own  souls, 
be  exhorted  and  persuaded  to  be  really  good  betimes.  It  was  the  praise 
and  honour  of  Abijah,  that  'there  was  found  in  him  some  good  thing 
towards  the  Lord'  in  the  primrose  of  his  childhood.4 

Oh  !  that  it  might  be  your  honour  and  happiness  to  be  really  good  be- 
times,  that  it  might  be  to  you  a  praise  and  a  name,  that  in  the  morn- 
ing of  your  youth  you  have  begun  to  seek  the  Lord,  and  to  know  and 

1  Chrysost.  Homil.  i.  Ad pojmlum.  2  A  Lapide.  ::  '  Regard.' — G. 

4  Other  sins  attend  youth,  as  (1.)  Ignorance,  l  Cor.  xiv.  20;  (2.)  Falsehood,  Ps.  lviii. 
8;  (:'..)  Excessive  love  of  liberty;  (4.)  Impatience  of  counsels  ami  reproofs,  Jer.  xxxi. 
18,  i'.i;  (5.)  Impudence  [insolence],  lea.  iii.  6;  (<;.)  A  trilling  spirit,  Eccles.  xi.  10;  (7.)  Pro- 
digality. 


1  Kings  XIV.  13.]  apples  of  gold.  205 

love  the  Lord,  and  to  get  an  interest  and  propriety1  in  the  Lord.  Now 
that  this  exhortation  may  stick  and  take,  I  beseech  you  seriously  to 
weigh  and  ponder  these  following  motives  or  considerations  : 

Motive  (1).  First  consider,  It  is  an  honour  to  be  good  betimes.  A 
young  saint  is  like  the  morning  star ;  he  is  like  a  pearl  in  a  gold  rino-. 
It  is  mentioned  as  a  singular  honour  to  the  believing  Jews,  that  they 
first  trusted  in  Christ ;  '  that  we  should  be  to  the  praise  of  his  glory, 
who  first  trusted  in  Christ,'  Eph.  i.  12.  This  was  their  praise,  their 
crown,  that  they  were  first  converted  and  turned  to  Christ  and  Chris- 
tianity. So  Paul,  mentioning  Andronicus  and  Junia,  doth  not  omit 
this  circumstance  of  praise  and  honour,  that  they  were  in  Christ  'before 
him,'  Rom.  xvi.  7.  '  Salute  Andronicus  and  Junia,  my  kinsmen  and 
my  fellow-prisoners,  who  are  of  note  among  the  apostles,  who  also  were 
in  Christ  before  me.' 

And  so  it  was  the  honour  of  the  house  of  Stephanas,  that  they  were 
the  first-fruits  of  Achaia,  I  Cor.  xvi.  15.  It  was  their  glory  that  they 
were  the  first  that  received  and  welcomed  the  gospel  in  Achaia.  It  is 
a  greater  honour  for  a  young  man  to  outwrestle  sin,  Satan,  temptation, 
the  world,  and  lust,  than  ever  Alexander  the  Great  could  attain  unto. 
It  was  Judah  his  praise  and  honour,  that  they  were  first  in  fetching 
home  David  their  king,  2  Sam.  xix.  15. 

Ah,  young  men  and  women  !  it  will  be  your  eternal  praise  and  hon- 
our if  you  shall  be  before  others,  if  you  shall  be  the  first  amono-  many, 
who  shall  know  the  Lord  and  seek  the  Lord ;  who  shall  receive  the  Lord, 
and  embrace  him  ;  who  shall  cleave  to  the  Lord,  and  serve  him  •  who 
shall  honour  the  Lord,  and  obey  him  ;  who  shall  delight  in  the  Lord, 
and  walk  with  him.  The  Romans  built  Virtue's  and  Honour's  temple 
close  together,  to  shew  that  the  way  to  honour  was  by  virtue  ;  and,  in- 
deed, there  is  no  crown  to  that  which  goodness  sets  upon  a  man's  head : 
all  other  honour  is  fading  and  withering.  Acloni-bezek,  a  mighty 
prince,  is  suddenly  made  fellow-commoner  with  the  dogs,  Judges  i.  7  • 
and  Nebuchadnezzar,  a  mighty  conqueror,  turned  a-grazing  amono-  the 
oxen,  Dan.  iv.  28  ;  and  Herod,  reduced  from  a  conceited  god  to  be 
the  most  loathsome  of  men,  living  carrion,  arrested  by  the  vilest  of 
creatures,  upon  the  suit  of  his  affronted  Creator,  Acts  xii.  23  ;  and  Ha- 
inan, feasted  with  the  king  one  day,  and  made  a  feast  for  crows  the 
next,  Esth.  vii.  10.  I  might  tell  you  of  Bajazet  and  Belisarius,  two  of 
the  greatest  commanders  in  the  world,  and  many  others,  who  have  sud- 
denly fallen  from  the  top  of  worldly  honour  and  felicity,  into  the  o-reat- 
est  contempt  and  misery,  but  I  shall  not  at  this  time.  But  that  honour 
that  arises  from  men's  being  gracious  betimes,  is  such  honour  that  the 
world  can  neither  give  nor  take  ;  it  is  honour,  it  is  a  crown  that  will 
still  be  green  and  flourishing  ;  it  is  honour  that  will  bed  and  board  with 
a  man,  that  will  abide  with  a  man  under  all  trials  and  chano-es,  that 
will  to  the  grave,  that  will  to  heaven  with  a  man. 

Ah,  sirs  !  it  is  no  small  honour  to  you,  who  are  in  the  sprino-  and 
morning  of  your  days,  that  the  Lord  hath  left  upon  record  several  in- 
stances of  his  love  and  delight  in  young  men.  He  chose  David,  a 
younger  brother,  and  passes  by  his  elder  brothers,  1  Sam.  xvi.  11-13  ; 
he  frowns  upon  Esau,  and  passes  by  his  door,  and  sets  his  love  and  de- 

1  '  Property.'— G. 


206  APPLES  OF  GOLD.  [1  Kings  XIV.  13. 

light  upon  Jacob  the  younger  brother,  Rom.  ix.  12,  13  ;  he  kindly  and 
lovingly  accepts  of  Abel's  person  and  sacrifice,  and  rejects  both  Cain's 
person  and  sacrifice,  though  he  was  the  elder  brother,  Gen.  iv.  3-fi. 
Among  all  the  disciples,  John  was  the  youngest  and  the  most  and  best 
beloved,  John  xiii.  23.  There  was  but  one  '  young  man'  that  came  to 
Christ,  and  lie  came  not  aright,  Mark  x.  19-21  ;  and  all  the  good  that 
was  in  liim  was  but  some  moral  good,  and  yet  Christ  loved  him  with  a 
love  of  pity  and  compassion.  The  Greek  word  (ayanuv)  signifies,  to 
speak  friendly  and  deal  gently  with  one  ;  and  so  did  Christ  with  him, 
all  which  should  exceedingly  encourage  young  men  to  be  good  betimes, 
to  be  gracious  in  the  morning  of  their  youth.  No  way  to  true  honour 
like  this,  but, 

Motive  (2).  Secondly,  consider,  Christ  loved  poor  sinners  and  gave 
hi/m&elffor  them,  when  he  was  in  the  prime  of  his  age  (being  supposed 
to  be  about  thirty  and  three),  and  will  you  put  him  off  with  the  worst 
of  your  time  ? 

Ah  !  young  men,  young  men,  Christ  gave  himself  up  to  death,  he 
made  himself  an  offering  for  your  sins,  for  your  sakes,  when  he  was  in 
the  prime  and  flower  of  his  age  -,1  and  why  then  should  you  put  off 
Christ  to  an  old  age  ?  Did  he  die  for  sin  in  the  prime  of  his  age  ?  and 
will  not  you  die  to  sin  in  the  prime  of  your  age  ?  Did  he  offer  himself 
for  you  in  the  spring  and  morning  of  his  years  ?  and  will  not  you  offer 
up  yourselves  to  him  in  the  spring  and  morning  of  your  years  ?  Rom. 
xii.  1,  2.  Oh  give. not  Christ  cause  to  say,  I  died  for  you  betimes,  but 
you  have  not  lived  to  me  betimes  ;  I  was  early  in  my  suffering  for  you, 
but  you  have  not  been  early  in  your  returning  to  me ;  I  made  haste  to 
complete  your  redemption,  but  you  have  made  no  haste  to  make  sure 
your  vocation  and  election,  2  Pet.  i.  1 0  ;  I  stayed  not,  I  lingered  not, 
but  soon  suffered  what  I  was  to  suffer,  and  quickly  did  what  was  to  be 
done  for  your  eternal  welfare  ;  but  you  have  stayed  .and  lingered,  like 
Lot  in  Sodom,  Gen.  xix.  1G,  and  have  not  done  what  you  might  have 
done  in  order  to  your  everlasting  good.  In  the  primrose  of  my  days,  I 
sweat  for  you,  I  wept  for  you,  I  bled  for  you,  I  hung  on  the  cross  for 
you,  I  bore  the  wrath  of  my  Father  for  you  ;  but  you  have  not  in  the 
primrose  of  your  days  sweat  under  the  sense  of  divine  displeasure,  nor 
wept  over  your  sins,  nor  mourned  over  me,  whom  you  have  so  often 
grieved  and  pierced,  Zech.  xii.  10.  I  could  not  be  quiet  nor  satisfied 
till  I  had  put  you  into  a  capacity,  into  a  possibility  of  salvation,  and  yet 
you  are  well  enough  quieted  and  satisfied,  though  you  do  not  know 
whether  ever  you  shall  be  saved. 

Ah,  sirs  !  how  sad  would  it  be  with  you,  if  Jesus  Christ  should  secretly 
thus  expostulate  with  your  consciences  in  this  your  day. 

Oh  !  how  terrible  would  it  be  with  you,  if  Christ  should  thus  visibly 
plead  against  you  in  his  great  day.  Ah  !  young  men,  young  men  and 
women,  who  but  souls  much  left  of  God,  blinded  by  Satan,  and  hardened 
in  sin,  2  Cor.  3,  4,  can  hear  Jesus  Christ  speaking  thus  to  them  :  I 
suffered  for  sinners  betimes,  I  laid  down  a  ransom  for  souls  betimes,  I 
pacified  my  Father's  wrath  betimes,  I  satisfied  my  Father's  justice 
hetimes,  I  merited  grace  and  mercy  for  sinners  betimes,  I  brought  in 

1  The  sacrifices  in  the  law  were  young  lamhs  and  young  kids,  to  6hew  that  Christ  our 
sacrifice  should  die  and  suffer  for  our  sins,  iu  the  flower  of  his  age. 


1  Kings  XIV.  13.]  apples  of  gold.  207 

an  everlasting  righteousness  upon  the  world  betimes,  &c.  ;  I  say,  who 
can  hear  Jesus  Christ  speaking  thus,  and  his  heart  not  fall  in  love 
and  league  with  Christ,  and  his  soul  not  unite  to  Christ  and  resign  to 
Christ,  and  cleave  to  Christ,  and  for  ever  be  one  with  Christ,  except  it 
be  such  that  are  for  ever  left  by  Christ  ?  Well,  remember  this,  Quanto 
pro  nobis  vilior,  tanto  nobis  charior,  the  more  vile  Christ  made  him- 
self for  us,  the  more  dear  he  ought  to  be  unto  us. 

Ah !  young  men,  remember  this,  when  Christ  was  young,  he  was 
tempted  and  tried  ;  when  he  was  in  the  morning  of  his  days,  his  wounds 
were  deep,  his  burden  weighty,  his  cup  bitter,  his  sweat  painful,  his 
agony  and  torment  above  conception,  beyond  expression  ;  when  he  was 
young,  that  blessed  head  of  his  was  crowned  with  thorns  ;  and  those  eyes 
of  his,  that  were  purer  than  the  sun,  were  put  out  by  the  darkness  of 
death  ;x  and  those  ears  of  his  which  now  hear  nothing  but  hallelujahs  of 
saints  and  angels,  were  filled  with  the  blasphemies  of  the  multitude  ; 
and  that  blessed  beautiful  face  of  his,  which  was  fairer  than  the  sons  of 
men,  was  spit  on  by  beastly  filthy  wretches ;  and  that  gracious  mouth 
and  tongue,  that  spake  as  never  man  spake,  was  slandered  and  accused 
of  blasphemy  ;  and  those  hands  of  his,  which  healed  the  sick,  which 
gave  out  pardons,  which  swayed  a  sceptre  in  heaven  and  another  on 
earth,  were  nailed  to  the  cross  ;  and  those  feet,  that  were  beautiful  upon 
the  mountains,  that  brought  the  glad  tidings  of  peace  and  salvation  into 
the  world,  and  that  were  like  unto  fine  brass,  were  also  nailed  to  the 
cross  :  all  these  great  and  sad  things  did  Jesus  Christ  suffer  for  you 
in  the  prime  and  flower  of  his  clays,  and  oh  !  what  an  unspeakable  pro- 
vocation2 should  this  be  to  all  young  ones,  to  give  up  themselves  betimes 
to  Christ,  to  serve,  love,  honour,  and  obey  him  betimes,  even  in  the 
spring  and  morning  of  their  youth. 

Let  the  thoughts  of  a  crucified  Christ,  saith  one,  be  never  out  of  your 
mind,  let  them  be  meat  and  drink  unto  you,  let  them  be  your  sweet- 
ness and  consolation,  your  honey  and  your  desire,  your  reading  and 
your  meditation,  your  life,  death,  and  resurrection. 

Motive  (3).  The  third  motive  or  consideration  to  provoke  you  to 
begin  to  be  good  betimes,  is  this,  viz.,  That  it  is  the  best  and  choicest 
way  in  the  world,  to  be  rich  in  gracious  experiences  betimes?  which 
are  the  best  riches  in  all  the  world.  As  he  that  sets  up  for  himself 
betimes  is  in  the  most  hopeful  way  to  be  rich  betimes,  so  he  that  is 
good  in  good  earnest  betimes,  he  is  in  the  ready  way,  the  highway  of 
being  rich  in  grace  and  rich  in  goodness.  They  usually  prove  men  of 
great  observation  and  great  experience.  God  loves  to  shew  these  his 
'  beauty  and  his  glory  in  his  sanctuary/4  He  delights  to  cause  '  his 
glory  and  his  goodness  to  pass  before'  such.  These  shall  find  all  his 
'  paths  drop  marrow  and  fatness/  For  these  '  the  Lord  of  hosts  will 
make  a  feast  of  fat  things,  a  feast  of  wiues  on  the  lees,  of  fat  things  full 
of  marrow,  of  wines  on  the  lees  well  refined.'     These  shall  have  all  man- 

1  Nolo  vivere  sine  vulnere,  cum  te  video  vulneratum. — Bonaventura.  0  my  God,  as  long 
as  I  see  thy  wounds,  I  will  never  live  without  wounds.  Aut  Deus  natures  patitur,  aut 
mundi  machina  dissolvitur,  said  Dionysius  Alexandrinus ;  either  the  God  of  nature  suf- 
fered, or  the  frame  of  the  world  will  be  dissolved.  [Epist.  ad  Poly  car  p.:  ascribed  also  to 
the  astronomer  Ptolemy. — G.]  2  '  Stirring  up.' — G. 

3  The  philosopher  once  said,  solus  sapiens  dives,  only  the  wise  man  is  the  rich  man. 

4  Ps.  lxiii.  1,  2 ;  Exod.  iii.  3,  xix.  22,  &c. ;  Ps.  lxv.  11,  12 ;  Isa.  xxv.  6 ;  Cant.  vii.  13. 


208  APPLES  OF  GOLD.  [1  KlNGS  XIV.  13. 

ner  of '  pleasant  fruits'  laid  up  '  at  their  gates  for  their  well-beloved.' 
None  have  bo  many  choice  pledges  of  Christ's  love,  nor  bo  many  sweet 
kisses  of  Christ's  mouth,  nor  so  many  embraces  in  Christ's  arms,  as 
those  souls  thai  are  good  betimes.  Oh  the  grace,  the  goodness,  the 
sweetness,  the  fatness  thai  Christ  is  still  a-dropping  into  their  hearts! 
Chrisl  will  make  their  hearts  his  largest  treasury,  he  will  lay  up  most 
of  bis  heavenly  treasure  in  their  souls.  There  he  will  stoic  up  mercies 
now  and  old  ;  there  he  will  treasure  up  all  plenty,  rarity,  and  variety; 
there  he  will  lay  up  all  that  heart  can  wish  or  need  require.  Oh  the 
many  drops  of  myrrh  that  falls  from  Christ's  fingers  upon  their  hearts  ! 
Oh  the  many  secrets  that  Christ  reveals  in  their  ears!  Oh  the  many 
love-lot  tors  that  Christ  sends  to  these!  Oh  the  many  visits  that  he 
o-ives  to  those  !  Oh  the  turns,  the  walks,  that  he  hath  in  paradise  with 
these  !  There  are  none  in  the  world  for  experience  and  intelligence  to 
thi  Be.  Ah  !  young  men,  young  men,  as  you  would  be  rich  in  the  host 
riches,  beoin  to  be  good  betimes  ;'  as  there  is  no  riches  to  spiritual  riches, 
so  there  is  no  way  to  be  rich  in  these  riches,  but  by  beginning  to  be 
good,  in  good  earnest,  betimes. 

As  for  worldly  riches,  philosophers  have  contemned  them,  and  pre- 
ferred a  contemplative  life  above  them,  and  shall  not  Christians  much 
more?2  The  prophet  calls  them  'thick  clay,'  which  will  sooner  break 
the  back  than  lighten  the  heart ;  they  cannot  better  the  soul,  they  can- 
not enrich  the  soul,  Hah.  ii.  6.  Ah!  how  many  threadbare  souls  are  Id 
be  found  under  silken  cloaks  and  gowns  !  How  often  are  worldly  riches 
like  hangmen,  they  hide  men's  faces  with  a  covering,  that  they  may  not 
see  their  own  end,  and  then  they  hang  them.  And  if  they  do  not  hang 
you,  they  will  shortly  leave  you,  they  'make  themselves  wings  and  fly 
away,'  Prov.  xxiii.  5.  When  one  was  a-commending  the  riches  and 
wealth  of  merchants,  I  do  not  love  that  wealth,  said  a  heathen,  that 
hangs  upon  ropes;  if  they  break,  the  ship  miscarrieth,  and  all  is  lost, 
He  is  rich  enough,  saith  Jerome,  that  lacketh  not  bread,  and  high 
enough  in  dignity  that  is  not  forced  to  serve. 

1  This  world's  wealth,  that  men  so  much  desire, 
Way  well  be  likened  to  a  burning  fire, 
Whereof  a  little  can  do  little  harm, 
But  profit  much  our  bodies  well  to  warm  : 
But  take  ton  much,  and  surely  thou  shalt  1mm  ; 
So  too  much  wealth  to  too  much  woe  does  turn.' 

It  was  an  excellent  saying  of  Lewis  of  Bauyer,3  emperor  of  Germany, 
Hujusmodi  (rnnpcurcmdcB  sunt  opes  quae  cum  naufragiosimult  ,■■ 
such  goods  are  worth  getting  and  owning  as  will  not  sink  or  wash  away 
if  a  shipwreck  happen,  but  will  wade  and  swim  out  with  us.  \Y 
such  are  the  spiritual  riches  that  will  attend  those  who,  in  the  spring 
and  morning  of  their  youth,  shall  know  the  Lord  and  serve  the  Lord, 
and  gel  an  interest  in  the  Lord  ;  and  thus  much  for  the  third  motive 

Motvoe  (4).  The  fourth  motive  to  provoke  young  ones  to  he  really 
good  betimes  is,  to  consider  that  The  present  tvme,  the  prm  nt  day,  U 
the  only  season  that  you  are  sure  of. 

1  Earthly  riches  are  full  of  poverty.     DiviticB  corporate  pavpertatir plena  sunt. 

2  [f  there  m  re  any  ha]  piness  in  riches,  the  gods  would  nut,  want  them,  saith  Seneca. 
[A  frequent  sentiment  in  his  Letters.— G.]  *  Bavaria  ?— G. 


1  Kings  XIV.  13.]  apples  of  gold.  209 

Time  past  cannot  be  recalled,  and  time  to  come  cannot  be  ascertained  : 
'To-day,  if  you  hear  his  voice,  harden  not  your  hearts,'  Heb.  iii.  15  ; 
'Behold,  now  is  the  acceptable  time,  now  is  the  day  of  salvation,'  2  Cor. 
vi.  2.  Some  there  be  that  trifle  away  their  time,  and  fool  away  their 
souls  and  their  salvation.1  To  prevent  this,  the  apostle  beats  upon  the 
to  vvv}  the  present  opportunity,  because  if  that  be  once  past,  there  is  no 
recovering  of  it.  Therefore,  as  the  mariner  takes  the  first  fair  wind  to 
sail,  and  as  the  merchant  takes  his  first  opportunity  of  buying  and 
selling,  and  as  the  husbandman  takes  the  first  opportunity  of  sowing 
and  reaping,  so  should  young  men  take  the  present  season,  the  present 
day,  which  is  their  day,  to  be  good  towards  the  Lord,  to  seek  him  and 
serve  him,  and  not  to  post  off  the  present  season,  for  they  know  not 
what  another  day,  another  hour,  another  moment,  may  bring  forth. 
That  door  of  grace  that  is  open  to-day  may  be  shut  to-morrow  ;  that 
golden  sceptre  of  mercy  that  is  held  forth  in  the  gospel  this  day  may  be 
taken  iu  the  next  day  :  hat  love  that  this  hour  is  upon  the  bare  knee 
entreating  and  beseeching  young  men  to  break  off  their  sins,  by  repent- 
ance, '  to  return  to  the  Lord,  to  lay  hold  on  his  strength,  and  be  at  peace 
with  him,'  may  the  next  hour  be  turned  into  wrath,  Isa.  xxvii.  4,  5. 

Ah!  the  noble  motions  that  have  been  lost,  the  good  purposes  that 
have  withered,  the  immortal  souls  that  have  miscarried,  by  putting  off 
the  present  season,  the  present  day.  Paul  discoursing  before  Felix  of 
righteousness  and  temperance  and  judgment  to  come,  Acts  xxiv.  25,  and 
in  this  discourse  striking  at  two  special  vices  that  Felix  was  particularly 
guilty  of,  he  falls  a-trembling,  and  being  upon  the  rack  to  hear  such 
doctrine,  he  bids  Paul  '  depart  for  that  time,  and  he  would  call  for  him 
at  a  convenient  season.'  Here  Felix  neglects  his  present  season,  and  we 
never  read  that  ever  after  this  he  found  a  convenient  time  or  season  to 
hear  Paul  make  an  end  of  the  subject  he  had  begun.  So  Christ  made 
a  very  fair  offer  to  the  young  man  in  the  Gospel,  '  Go  and  sell  that  thou 
hast,  and  give  to  the  poor,  and  thou  shalt  have  treasure  in  heaven,'  Mat. 
xix.  21-24.  Here  Christ  offers  heavenly  treasures  for  earthly  treasures, 
unmixed  treasures  for  mixed  treasures,  perfect  treasures  for  imperfect 
treasures,  satisfying  treasures  for  unsatisfying  treasures,  lasting  treasures 
for  fading  treasures  ;  but  the  young  man  slips  his  opportunity,  his  season, 
and  goes  away  sorrowful,  and  we  never  read  more  of  him. 

Ah  !  young  men,  young  men,  do  not  put  off  the  present  season,  do 
not  neglect  the  present  day.  There  is  no  time  yours  but  the  present 
time,  no  day  yours  but  the  present  day  ;  and  therefore  do  not  please 
yourselves  and  feed  yourselves  with  hopes  of  time  to  come,  and  that  you 
will  repent,  but  not  yet,  and  lay  hold  on  mercy,  but  not  yet,  and  give  up 
yourselves  to  the  Lord  next  week,  next  month,  or  next  year,  for  that  God 
that  hath  promised  you  mercy  and  favour  upon  the  day  of  your  return,  he 
hath  not  promised  to  prolong  your  lives  till  that  day  comes.2  When  a 
soldier  was  brought  before  Lamacus,3  a  commander,  for  a  misbehaviour, 
and  pleaded  he  would  do  so  no  more,  Lamacus  answered,  Non  licet  in 

1  The  whole  earth  hangs  on  a  point ;  so  doth  heaven  and  eternity  on  an  inch  of  oppor- 
tunity. 

*  Often  consider  what  the  damned  would  give,  were  it  in  their  hands,  for  one  sen  son  of 
grace,  for  one  opportunity  of  mercy.  3  Lamachus.     Plutarch.  Pericles. — G. 

VOL.  I.  O 


210  APPLES  OF  GOLD.  [1  KlNGS  XIV.  13 

belk)  bis  peccare,  no  man  must  offend  twice  in  war  ;  so  God,  especially  in 
ilit  B6  gospel  days,  wherein  the  motions  of  divine  justice  are  more  smart 
and  quick  than  in  former  days,  happily  will  not  suffer  men  twice  to 
neglect  the  day  of  grace,  and  let  slip  the  season  of  mercy,  Heb.  iii.  2. 

Ah  !  young  men,  young  men,  you  say  you  will  be  good  towards  the 
Lord  before  you  die,  but  if  you  are  not  good  towards  the  Lord  to-day, 
you  may  die  to-morrow,  nay,  justice  may  leave  him  to  be  his  own 
executioner  to-morrow,  who  will  not  repent,  nor  seek  the  Lord  to-day. 
I  have  read  of  a  certain  young  man,  who,  being  admonished  of  the  evil 
of  his  way  and  course,  and  pressed  to  leave  his  wickedness  by  the  con- 
sideration of  death,  judgment,  and  eternity  that  was  a-coming,  he 
answered,  What  do  you  tell  mo  of  these  things?  I  will  do  well  enough; 
for  when  death  comes,  I  will  speak  but  three  words,  and  will  help  all ; 
and  so  still  he  went  on  in  his  sinful  ways,  but  in  the  end,  coming  to  a 
bridge  on  horseback,  to  go  over  a  deep  water,  the  horse  stumbling,  and 
he  labouring  to  recover  his  horse,  but  could  not ;  at  last,  he  let  go  the 
bridle,  and  gave  up  himself  and  horse  to  the  waters,  and  was  heard  to 
say  these  three  words,  Devil  take  all,  Diabolus  capiat  omnia  I  Here 
was  three  dreadful  words  indeed,  and  an  example,  with  a  witness,  for 
all  young  men  to  beware  who  think  to  repent  with  a  three-word  repent- 
ance at  last. 

Otho,  the  emperor,  slew  himself  with  his  own  hands,  but  slept  so 
soundly  the  night  before,  that  the  grooms  of  his  chamber  heard  him 
snort1  2 

Young  men,  I  will  suppose  you  to  be  good  accountants  ;  now  if  you 
please  to  count  the  number  and  mark  the  age  of  the  sacrifices  in  the 
Old  Testament,  you  shall  find  more  kids  and  lambs  offered  than  goats 
and  old  sheep.  You  have  no  lease  of  your  lives,  you  are  not  sure  that 
you  shall  live  to  Isaac's  age,  to  live  till  your  eyes  wax  dim,  Gen.  xxvii.  1 ; 
you  are  not  sure  that  you  shall  live  to  Jacob's  years,  and  die  leaning 
upon  the  top  of  a  staff,  Heb.  xi.  21.  You  read  of  them  who  'die  in 
their  youth,  and  whose  lives  are  among  the  unclean,'  Job  xxxvi.  14. 
Slip  not  the  present  season,  neglect  not  this  day  of  grace,  let  not  Satan 
keep  your  souls  and  Christ  any  longer  asunder,  by  telling  of  you  that 
you  are  too  young,  that  hereafter  will  be  time  enough.3  Austin  tells 
us,  that  by  this  very  temptation  the  devil  kept  him  off  from  receiving 
of  Christ,  from  closing  with  Christ  seven  years  together  ;  he  could  no 
sooner  think  of  inquiring  after  Christ,  of  getting  an  interest  in  Christ, 
of  leaving  off  his  sinful  courses,  &c,  but  Satan  would  be  still  a-suggest- 
ing,  Thou  art  too  young  to  leave  thy  drunkenness,  thou  art  too  young 
to  leave  thy  Delilahs,  to  leave  thy  harlots ;  till  at  last  he  cried  out, 
How  long  shall  I  say  it  is  too  soon  ?  why  may  I  not  repent  to-day  ?  and 
lay  hold  on  Jesus  Christ  to-day?  &c.  Ah!  young  men,  this  is  your  day, 
this  is  your  season ;  if  you  will  not  now  hearken  and  obey,  you  may  perish 
for  ever.  Csesar  had  a  letter  given  him  by  Artemidorus  that  morning 
he  went  to  the  senate,  wherein  notice  was  given  him  of  all  the  con- 
spiracy of  his  murderers,  so  that  with  ease  he  might  have  prevented 

1  Suetonius  and  Plutarch,  Otho;  Dion  Cassius,  lxiv. — G- 

*  Plutarch  reporteth  the  like  of  Cato.     [Sub  nomine,  i.  e.  Cato  the  younger. — G.] 
s  As  out  of  the  houghs  of  a  tree  aro  taken  wedges  to  cleave  it  in  pieces,  so  out  of  our 
>\\n  lusts  Satan  works  engines  to  destroy  us. 


1  Kings  XIV.  13.]      apples  of  gold.  211 

• 

his  death,  but  neglecting  the  reading  of  it,  was  slain ;  he  slipped  his 
season,  and  dies  for  it.1  Ah  !  how  many  for  slipping  gracious  seasons 
and  opportunities,  have  died  for  ever !  Soul-opportunities  are  more 
worth  than  a  thousand  worlds  ;  mercy  is  in  them,  grace  and  glory  is  in 
them,  heaven  and  eternity  is  in  them. 

Motive  (5).  Fifthly,  To  provoke  you  to  be  good  betimes,  consider, 
How  just  it  is  vnth  God  to  reserve  the  dregs  of  his  wrath  for  them 
who  reserve  the  dregs  of  their  days  for  him. 

How  can  a  husband  embrace  that  wife  in  her  old  age,  who  hath 
spent  all  the  time  of  her  youth  in  following  after  strangers  ?  Will  any 
man  receive  such  into  his  service,  who  hath  all  their  days  served  his 
enemies,  and  received  such  wounds,  blows,  and  bruises,  that  renders 
them  unfit  for  his  service  ? 

Ah  !  young  men,  young  men,  do  not  thus  '  foolishly  and  unwisely  re- 
quite the  Lord/  Deut.  xxxii.  6,  for  all  his  patient  waiting,  his  gracious 
wooing,  and  his  merciful  dealing  with  you.  Ah !  do  not  put  off  God  to 
old  age;  for  old,  lame,  and  sick  sacrifices  rarely  reach  as  high  as  heaven. 
Is  not  old  age  very  unteachable  ?  in  old  age  are  not  men  very  unapt  to 
take  in,  and  as  unapt  to  give  out  ?  In  old  age,  oftentimes,  men  are 
men,  and  no  men  ;  they  have  eyes,  but  see  not,  ears,  but  hear  not, 
tongues,  but  speak  not,  feet,  but  walk  not.2  An  aged  man  is  but  a 
moving  anatomy,  or  a  living  mortuary.  Now  how  unlovely,  how  un- 
comely, how  unworthy,  nay,  how  incensing,  how  provoking  a  thing  must 
this  needs,  be,  when  men  will  dally  with  God,  and  put  him  off  till  their 
doating  days  have  overtaken  them,  till  their  spring  is  past,  their  summer 
overpast,  and  they  arrived  at  the  fall  of  the  leaf,  yea,  till  winter  colours 
have  stained  their  heads  with  gray  and  hoary  hairs  !  How  provoking 
this  is,  you  may  see  in  those  sad  words  of  Jeremiah  :  Jer.  xxii.  21,  22, 
'I  spake  unto  thee  in  thy  prosperity ;  but  thou  saidst,  I  will  not  hear :  this 
hath  been  thy  manner  from  thy  youth,  that  thou  obeyest  not  my  voice.' 
But  will  God  put  up  this  at  their  hands  ?  No.  Therefore  it  follows  in  the 
next  verse,  '  Surely  thou  shalt  be  ashamed  and  confounded  for  all  thy 
wickedness.' 

Oh !  that  young  men  would  let  this  scripture  lie  warm  every  morning 
upon  their  hearts,  that  so  they  may  not  dare  to  put  off  God  and  pro- 
voke him  to  their  own  commission.3  Though  you  are  young  and  in 
your  strength,  yet  are  you  stronger  than  God,  can  you  make  your  party 
good  with  him  ?  If  you  will  needs  be  a-provoking,  provoke  them  that 
are  your  matches,  and  do  not  contend  with  him  that  is  mightier  than 
you,  that  can  command  you  into  nothing,  or  into  hell  at  pleasure. 

Motive  (6).  Sixthly,  consider,  That  the  sooner  you  are  good  on 
earth,  the  greater  will  he  your  reward  in  heaven. 

The  sooner  you  are  gracious,  the  more  at  last  you  will  be  glorious. 
You  read  in  the  Scripture  of  a  reward,  of  a  great  reward,  and  of  a  full 

1  Plutarch,  Cces.  65  ;  Zonaras,  vol.  i.  p.  491,  ed.  Paris. — G. 

*  Multa  senem  circumveniunt  incommoda,  Horatius,  '  Many  are  the  inconveniences  that 
do  encompass  an  old  man.'  \_Ars  Poetica,  169. — G.]  The  reproach  of  the  evil  of  wicked- 
ness is  not  to  be  added  to  old  age  ;  Solet  enim  senectus  esse  deformis,  infirma,  obliviosa,  eden- 
tula,  lucrosa,  indocilis  et  molesta,  saith  Plutarch,  in  Apothegm  Rom.  For  old  age  useth  to 
be  deformed,  weak,  forgetful,  toothless,  covetous,  unteachable,  unquiet.  [Brooks  seems, 
in  the  description  of  '  old  age,'  to  remember  Shakespeare's  '  sans  teeth,  sans  eyes,  sans 
taste,'  &c  — As  you  like  it,  ii.  7.  The  careful  reader  will  trace  numerous  tacit  references 
of  this  kind  in  Brooks.— G.]  *  Qu.  '  confusion'  ? — Ed. 


212  APPLES  OF  GOLD.  [1  KlNGS  XIV.  13. 

reward.  Now  those  that  are  good  betimes,  that  know,  seek,  serve,  and 
love  the  Lord  in  the  spring  and  morning  of  their  youth,  they  are  in 
the  fairest  way  of  gaining  the  greatest  and  the  fullest  reward.1 
And  this  I  shall  make  clear  by  that  which  follows. 
(1.)  First,  Tin  sooner  any  man  begins  to  be  really  good,  the  more 
good  he  will  do  vn  this  world.  Now,  the  more  good  any  man  doth  on 
earth,  the  more  glory  he  shall  have  in  heaven.  Therefore,  my  beloved 
brethren,  '  Be  ye  stedfast,  unmoveable,  always  abounding  in  the  work 
of  the  Lord,  forasmuch  as  you  know  that  your  labour  is  not  in  vain  in 
the  Lord,'  1  Cor.  xv.  58. 

Man's  wages,  man's  reward,  shall  be  according  to  his  works.  He  that 
doth  most  work  here  shall  have  most  reward  hereafter.  God  will  at 
last  proportion  the  one  to  the  other,  the  reward  to  the  work  :  '  He 
which  soweth  sparingly  shall  reap  sparingly  ;  and  he  which  soweth 
bountifully  shall  reap  bountifully/  2  Cor.  ix.  6.  Though  no  man  shall 
be  rewarded  for  his  works,  yet  God  will  at  last  measure  out  happiness 
and  blessedness  to  his  people  according  to  their  service,  faithfulness, 
diligence,  and  work  in  this  world,  Rom.  ii.  5-7.  Grace  is  glory  in  the 
bud,  and  glory  is  grace  at  the  full ;  glory  is  nothing  else  but  a  bright 
constellation  of  graces  ;  happiness  nothing  but  the  quintessence  of 
holiness.  Grace  and  glory  differ  non  specie,  seel  gradu,  in  degree,  not 
kind,  as  the  learned  speak.  Grace  and  glory  differ  very  little  ;  the  one 
is  the  seed,  the  other  is  the  flower ;  grace  is  glory  militant,  and  glory 
is  grace  triumphant ;  and  a  man  may  as  well  plead  for  equal  degrees 
of  grace  in  this  world,  as  he  may  plead  for  equal  degrees  of  glory  in 
the  other  world.  Surely  the  more  grace  here,  the  more  glory  here- 
after ;  and  the  more  work  Christians  do  on  earth,  the  more  glory  they 
shall  have  in  heaven  ;  and  the  sooner  men  begin  to  be  good,  the  more 
good  they  will  do  in  this  world  ;  and  the  more  they  do  here,  the  more 
they  shall  have  hereafter.  Philosophers  seem  to  weigh  our  virtues 
with  our  vices,  and  according  to  the  preponderation  of  either,  denomi- 
nate us  good  or  bad,  and  so  deliver  us  up  to  reward  or  punishment. 

No  man  can  commend  good  works  magnificently  enough,  saith 
Luther,  for  one  work  of  a  Christian  is  more  precious  than  heaven  and 
earth  ;  and  therefore  all  the  world  cannot  sufficiently  reward  one  good 
work.  And  in  another  place,  saith  the  same  author,  '  If  I  might  have 
my  desire,  I  would  rather  choose  the  meanest  work  of  a  country  Chris- 
tian or  poor  maid,  than  all  the  victories  and  triumphs  of  Alexander  the 
Great,  and  of  Julius  Caesar.' 

And,  again,  whatsoever  the  saints  do,  though  never  so  small  and 
mean,  it  is  great  and  glorious  ;  because  they  do  all  in  faith  and  by  the 
word,  saith  the  same  author.  To  prevent  mistakes,  you  must  remem- 
ber, that  the  works  that  Jesus  Christ  will  reward  at  last  arc  super- 
natural works  :  they  are,  1,  works  of  God  ;  2,  wrought  from  God  .  & 
for  God  ;  4,  in  God  ;  5,  according  to  God.  They  are  Avorks  that  flow 
from  supernatural  principles,  and  they  are  directed  to  supernatural 
ends,  and  performed  in  a  supernatural  way.  Now  the  sooner  a  man 
begins  to  be  good,  the  more  he  will  abound  in  these  good  works  ;  and 
the  more  doubtless  any  man  abounds  in  such  good  works  on  earth,  the 
greater  reward  he  shall  have  in  heaven.  Yet  it  must  not  be  forgotten 
1  Vs.  lviii.  11  ;  Gen.  xv.  1  ;  Ps.  xix.  11  ;  Mat.  v.  12;  Heb.  x.  35  ;  John  ii.  8. 


1  Kings  XIV.  13.]  apples  of  gold.  213 

that  the  best  actions,  the  best  works  of  hypocrites,  and  all  men  out  of 
Christ,  are  but  splendida  peccata,  fair  and  shining  sins,  beautiful 
abominations.  And  as  the  phoenix  in  Arabia  gathers  sweet  odoriferous 
sticks  together,  and  then  blows  them  with  her  wings,  and  burns  herself 
with  them,  so  many  a  carnal  professor  burns  himself  with  his  own  good 
works,  that  is,  by  his  expecting  and  trusting  to  receive  that  by  his 
works  that  is  only  to  be  received  and  expected  from  Jesus  Christ.1 
Though  all  that  man  can  do  towards  the  meriting  of  heaven  is  no  more 
than  the  lifting  up  of  a  festraw2  towards  the  meriting  of  a  kingdom, 
yet  such  a  proud  piece  man  is,  that  he  is  ready  enough  to  say  with  proud 
Vega,  Caelum  gratis  non  accipiam,  I  will  not  have  heaven  of  free  cost.3 
A  proud  heart  would  fain  have  that  of  debt  which  is  merely  of  grace, 
and  desires  that  to  be  of  purchase  which  God  hath  intended  to  be  of 
free  mercy  ;  which  made  one  to  say,  that  he  would  swim  through  a  sea 
of  brimstone,  that  he  might  come  to  heaven  at  last ;  but  he  that  swims 
not  thither  through  the  sea  of  Christ's  blood,  shall  never  come  there. 
Man  must  swim  thither,  not  through  brimstone,  but  through  blood,  or 
he  miscarries  for  ever. 

(2.)  Again,  the  sooner  a  man  begins  to  be  good,  the  more  serviceable 
he  will  be  to  others,  and  the  more  he  will  provoke  others  to  good.  Now, 
all  the  good  that  you  provoke  others  to  by  counsel  or  carriage,4  shall  be 
put  down  to  your  account,  as  all  the  sins  that  men  provoke  others  to  is 
put  down  to  their  accounts.  David  did  but  send  a  letter  concerning  the 
death  of  Uriah,  and  the  charge  cometh,  '  Thou  hast  slain  Uriah  with  the 
sword,'  2  Sam.  xii.  8,  9.  The  more  I  stir  up  others  to  sow,  the  more  at 
last  I  shall  reap,  Isa.  xxxviii.  3,  Neh.  xiii.  14.  The  sooner  a  man  begins 
to  be  good,  the  more  good  he  will  do,  the  more  serviceable  he  will  be  in 
the  town  or  city  where  he  dwells,  in  the  family  where  he  lives,  among 
his  relations,  wife,  children,  kindred,  servants,  &c,  with  whom  he  con- 
verses.5 

The  sooner  a  man  begins  to  be  gracious,  the  sooner  and  the  more 
useful  will  his  arts,  his  parts,  his  gifts,  his  graces,  his  mercies,  his  ex- 
periences, his  life,  his  labours,  his  prayers,  his  counsels,  his  examples, 
be  to  all  that  are  with  him,  to  all  that  are  about  him. 

Lilmod  lelammed,  we  therefore  learn  that  we  may  teach,  is  a  proverb 
among  the  Rabbins.  And  I  do  therefore  lay  in  and  lay  up,  saith  the 
heathen,  that  I  may  draw  forth  again,  and  lay  out  for  the  good  of  many. 

Ah  !  young  men,  young  men  !  as  you  would  be  useful  and  serviceable 
to  many,  begin  to  be  good  betimes,  and  to  lay  in  and  lay  up  and  lay  out 
betimes,  for  the  profit  and  advantage  of  others.  Augustine  accounted 
nothing  his  own  that  he  did  not  communicate  to  others.  The  bee  doth 
store  her  hive  out  of  all  sorts  of  flowers  for  the  common  benefit.  It  is 
a  base  and  unworthy  spirit  for  a  man  to  make  himself  the  centre  of  all 
his  actions.  The  very  heathen  man  could  say  that  a  man's  country, 
and  his  friends,  and  others,  challenge  a  great  part  of  him.     And  indeed 

1  David  made  use  of  his  bow.  but  did  not  trust  to  his  bow.  The  dove  made  use  of  her 
wings,  but  did  not  trust  in  her  wings,  but  in  the  ark. 

2  That  is,  'fescue.'  Latin,  festuca,  a  wire  or  straw  used  to  teach  the  letters  =  a 
trifle.     Cf.  Wright,  sub  voce.—G. 

3  Merces  non  est  debita,  sed  gratuita.  4  '  Life  or  example.' — G. 

5  Synesius  speaks  of  some  who,  having  a  treasure  of  rare  abilities  in  tbem,  would  as 
soon  part  with  their  hearts  as  their  conceptions  ;  but  such  are  rather  monsters  than  men. 


214  APPLES  OF  GOLD.  [1  KlNGS  XIV.  13. 

the  best  way  to  do  ourselves  good  is  to  be  a-doing  good  to  others  ;  the 
best  way  to  gather  is  to  scatter.  Memorable  is  that  story  of  Pyrrhias, 
a  merchant  of  Ithaca,  who  at  sea  espying  an  aged  man,  a  captive  in  a 
pirate's  ship,  took  compassion  of  him,  and  redeemed  him,  and  bought 
his  commodities  which  the  pirate  had  taken  from  him,  which  were 
certain  barrels  of  pitch.  The  old  man  perceiving  that  not  for  any  good 
service  he  could  do  him,  nor  for  the  gain  of  that  commodity,  but  merely 
out  of  charity  and  pity  he  had  done  this,  discovered  a  great  mass  of 
treasure  hidden  in  the  pitch,  whereby  the  merchant  in  a  very  short 
time  became  very  rich  ;  at  which  very  time  God  made  that  word  good, 
'  He  that  soweth  liberally  shall  reap  liberally/  2  Cor.  ix.  6  ;  and  that 
word,  '  The  liberal  soul  shall  be  made  fat,'  Prov.  xi.  25  ;  and  that  Avord, 
'  The  liberal  deviseth  liberal  things,  and  by  liberal  things  shall  he  stand,' 
Isa.  xxxii.  8.  It  is  fabled  of  Midas,  that  whatever  he  touched  he  turned 
it  into  gold.  It  is  certain  that  a  liberal  hand,  a  liberal  heart,  turns  all 
into  gold,  into  gain,  as  Scripture  and  experience  do  abundantly  evidence. 
Now,  if  you  put  all  these  things  together,  nothing  is  more  evident  than 
that  those  that  begin  to  be  good  betimes  are  in  the  ready  way,  the  high 
way,  to  be  high  in  heaven  when  they  shall  cease  from  breathing  on 
earth.  And  therefore,  young  men,  as  you  would  be  high  in  heaven,  as 
you  would  have  a  great  reward,  a  full  reward,  a  massy,  weighty  crown, 
oh  labour  to  be  good  betimes ;  labour  to  get  acquainted  with  the  Lord, 
and  an  interest  in  the  Lord,  in  the  spring  and  morning  of  your  days  ! 

Motive  (7).  The  seventh  motive  or  consideration  to  provoke  and  incite 
you  to  be  good  betimes,  is  to  consider,  That  the  Lord  is  very  much 
affected  and  taken  with  your  seeking  of  him,  and  folloiving  after  him, 
in  the  spring  and  morning  of  your  youth. 

Go  and  cry  in  the  ears  of  Jerusalem,  saying,  '  I  remember  thee,  the 
kindness  of  thy  youth,  the  love  of  thine  espousals,  when  thou  wentest 
after  me  in  the  wilderness,  in  a  land  that  was  not  sown,'  Jer.  ii.  2. 

Ah  !  how  kindly,  how  sweetly  did  the  Lord  take  this  at  their  hands, 
that  they  followed  him  in  their  youth,  while  their  '  bones  were  full  of 
marrow,'  while  they  were  strong  and  fit  for  service,  while  nature  was 
fresh,  lively,  and  vigorous.  In  the  law,  God  called  for  the  first  of  all 
things  ;  he  required  not  only  the  first-fruits,  but  the  very  first  of  the 
first :  '  The  first  of  the  first  fruits  of  thy  land,  thou  shalt  bring  into  the 
house  of  the  Lord  thy  God,'  Exod.  xxiii.  19.  God  is  the  first  being,  the 
first  good,  and  therefore  deserves  the  first  of  the  first,  and  the  best  of 
the  best ;  the  first  and  the  best  is  not  too  good  for  him,  who  is  goodness 
itself.1  God,  in  that  of  Leviticus  ii.  14,  is  so  passionately  set  upon  hav- 
ing the  first  of  the  first,  that  he  will  not  stay  till  the  green  ears  of  corn 
be  ripe,  but  will  have  the  green  ears  of  corn  dried  in  the  fire,  lest  he 
should  lose  his  lonjnnrr. 

As  many  young  women  and  sickly  children  cannot  stay  till  the  fruit 
be  ripe,  but  must  have  it  while  it  is  green  ;  even  so,  saith  God,  my  heart, 
my  desires,  are  so  vehemently  set  upon  the  first-fruits,  the  first  things, 
that  I  cannot  stay,  I  cannot  satisfy  myself  without  them  ;  and  what 
would  God  teach  us  by  all  this,  but  to  serve  him  with  the  first-fruits  ->f 
our  age,  the  primrose  of  our  childhood,  the  morning  of  your  youth.  God 
hath  given  you  of  the  best,  do  not  put  him  off  with  the  worst,  with  the 

1  It  is  truly  said  of  God,  that  ho  is  Omnia  super  omnia- 


1  Kings  XIV.  13.]  apples  of  gold.  215 

worst  of  jour  time,  the  worst  of  your  days,  the  worst  of  your  strength, 
lest  he  swear  in  his  wrath  that  '  you  shall  never  enter  into  his  rest,' 
Heb.  iii.  18. 

Motive  (8).  The  eighth  motive  or  consideration  to  provoke  you  to  be 
good  betimes,  to  seek  and  serve  the  Lord  in  the  morning  of  your  youth, 
is  to  consider,  that  This  may  be  a  special  means  to  prevent  many 
black  temptations,  and  an  encouragement  to  withstand  all  tempta- 
tions that  you  may  meet  with  from  a  tempting  devil  and  a  tempting 
world. 

An  early  turning  to  the  Lord  will  prevent  many  temptations  to 
despair,  many  temptations  to  neglect  the  means  openly,  to  despise  the 
means  secretly  ;  many  temptations  about  the  being  of  God,  the  good- 
ness, faithfulness,  truth  and  justice  of  God  ;  temptations  to  despair, 
temptations  to  lay  violent  hands  on  a  man's  self.  Temptations  to 
question  all  that  God  hath  said,  and  that  Christ  hath  suffered,  arises 
many  times  from  men's  delaying  and  putting  off  of  God  to  the  last  ; 
all  which,  with  many  others,  are  prevented  by  a  man's  seeking  and 
serving  of  the  Lord  in  the  spring  and  morning  of  his  youth.1  It  is 
reported  of  the  harts  of  Scythia,  that  they  teach  their  young  ones  to 
leap  from  bank  to  bank,  from  rock  to  rock,  from  one  turf  to  another, 
by  leaping  before  them,  by  which  means,  when  they  are  hunted,  no 
beast  of  prey  can  ever  take  them  ;  so  when  persons  exercise  themselves 
in  godliness  when  they  are  young,  when  they  leap  from  one  measure  of 
holiness  to  another,  when  they  are  in  the  morning  of  their  days,  Satan, 
that  mighty  hunter  after  souls,  may  pursue  them  with  his  temptations, 
but  he  shall  not  overtake  them,  he  shall  not  prevail  over  them.  As 
you  see  in  Moses,  Joseph,  Daniel,  and  the  three  children,  these  knew 
the  Lord,  and  gave  up  themselves  to  the  Lord  in  the  prime  and  prim- 
rose of  their  youth,  and  these  were  all  temptation-proof,  Heb.  xi.,  Gen. 
xxxix.,  Dan.  iii.  Satan  and  the  world  pursued  them,  but  could  not 
overtake  them.  When  the  devil  and  the  world  had  done  their  worst, 
the  young  men's  bows  abode  in  strength,  and  their  hands  to  resist  were 
made  strong  by  the  hands  of  the  mighty  God  of  Jacob,  Gen.  xlix.  23,  24. 
Ego  non  sum  ego,  said  that  young  convert  when  tempted,  I  am  not  the 
man  that  I  was. 

Luther  tells  of  a  young  virgin  that  used  to  resist  all  temptations 
with  this,  Christianus  sum,  I  am  a  Christian.  Early  converts  may 
say,  when  tempted,  as  he,  Tell  me  not,  Satan,  what  I  have  been,  but 
what  I  am  and  will  be  ;  or  as  he  in  the  like  case,  Whatsoever  I  was,  I 
am  now  in  Christ  a  new  creature,  and  that  is  it  which  troubleth  thee  ; 
or  as  he,  The  more  desperate  my  disease  was,  the  more  I  admire  the 
physician.2  Yea,  thou  mayest  yet  strain  it  a  peg  higher,  and  say,  The 
greater  my  sins  were,  the  greater  is  my  honour,  as  the  devils  which  once 
Mary  Magdalene  had,  are  mentioned  for  her  glory.  When  Pyrrhus 
tempted  Fabricius  the  first  day  with  an  elephant,  so  huge  and  mon- 
strous a  beast,  as  before  he  had  not  seen,  the  next  day  with  money  and 

1  Early  converts  will  never  have  cause  to  say,  as  that  despairing  pope  said,  the  cross 
could  do  him  no  good,  because  he  had  so  often  sold  it  away. 

2  Bernard,  Beza,  Augustine.  Such  as  thou  art  now,  I  was  once,  but  such  as  I  am  now, 
thou  wilt  never  be,  said  Diogenes  to  a  base  fellow  that  told  him  he  had  once  been  a  forger 
of  money. 


216  APPLES  OF  GOLD.  [1  KlNGS  XIV.  13. 

promises  of  honour,  he  answered,  I  fear  not  thy  force,  I  am  too  wise  for 
thy  fraud. 

Ah  !  young  men,  young  men,  as  you  would  be  free  from  the  saddest 
and  darkest  temptations,  aod  as  you  would  be  armed  against  all  tempta- 
t  ions,  oh  labour  as  for  life  to  be  good  betimes  !  seek  and  serve  the  Lord 
in  the  morning  of  your  youth.  No  way  like  this  for  the  preventing 
earthquakes,  heartquakes,  stormy  days,  and  winter  nights,  &c. 

Motive  (9).  The  ninth  motive  or  consideration  to  stir  up  young 
men  to  be  good  betimes,  to  seek  and  serve  the  Lord  in  the  spring  and 
morning  of  their  youth,  is,  To  consider  the  worth  and  excellency  of 
souls. 

A  soul  is  a  spiritual,  immortal  substance,  it  is  capable  of  the  know- 
ledge of  God,  it  is  capable  of  union  with  God,  of  communion  with  God, 
and  of  a  blessed  and  happy  fruition  of  God,  Mat.  xix.  28  ;  Acts  vii.  59, 
60  ;  Philip,  i.  23. 

Christ  left  his  Father's  bosom  for  the  good  of  souls  ;  he  assumed 
man's  nature  for  the  salvation  of  man's  soul.  Christ  prayed  for  souls, 
he  sweat  for  souls,  he  wept  for  souls,  he  bled  for  souls,  he  hung  on  the 
cross  for  souls,  he  trode  the  wine-press  of  his  Father's  wrath  for  souls, 
he  died  for  souls,  he  rose  again  from  death  for  souls,  he  ascended  for 
souls,  he  intercedes  for  souls,  and  all  the  glorious  preparations  that  he 
hath  been  a-making  in  heaven  these  sixteen  hundred  years  is  for  souls, 
Heb.  ii.  13-16  ;  Isa.  lxiii.  3  ;  John  xiv.  1-3. 

Ah  !  young  men,  young  men,  do  not  play  the  courtier  with  your 
precious  souls.  The  courtier  doth  all  things  late ;  he  rises  late,  dines 
late,  sups  late,  goes  to  bed  late,  repents  late. 

Ah  1  sirs,  the  good  of  your  souls  is  before  all,  and  above  all  other 
things  in  the  world  ;  to  be  first  regarded  and  provided  for,  and  that 
partly  because  it  is  the  best  and  more  noble  part  of  man,  and  partly 
because  therein  mostly  and  properly  is  the  image  of  God  stamped,  and 
partly  because  it  is  the  first  converted,  and  partly  because  it  shall  be 
the  first  and  most  glorified.1 

Ah  !  young  men,  young  men,  if  they  be  worse  than  infidels,  that 
make  no  provision  for  their  families,  1  Tim.  v.  8  ;  what  monsters  are 
they  that  make  not  provision  for  their  own  souls  !  This  will  be  bitter- 
ness in  the  end. 

Csesar  Borgias  being  sick  to  death,  lamentably  said,  '  When  I  lived,  I 
provided  for  everything  but  death ;  now  I  must  die,  and  am  unprovided 
to  die.'  This  was  a  dart  at  his  heart,  and  it  will  at  last  be  a  dagger  at 
yours,  who  feast  your  bodies,  but  starve  your  souls  ;  who  make  liberal 
provision  for  your  ignoble  part,  but  no  provision  for  your  more  noble 
part. 

If  they  deserve  a  hanging,  who  feast  their  slaves,  and  starve  their 
wives  ;  that  make  provision  for  their  enemies,  but  none  for  their 
friend  ;  how  will  you  escape  hanging  in  hell,  who  make  provision  for 
everything,  yea,  for  your  very  lusts,  but  make  no  provision  for  your 
immortal  souls?  James  iv.  2,  3  ;  Hos.  vii.  13,  14.  We  hate  the  Turks 
for  selling  Christians  for  slaves,  and  what  shall  we  think  then  of  those 
who  sell  themselves,  their  precious  souls,  for  toys  and  trifles  that  can- 
not  profit?   who  practically  say,  what  once   a  profane  nobleman  of 

1  0  anima  'Dei  insignita  imagine,  desponsata  fide,  donata  spiritu.-Benia.id- 


1  Kings  XIV.  13.]  apples  of  gold.  217 

Naples  verbally  said,  viz.,  that  he  had  two  souls  in  his  body,  one  for 
God,  and  another  for  whosoever  would  buy  it.1 

Ah  !  young  men,  young  men,  do  not  pawn  your  souls,  do  not  sell 
your  souls,  do  not  exchange  away  your  souls,  do  not  trifle  and  fool  away 
your  precious  souls ;  they  are  jewels,  more  worth  than  a  thousand 
worlds,  yea,  than  heaven  and  earth.  If  they  are  safe,  all  is  safe  ;  but 
if  they  are  lost,  all  is  lost :  God  lost,  and  Christ  lost,  and  the  society  of 
glorious  angels  and  blessed  saints  lost,  and  heaven  lost,  and  that  for 
ever.  Granetensis  tells  of  a  woman  that  was  so  affected  with  souls' 
miscarryings,  that  she  besought  God  to  stop  up  the  passage  into  hell 
with  her  soul  and  body,  that  none  might  have  entrance. 

Ah !  that  all  young  persons  were  so  affected  with  the  worth  and 
excellency  of  their  souls,  and  so  alarmed  with  the  hazard  and  danger  of 
losing  their  souls,  as  that  they  may  in  the  spring  and  morning  of  their 
days  inquire  after  the  Lord,  and  seek  him,  and  serve  him  with  all  their 
might,  that  so  their  precious  and  immortal  souls  may  be  safe  and  happy 
for  ever.     But  if  all  this  will  not  do,  then  in  the  last  place, 

Motive  (10).  Tenthly,  Consider,  young  men,  That  God  will  at  last 
bring  you  to  a  reckoning.  He  will  at  last  bring  you  to  judgment. 
'  Rejoice,  O  young  man,  in  thy  youth,  and  let  thy  heart  cheer  thee  in 
the  days  of  thy  youth,  and  walk  in  the  ways  of  thine  heart,  and  in  the 
sight  of  thine  eyes  ;  but  know  thou,  that  for  all  these  things,  God  will 
bring  thee  unto  judgment/  Eccles.  xi.  9.  In  these  words  you  have 
two  things:  (1.)  An  ironical  concession;  he  bids  him  rejoice,  &c.  ;  he 
yields  him  what  he  would  have,  by  an  irony,  by  way  of  mock  age  and 
bitter  scoff.  Now  thou  art  young  and  strong,  lively  and  lusty,  and  thy 
bones  are  full  of  marrow  ;  thou  art  resolved  to  be  proud  and  scornful, 
to  indulge  the  flesh,  and  to  follow  thy  delights  and  pleasures.  Well !  take 
thy  course  if  thou  darest,  or  if  thou  hast  a  mind  to  it,  if  thy  heart  be  so 
set  upon  it.  '  Rejoice  in  thy  youth,'  &c.  (2.)  The  second  is  a  com- 
mination,  or  a  sad  and  severe  premonition  :2  '  But  know  thou,  that 
for  all  these  things,  God  will  bring  thee  into  judgment.  '  Will  bring 
thee ;'  these  words  import  two  things  :  first,  the  unwillingness  of  youth 
to  come  to  judgment ;  secondly,  the  unavoidableness  that  youth  must 
come  to  judgment  ;  but  how  soon  you  shall  be  brought  to  judgment, 
is  only  known  to  God, 

Augustine  confesses  in  one  of  his  books,  that  as  long  as  his  conscience 
was  gnawed  with  the  guilt  of  some  youthful  lust  he  was  once  ensnared 
with,  the  very  hearing  of  a  day  of  judgment,  was  even  a  hell  to  him. 

Histories  tell  us  of  a  young  man,  who  being  for  some  capital  offence 
condemned  to  die,  grew  grey  in  one  night's  space,  and  was  therefore 
pitied  and  spared. 

Ah  !  young  men,  young  men,  that  the  serious  thoughts  of  this  great 
day,  may  put  you  upon  breaking  off  the  sins  of  your  youth  ;  and  the 
dedicating  of  yourselves  to  the  knowledge,  love,  and  service  of  the  Lord, 
in  the  spring  and  flower  of  your  days.  Ah  !  young  men,  consider  the 
errors  of  your  lives,  the  wickedness  of  your  hearts,  the  sinfulness  of 

1  Callenuceus  relates  this  story. 

a  Jerome  still  thought  that  that  noise  was  in  his  ears,  Surgite  mortui,  et  venile  ad 
judicium,  Arise,  you  dead,  and  come  to  judgment. 


218  APPLES  OF  GOLD.  [1  KlNGS  XIV.  13. 

your  ways,  and  that  strict  account  that  ere  long  you  must  be  brought 
to  before  the  judge  of  all  the  world. 

The  Latin  us  themselves  had  some  kind  of  dread  and  expectation  of 
guch  a  day  ;  and  therefore,  when  Paul  spake  of  judgment  to  come, 
Felix  trembled,  though  a  heathen,  Acts  xxiv.  25. 

The  bringing  into  judgment  is  a  thing  which  is  known  by  reason,  and 
is  clear  by  the  light  of  nature;'  wherefore,  in  Austria,  one  of  the  nobles 
d\  in-,,  who  had  lived  fourscore  and  thirteen  years,  and  had  spent  all  his 
lite  in  pleasures  ami  delights,  never  being  troubled  with  any  infirmity, 
and  this  being  told  to  Frederick  the  emperor,  From  hence,  saith  he,  we 
may  conclude  the  soul's  immortality  ;  for  if  there  be  a  God  that  ruleth 
this  world,  as  divines  and  philosophers  do  teach,  and  that  he  is  just  no 
one  denieth,  surely  there  are  other  places  to  which  souls  after  death  do  go, 
and  do  receive  for  their  deeds  either  reward  or  punishment,  for  here  we  see 
that  neither  rewards  are  given  to  the  good,  nor  punishments  to  the  evil.2 

Ah,  young  men  !  '  knowing  therefore  the  terror  of  the  Lord/  2  Cor. 
v.  9—11,  and  the  terror  of  this  day,  oh  !  that  you  would  be  persuaded 
to  flee  from  the  wrath  to  come,  to  cast  away  the  idols  of  your  souls,  to 
repent  and  be  converted  in  the  primrose  of  your  youth,  that  your  sins 
may  be  blotted  out  when  '  the  times  of  refreshing  shall  come  from  the 
presence  of  the  Lord,  'Acts  iii.  19,  or  else  woe!  woe!  to  you  that  ever  you 
uei,  born  !  I  have  read  a  story  of  one  who,  being  risen  from  the  dead, 
and  being  asked  in  what  condition  he  was,  he  made  answer,  No  man 
doth  believe,  no  man  doth  believe,  no  man  doth  believe.  And  being 
further  asked  what  he  meant  by  that  repetition,  he  answered,  Mo  man 
doth  believe  how  exactly  God  examineth,  how  strictly  God  judgeth,  how 
severely  he  punisheth.  Oh  that  the  ways  of  most  young  persons  did 
not  declare  to  all  the  world  that  they  do  not,  and  that  they  will  not  be- 
lieve the  dread  and  terror  of  that  day  that  will  admit  of  no  plea,  nor 
place  for  apology  or  appeal  !  The  highest  and  last  tribunal  can  never 
be  appealed  from,  or  repealed.3 

Now  if,  for  all  that  hath  been  said,  you  are  resolved  to  spend  the 
flower  of  your  days,  and  the  prime  of  your  strength,  in  the  service  of 
sin  and  the  world,  then  know  that  no  tongue  can  express,  no  heart  can 
conceive  that  trouble  of  mind,  that  terror  of  soul,  that  horror  of  con- 
science, that  fear  and  amazement,  that  weeping  and  wailing,  that  cry- 
ing and  roaring,  that  sighing  and  groaning,  that  cursing  and  banning, 
that  stamping  and  tearing,  that  wringing  q{"  hands  and  gnashing  of 
teeth,  that  shall  certainly  attend  you,  when  God  shall  bring  you  into 
judgment  for  all  your  looseness  and  lightness,  for  all  your  wickedness 
and  wantonness,  for  all  your  profaneness  and  baseness,  for  all  your 
neglect  of  God,  your  grieving  the  Comforter,  your  trampling  under  foot 
the  blood  of  a  Saviour,  for  your  despising  of  the  means,  for  your  priz- 
ing earth  above  heaven,  and  the  pleasures  of  this  world  above  the  plea- 
sures that  be  at  God's  right  hand.4 

1  The  philosophers  had  Rome  dreams  of  a  severe  day  of  accounts,  as  appeareth  by 
Plato-*  Qeorgi  [Gorgies],  and  many  pas-sups  in  Tully.  &c.  8  ^Eneas  Sylvius. 

8  The  Turks  have  a  tradition  and  frantic  opinion,  that  wicked  men  shall  at  the  great 
day  carry  their  Bins  in  latoheta  [Qu.  '  satchels  '?— G.]  after  their  captain,  Cain;  but  well 
would  it  be  tor  them  if  this  should  be  all  their  punishment  in  that  great  day. 

4  OhryBoetom,  speaking  of  this  day,  saith,  For  Christ  at  this  day  to  say,  Depart  from 
me,  is  a  thing  more  terrible  than  a  thousand  hells. — Chrys.  Horn,  ad  Fop.  Anlioch. 


1  Kings  XIV.  13.]  apples  of  gold.  219 

Oh  !  how  will  you  wish  in  that  day  when  your  sins  shall  be  charged 
on  you,  when  justice  shall  be  armed  against  you,  when  conscience  shall 
be  gnawing  within  you,  when  the  world  shall  be  a  flaming  fire  about 
you,  when  the  gates  of  heaven  shall  be  shut  against  you,  and  the  flame 
of  hell  ready  to  take  hold  of  you,  when  angels  and  saints  shall  sit  in 
judgment  upon  you,  and  for  ever  turn  their  faces  from  you,  when  evil 
spirits  shall  be  terrifying  of  you,  and  Jesus  Christ  for  ever  disowning  of 
you ;  how  will  you,  I  say,  wish  in  that  day  that  you  had  never  been  born, 
or  that  you  might  now  be  unborn,  or  that  your  mothers'  wombs  had 
proved  your  tombs  !  Oh,  how  will  you  then  wish  to  be  turned  into  a 
bird,  a  beast,  a  stock,  a  stone,  a  toad,  a  tree  !  Oh  that  our  immortal 
souls  were  mortal  !  Oh  that  we  were  nothing !  Oh  that  we  were  any- 
thing but  what  we  are  ! 

I  have  read  a  remarkable  story  of  a  king1  that  was  heavy  and  sad, 
and  wept,  which,  when  his  brother  saw,  he  asked  him  why  he  was  so 
pensive  ?     Because,  saith  he,  I  have  judged  others,  and  now  I  must  be 
judged  myself.     And  why,  saith  his  brother,  do  you  so  take  on  for  this? 
it  will,  happily,  be  a  long  time  ere  that  day  come,  and  besides  that, 
it  is  but  a  slight  matter.     The  king  said  little  to  it  for  the  present. 
Now,    it  was  a    custom  in   that  country,    when  any  had   committed 
treason,  there  was  a  trumpet  sounded  at  his  door  in  the  night  time,  and 
he  was  next  day  brought  out  to  be  executed.     Now,  the  king  com- 
manded a  trumpet  to  be  sounded  at  his  brother  s  door  in  the  night- 
time, who,  awakening  out  of  his  sleep,  when  he  heard  it,  arose,  and 
came  quaking  and  trembling  to  the  king.     How  now  i  saith  the  king; 
what's  the  matter  you  are  so  affrighted  ?     I  am,  saith  he,  attached  of 
treason,  and  next  morning  I  shall  be  executed.     Why,  saith  the  king  to 
him  again,  are  you  so  troubled  at  that,  knowing  that  you  shall  be 
judged  by  your  brother,  and  for  a  matter  that  your  conscience  tells  you 
you  are  clear  of  ?     How  much  more,  therefore,  may  I  be  afraid,  seeing 
that  God  shall  judge  me,  and  not  in  a  matter  that  my  conscience  frees 
me  of,  but  of  that  whereof  I  am  guilty  ?     And  beside  this,  if  the  worst 
come,  it  is  but  a  temporary2  death  you  shall  die,  but  I  am  liable  to 
death  eternal,  both  of  body  and  soul.     I  will  leave  the  application  to 
those  young  persons  that  put  this  day  afar  off,  and  whom  no  arguments 
will  move  to  be  good  betimes,  and  to  acquaint  themselves  with  the  Lord 
in  the  morning  of  their  youth. 

But  now  to  those  young  men  and  women  who  begin  to  seek,  serve, 
and  love  the  Lord  in  the  primrose  of  their  days,  the  day  of  judgment 
will  be  to  them  melodia  in  aure,  jubilum  in  corde,  like  music  in  the 
ear,  and  a  jubilee  in  the  heart.  This  day  will  be  to  them  '  a  day  of 
refreshing,'  a  '  day  of  redemption,'  a  day  of  vindication,  a  day  of  coro- 
nation, a  day  of  consolation,  a  day  of  salvation  ;  it  will  be  to  them  a 
marriage-day,  a  harvest-day,  a  pay-day. a  Now  the  Lord  will  pay  them 
for  all  the  prayers  they  have  made,  for  all  the  sermons  they  have  heard, 
for  all  the  tears  they  have  shed.  In  this  great  day  Christ  will  remem- 
ber all  the  individual  offices  of  love  and  friendship  shewed  to  any  of 
his.     Now  he  will  mention  many  things  for  their  honour  and  comfort 

1  Joan.  Damasc.  et  Author.  Anonym.  De  quat.  Noviss.  Impress.  Daven.  Ann.  1494. 

*  '  Temporal.'— G. 

8  Acts  iii.  19-22,  Micah  vii.  7-11,  Rev.  xix.  6-10,  Mat.  xxv.  34-41. 


220  APPLES  OF  GOLD.  [1  KlNOS  XIV.   13. 

that  they  never  minded,  now  the  least  and  lowest  acts  of  love  and  pity 
towards  his  shall  be  interpreted  as  a  special  kindness  shewed  to  him- 
self. Now  the  crown  shall  be  set  upon  their  heads,  and  the  royal  robes 
put  upon  their  backs;  now  all  the  world  shall  see  that  they  have  not 
served  the  Lord  for  nought.1  Now  Christ  will  pass  over  all  their  weak- 
nesses, and  make  honourable  mention  of  all  the  services  they  have  per- 
formed, of  all  the  mercies  they  have  improved,  and  of  all  the  great 
things  that  for  his  name  and  glory  they  have  suffered. 


CHAPTER  V. 

Qurxt.  But  here  an  apt  question  may  be  moved,  viz.,  Whether  at  this 
great  day,  the  si ns  of  the  saints  shall  be  brought  into  the  judgment  of 
discussion  and  discovery,  or  no?  Whether  the  Lord  ivill  in  this  day 
publicly  manifest,  proclaim,  and  make  mention  of  the  sins  of  his 
people,  or  no  ? 

1  humbly  judge,  according  to  my  present  light,  that  he  will  not ;  and 
my  reasons  for  it  are  these,  viz. : 

1.  The  first  is  drawn  from  Christ's  judicial  proceedings  in  the  last 
day,  set  down  largely  and  clearly  in  the  25th  of  Matthew,  where  he 
enumerateth  only  the  good  works  they  had  done,  but  takes  no  notice 
of  the  spots  and  blots,  of  the  stains  and  blemishes,  of  the  infirmities 
and  enormities,  of  the  weaknesses  and  wickednesses  of  his  people,  Deut. 
xxxii.  4-6.     My, 

2.  Second  reason  is  taken  from  Christ's  vehement  protestations  that 
they  shall  not  come  into  judgment  :  John  v.  24,  '  Verily,  verily,  I  say 
unto  you,  he  that  heareth  my  word,  and  believeth  on  him  that  sent  me, 
hath  everlasting  life,  and  shall  not  come  into  condemnation,  but  is 
passed  from  death  unto  life.'  Those  words,  '  shall  not  come  into  con- 
demnation,' are  not  rightly  translated  ;  the  original  is,  hg  xgkn,  shall 
not  come  into  judgment,  not  into  damnation,  as  you  read  it  in  all  your 
English  books.  I  will  not  say  what  should  put  men  upon  this  exposi- 
tion rather  than  a  true  translation  of  the  original  word.2  Further,  it  is 
very  observable,  that  no  evangelist  useth  this  double  asseveration  but 
John,  and  he  never  useth  it  but  in  matters  of  the  greatest  weight  and 
importance,  and  to  shew  the  earnestness  of  his  spirit,  and  to  stir  us  up 
to  better  attention,  and  to  put  the  thing  asserted  out  of  all  question,  and 
beyond  all  contradiction  ;3  as  when  we  would  put  a  thing  for  ever  out  of 
all  question,  we  do  it  by  a  double  asseveration,  Verily,  verily,  it  is  so,  &c. 

3.  Thirdly,  Because  his  not  bringing  their  sins  into  judgment  doth 
most  and  best  agree  with  many  precious  expressions  that  we  find  scat- 
tered, as  so  many  shining,  sparkling  pearls,  up  and  down  in  Scripture, 
as,  First,  (I.)  With  those  of  God's  blotting  out  the  sins  of  his  people  : 
'I,  even  I,  am  he  that  blotteth  out  thy  transgressions  for  my  own  sake, 
and  will  not  remember  thy  sins.'  'I  have  blotted  out  as  a  thick  cloud  thy 
transgressions,  and  as  a  cloud  thy  sins,'  Isa.  xliii.  25,  xliv.  22.  Who  is 
this  that  blots  out  transgressions?     He  that  hath  the  keys  of  heaven 

1  2  Tim.  iv8,  Mai.  iii,  17,  18. 

a  Vide  A quiii  87,  Suj.pl.  Estius.  in  I.  iv.  Sen.  dist.  47. 

3  John  i.  51  ;  iii.  3,  11  ;  vi-  20,  32,  47,  63,  &c 


1  Kings  XIV.  13.]  apples  of  gold.  221 

and  hell  at  his  girdle,  that  opens  and  no  man  shuts,  that  shuts  and  no 
man  opens  ;  he  that  hath  the  power  of  life  and  death,  of  condemning 
and  absolving,  of  killing  and  making  alive,  he  it  is  that  blots  out  trans- 
gressions. If  an  under-officer  should  blot  out  an  indictment,  that  per- 
haps might  do  a  man  no  good,  a  man  might  for  all  that  be  at  last  cast 
by  the  judge  ;  but  when  the  judge  or  king  shall  blot  out  the  indictment 
with  their  own  hand,  then  the  indictment  cannot  return.  Now  this  is 
every  believer's  case  and  happiness.  (2.)  Secondly,  To  those  o-lorious 
expressions  of  God's  not  remembering  of  their  sins  any  more  :  Isa. 
xliii.  25,  '  And  I  will  not  remember  thy  sins.'  '  And  they  shall  teach 
no  more  every  man  his  neighbour,  and  every  man  his  brother,  saying 
Know  the  Lord  :  for  they  shall  all  know  me,  from  the  least  of  them  to 
the  greatest  of  them,  saith  the  Lord :  for  I  will  forgive  their  iniquity, 
and  I  will  remember  their  sin  no  more,'  Jer.  xxxi.  34.  So  the  apostle, 
1  For  I  will  be  merciful  to  their  unrighteousness,  and  their  sins  and  their 
iniquities  will  I  remember  no  more/  Heb.  viii.  1 2. 

And  again  the  same  apostle  saith,  '  This  is  the  covenant  that  I  will 
make  with  them  after  those  days,  saith  the  Lord,  I  will  put  my  laws 
into  £heir  hearts,  and  in  their  minds  will  I  write  them ;  and  their  sins 
and  iniquities  will  I  remember  no  more,'  Heb.  x.  17. 

The  meaning  is,  their  iniquities  shall  quite  be  forgiven,  I  will  never 
mention  them  more,  I  will  never  take  notice  of  them  more,  they  shall 
never  hear  more  of  them  from  me.  Though  God  hath  an  iron  memory 
to  remember  the  sins  of  the  wicked,  yet  he  hath  no  memory  to  remember 
the  sins  of  the  righteous.1  (3.)  Thirdly,  His  not  bringing  their  sins  into 
judgment  doth  most  and  best  agree  with  those  blessed  expressions  of 
his  casting  their  sins  into  the  depth  of  the  sea,  and  of  his  castino-  them 
behind  his  back  :  '  He  will  turn  again,  he  will  have  compassion  upon 
us,  he  will  subdue  our  iniquities,  and  thou  wilt  cast  all  their  sins  into 
the  depths  of  the  sea/  Micah  vii.  19.  Where  sin  is  once  pardoned,  the 
remission  stands  never  to  be  repealed.  Pardoned  sins  shall  never  come 
in  account  against  the  pardoned  man  before  God  any  more,  for  so  much 
doth  this  borrowed  speech  import.  If  a  thing  were  cast  into  a  river  it 
might  be  brought  up  again  ;  or  if  it  were  cast  upon  the  sea,  it  might  be 
discerned  and  taken  up  again  ;  but  when  it  is  cast  into  the  depths,  the 
bottom  of  the  sea,  it  can  never  be  buoyed  up  again. 

By  the  metaphor  in  the  text,  the  Lord  would  have  us  to  know  the 
sins  pardoned  shall  rise  no  more,  they  shall  never  be  seen  more,  they 
shall  never  come  on  the  account  more  ;  he  will  so  drown  their  sins,  that 
they  shall  never  come  up  before  him  the  second  time. 

And  so  much  that  other  scripture  imports  :  '  Behold,  for  peace  I  had 
great  bitterness,  but  thou  hast  in  love  to  my  soul  delivered  it  from  the 
pit  of  corruption  ;  for  thou  hast  cast  all  my  sins  behind  thy  back/  Isa. 
xxxviii.  17.  These  last  words  are  a  borrowed  speech,  taken  from  the 
manner  of  men,  who  are  wont  to  cast  behind  their  backs  such  things 
as  they  have  no  mind  to  see,  regard,  or  remember.  A  gracious  sou]  hath 
always  his  sins  before  his  face  :  '  I  acknowledge  my  transgressions,  and 
my  sin  is  ever  before  me;'  and  therefore  no  wonder  if  the  Lord  cast  them 
behind  his  back.     The  father  soon  forgets  and  casts  behind  his  back 

'  That  which  Cicero  said  flatteringly  of  Csesar  is  truly  affirmed  of  God,  Nihil  oblivisci 
solet  prceler  injurias,  he  forgetteth  nothing  hut  the  wrongs  that  daily  are  done  him  by  his. 


222  APPLES  OF  GOLD.  [1  KlNOS  XIV.  IS 

those  faults  that  the  child  remembers  and  hath  always  in  his  eyes  ;  so 
doth  the  Fatherof  spirits.  (4.)  Fourthly,  His  not  bringing  their  sins 
into  judgment  doth  best  agree  with  that  sweet  and  choice  expression  of 
God's  pardoning  the  sins  of, his  people  :  '  And  I  will  cleanse  them  from  all 
their  iniquity,  whereby  they  have  sinned  against  me;  and  I  will  pardon  all 
th.-ir  iniquities,  whereby  they  have  sinned,  and  whereby  they  have  trans- 
gressed against  me,'  Jer.  xxxiii.  8.  So  Micah  :  '  Who  is  a  God  like  unto 
thee,  that  pardoneth  iniquity,  and  passes  by  the  transgressions  of  the 
remnant  of  his  heritage  (as  though  he  would  not  see  it,  but  wink  at  it), 
he  retaineth  not  his  anger  for  ever,  because  he  delighteth  in  mercy,'  Micah 
vii.  18.  The  Hebrew  word  nose,  from  nasa,  that  is  here  rendered  par- 
doneth,  signifies  a  taking  away.  When  God  pardons  sin,  he  takes  it 
sheer  away :  that  it  should  be  sought  for,  yet  it  could  not  be  found,  as 
the  prophet  speaks :  '  In  those  days,  and  in  that  time,  saith  the  Lord, 
the  iniquity  of  Israel  shall  be  sought  for,  and  there  shall  be  none  ;  and 
the  sins  of  Judah,  and  they  shall  not  be  found  ;  for  I  will  pardon  them 
whom  I  reserve,'  Jer.  1.  20  ;  and  those  words,  'and  passeth  by,'  in  the 
afore-cited  7th  of  Micah,  and  the  18th,  according  to  the  Hebrew  Veg- 
nober  Gnat,  is,  and  '  passeth  over  ;n  God  passeth  over  the  transgression 
of  his  heritage,  that  is,  he  takes  no  notice  of  it  As  a  man  in  a  deep 
muse,  or  as  one  that  hath  haste  of  business,  seeth  not  things  before  him, 
his  mind  being  busied  about  other  matters,  he  neglects  all  to  mind  his 
business  ;  as  David,  when  he  saw  in  Mephibosheth  the  feature  of  his 
friend  Jonathan,  took  no  notice  of  his  lameness,  or  any  other  defect  or 
deformity ;  so  God,  beholding  in  his  people  the  glorious  image  of  his  Son, 
winks  at  all  their  faults  and  deformities,  which  made  Luther  say,  '  Do 
with  me  what  thou  wilt,  since  thou  hast  pardoned  my  sin  ;'  and  what  is 
it  to  pardon  sin  but  not  to  mention  sin?  Isa.  xl.  1,  2.  (5.)  Fifthly,  In  his 
not  bringing  their  sins  into  the  judgment  of  discussion  and  discovery, 
doth  best  agree  to  those  expressions  of  forgiving  and  covering  :  '  Blessed 
is  he  whose  transgression  is  forgiven,  whose  sin  is  covered,'  Ps.  xxxii.  1. 
In  the  original  it  is  in  the  plural,  blessednesses.  So  here  is  a  plurality 
of  blessings,  a  chain  of  pearls. 

The  like  expression  you  have  in  the  85th  psalm,  and  the  2d  verse  : 
'  Thou  hast  forgiven  the  iniquity  of  thy  people,  thou  hast  covered  all 
their  sin.  Selah.'  For  the  understanding  of  these  scriptures  aright,  take 
notice  that  to  '  cover '  is  a  metaphorical  expression.  Covering  is  such 
an  action  which  is  opposed  to  disclosure.2  To  be  covered  is  to  be  so  hid 
and  closed  as  not  to  appear.  Some  make  the  metaphor  from  filthy, 
loathsome  objects,  which  are  covered  from  our  eyes,  as  dead  carcases 
are  buried  under  the  ground;  some  from  garments,  that  are  put  upon 
us  to  cover  our  nakedness  ;  others  from  the  Egyptians,  that  were  drowned 
in  the  Red  Sea,  and  so  covered  with  water ;  others  from  a  great  gulf  in 
the  earth,  that  is  filled  up  aud  covered  with  earth  injected  into  it ;  and 
others  make  it  in  the  last  place  an  allusive  expression  to  the  mercy-seat, 
over  which  wasaoovering.  Now,all  these  metaphors  in  the  general  tend  to 
shew  this,  that  the  Lord  will  not  look,  he  will  not  see,  he  will  not  take  notice 
of  the  sins  he  hath  pardoned, to  call  them  any  more  to  a  judicial  account. 

As  when  a  prince  reads  over  many  treasons  and  rebellions,  and  meets 
with  such  and  such  which   he  hath  pardoned,  he  reads  on,  he  passeth 

1  "\2V>  Guubur,  he  passed  over.  Sic  velantur,  ut  injudicio  non  revelenlur. 


1  Kings  XIV.  13.]  apples  of  gold.  223 

by,  he  takes  no  notice  of  them  :  the  pardoned  person  shall  never  hear 
more  of  them,  he  will  never  call  him  to  account  for  those  sins  more ;  so 
here,  &c.  When  Caesar  was  painted,  he  put  his  finger  upon  his  scar,  his 
Wart.  God  puts  his  fingers  upon  all  his  people's  scars  and  warts,  upon 
all  their  weaknesses  and  infirmities,  that  nothing  can  be  seen  but  what 
is  fair  and  lovely  :  '  Thou  art  all  fair,  my  love ;  and  there  is  no  spot  in 
thee/  Cant.  iv.  7.  (6.)  Sixthly,  It  best  agrees  to  that  expression  of  not 
imputing  of  sin  :  '  Blessed  is  the  man  to  whom  the  Lord  imputeth  not 
iniquity,  and  in  whose  spirit  there  is  no  guile/  Ps.  xxxii.  2.  So  the 
apostle  in  that  Rom.  iv.  6-8.  Now,  not  to  impute  iniquity  is  not  to 
charge  iniquity,  not  to  set  iniquity  upon  his  score,  who  is  blessed  and 
pardoned,  &c.  (7.)  Seventhly  and  lastly,  It  best  agrees  with  that  ex- 
pression that  you  have  in  the  103d  Psalm,  and  the  11th  and  ]  2th  verses : 
'  For  as  the  heaven  is  high  above  the  earth,  so  great  is  his  mercy  towards 
them  that  fear  him.  As  far  as  the  east  is  from  the  west,  so  far  hath  he 
removed  our  transgressions  from  us.'  What  a  vast  distance  is  there 
betwixt  the  east  and  the  west !  Of  all  visible  latitudes,  this  is  the  greatest ; 
and  thus  much  for  the  third  argument.     The 

4.  Fourth  argument  that  prevails  with  me,  to  judge  that  Jesus  Christ 
will  not  bring  the  sins  of  the  saints  into  the  judgment  of  discussion  aud 
discovery  in  the  great  day,  is  because  it  seems  unsuitable  to  three  con- 
siderable things,  for  Jesus  Christ  to  proclaim  the  infirmities  and  mis- 
carriages of  his  people  to  all  the  world. 

(1.)  First,  It  seems  to  be  unsuitable  to  the  glory  and  solemnity  of 
that  day,  which  to  the  saints  will  be  a  day  of  refreshing,  a  day  of  resti- 
tution, a  day  of  redemption,  a  day  of  coronation,  as  hath  been  already 
proved.  Now  how  suitable  to  this  great  day  of  solemnity  the  proclama- 
tion of  the  saints'  sins  will  be,  I  leave  the  reader  to  judge. 

(2.)  Secondly,  It  seems  unsuitable  to  all  those  near  and  dear  relations 
that  Jesus  Christ  stands  in  towards  his.  He  stands  in  the  relation  of 
a  father,  a  brother,  a  head,  a  husband,  a  friend,  an  advocate.  Now  are 
not  all  these,  by  the  law  of  relations,  bound  rather  to  hide  and  keep 
secret,  at  least  from  the  world,  the  weaknesses  and  infirmities  of  their 
near  and  dear  relations?  and  is  not  Christ  ?  Is  not  Christ  much  more  ? 
By  how  much  he  is  more  a  father,  a  brother,  a  head,  a  husband,  &c, 
in  a  spiritual  way,  than  any  others  can  be  in  a  natural  way,  &C1 

(3.)  Thirdly,  It  seems  very  unsuitable  to  what  the  Lord  Jesus  requires 
of  his  in  this  world.  The  Lord  requires  that  his  people  should  cast  a 
mantle  of  love,  of  wisdom,  of  silence,  and  secresy  over  one  another's 
weaknesses  and  infirmities. 

Hatred  stirreth  up  strifes,  but  love  covereth  all  sins,  Prov.  x.  12, 
1  Pet.  iv.  8.  Love's  mantle  is  very  large  ;  love  will  find  a  hand,  a  plaster 
to  clap  upon  every  sore.  Flavius  Vespasianus,  the  emperor,  was  very 
ready  to  conceal  his  friends'  vices,  and  as  ready  to  reveal  their  virtues. 
So  is  divine  love  in  the  hearts  of  the  saints  :  '  If  thy  brother  offend  thee, 
go  and  tell  him  his  fault  between  him  and  thee  alone  :  if  he  shall  hear 
thee,  thou  hast  gained  thy  brother,'  Mat.  xviii.  15.  As  the  pills  of 
reprehension  are  to  be  gilded  and  sugared  over  with  much  gentleness 
and  softness,  so  they  are  to  be  given  in  secret;  tell  him  between  him 
and  thee  alone.  Tale-bearers  and  tale-hearers  are  alike  abominable, 
1  Isa.  ix.  6  ;  Heb.  ii.  11,  12 ;  Ephes.  i.  21,  22 ;  Rev.  xix.  7 ;  John  xv.  1 ;  Johu  ii.  1,  2. 


224  APPLES  OF  GOLD.  [1  KlNGS  XIV.  13. 

heaven  is  too  hot  and  too  holy  a  place  for  them,  Ps.  xv.  3.  Now  will 
Jesus  Christ  have  us  carry  it  thus  towards  offending  Christians,  and  will 
he  himself  act  otherwise?  Nay,  is  it  an  evil  in  us  to  lay  open  the 
weaknesses  and  infirmities  of  the  saints  to  the  world?  and  will  it  be  an 
excellency,  a  glory,  a  virtue  in  Christ  to  do  it  in  the  great  day  ?  &c. 

A  fifth  argument  is  this  :  It  is  the  glory  of  a  man  to  pass  over  a 
transgression  :  '  The  discretion  of  a  man  deferreth  his  anger:  and  it  is 
his  glory  to  pass  over  a  transgression,'  Prov.  xix.  11,  or  to  pass  by  it,  as 
we  do  bv  persons  or  things  we  know  not,  or  would  take  no  notice  of. 
Now  'is  it  the  glory  of  a  man  to  pass  over  a  transgression,'  and  will  it 
not  much  more  be  the  glory  of  Christ,  silently  to  pass  over  the  trans- 
gressions of  his  people  in  that  great  day  I1  The  greater  the  treasons 
and  rebellions  are  that  a  prince  passes  over  and  takes  no  notice  of,  the 
more  is  it  his  honour  and  glory  ;  and  so,  doubtless,  it  will  be  Christ's  in 
that  great  day,  to  pass  over  all  the  treasons  and  rebellions  of  his  people, 
to  take  no  notice  of  them,  to  forget  them,  as  well  as  to  forgive  them. 

The  heathens  have  long  since  observed,  that  in  nothing  man  came 
nearer  to  the  gloiy  and  perfection  of  God  himself,  than  in  goodness  and 
clemency.  Surely  if  it  be  such  an  honour  to  man,  '  to  pass  over  a  trans- 
gression,' it  cannot  be  a  dishonour  to  Christ  to  pass  over  the  transgres- 
sions of  his  people,  he  having  already  buried  them  in  the  sea  of  his 
blood.  Again,  saith  Solomon,  '  It  is  the  glory  of  God  to  conceal  a  thing,' 
Prov.  xxv.  2.  And  why  it  should  not  make  for  the  glory  of  divine  love 
to  conceal  the  sins  of  the  saints  in  that  great  day,  I  know  not ;  and 
whether  the  concealing  the  sins  of  the  saints  in  that  great  day  will  not 
make  most  for  their  joy,  and  wicked  men's  sorrow,  for  their  comfort  and 
wicked  men's  terror  and  torment,  I  will  leave  you  to  judge,  and  time 
and  experience  to  decide.  And  thus  much  for  the  resolution  of  that 
great  question.  Having  done  with  the  motives  that  may  encourage 
and  provoke  young  men  to  be  good  betimes,  to  know,  love,  seek,  and 
serve  the  Lord,  in  the  spring  and  morning  of  their  days. 


CHAPTER  VI. 

I  shall  now  come  to  those  directions  and  helps  that  must,  by  assist- 
ance from  heaven,  be  put  in  practice,  if  ever  you  would  be  good  be- 
times, and  serve  the  Lord  in  the  primrose  of  your  days.  Now  all  that 
I  shall  say  will  fall  under  these  two  heads. 

First,  Some  things  you  must  carefully  and  warily  decline,  and  arm 
yourselves  against ;  and 

Secondly.  There  are  other  things  that  you  must  prosecute  and  fol- 
low, let,  There  are  some  tilings  that  you  must  warily  decline,  and 
they  are  these. 

Direction  (1).  First,  If  ever  you  would  be  good  betimes,  if  you  would 
be  gracious  in  the  spring  and  morning  of  your  youth,  oh!  then,  take 
heed  of  putting  the  day  of  death  far  from  you,  Amos  vi.  3. 

Young  men  are  very  prone  to  look  upon  death  afar  off,  to  put  it  at  a 
greal  distance  from  them.  They  are  apt  to  say  to  death  as  Pharaoh 
Baid  to  Moses,  '  Get  thee  from  me,  and  let  me  see  thy  face  no  more,' 

1  A'on  amo  quemquam  nisi  offendam,  said  a  heathen. 


1  Kings  XIV.  13.]  apples  of  gold.  225 

Exod.  x.  28.  If  old  men  discourse  to  them  of  death,  they  are  ready  to 
answer,  as  the  high  priest  did  Judas  in  a  different  case,  Mat.  xxvii.  4, 
'  What  is  that  to  us  1  look  you  unto  it.'  We  know  sickness  will  come, 
and  death  is  a  debt  that  we  must  all  pay,  but  surely  these  guests  are  a 
great  way  from  us  ;  for  dotb  not  David  say,  '  The  days  of  a  man  are 
threescore  years  and  ten"?  Ps.  xc.  10.  We  have  calculated  our  nativi- 
ties, and  we  cannot  abate  a  day,  a  minute,  a  moment,  of  '  threescore 
and  ten;'  and  therefore  it  is  even  a  death  to  think  of  death;  there 
being  so  great  a  distance  between  our  birth-day  and  our  dying  day,  as 
we  have  cast  up  the  account. 

Ah !  young  men,  it  is  sad,  it  is  very  sad,  when  you  are  so  wittily 
wicked  as  to  say  with  those  in  Ezekiel,  '  Behold  they  of  the  house  of 
Israel  say,  the  vision  that  he  seeth  is  for  many  days  to  come,  and  he 
prophesieth  of  the  times  that  are  afar  off/  Ezek.  xii.  27. 

Ah  !  young  men,  young  men,  by  putting  far  away  this  day  you 
gratify  Satan,  you  strengthen  sin,  you  provoke  the  Lord,  you  make  the 
work  of  faith  and  repentance  more  hard  and  difficult,  you  lay  a  sad 
foundation  for  the  greatest  fears  and  doubts. 

Ah  !  how  soon  may  that  sad  word  be  fulfilled  upon  you,  '  The  Lord 
of  that  servant  (that  saith  his  Lord  delayeth  his  coming)  shall  come  in 
a  day  when  he  looketh  not  for  him,  and  in  an  hour  that  he  is  not  aware 
of,  and  shall  cut  him  asunder  (or  cut  him  off),  and  appoint  him  his 
portion  with  hypocrites  ;  there  shall  be  weeping  and  gnashing  of  teeth,' 
Mat.  xxiv.  48-51.  When  Sodom,  when  Pharaoh,  when  Agag,  when 
Amalek,  when  Haman,  when  Herod,  when  Nebuchadnezzar,  when  Bel- 
shazzar,  when  Dives,  when  the  fool  in  the  Gospel,  were  all  in  their 
prime,  their  pride,  when  they  were  all  in  a  flourishing  state,  and  upon 
the  very  top  of  their  glory,  how  strangely,  how  suddenly,  how  sadly, 
how  fearfully,  how  wonderfully,  were  they  brought  down  to  the  grave, 
to  hell ! 

Ah  !  young  man,  who  art  thou  ?  and  what  is  thy  name  or  fame?  what 
is  thy  power  or  place?  what  is  thy  dignity  or  glory?  that  thou  darest 
promise  thyself  an  exemption  from  sharing  in  as  sad  a  portion  as  ever 
justice  gave  to  those  who  were  once  very  high,  who  were  seated  among 
the  stars,  but  are  now  brought  down  to  the  sides  of  the  pit,  Isa.  xiii. 
10-17.  I  have  read  a  story  of  one  that  gave  a  young  prodigal  a  ring 
with  a  death's  head,  on  this  condition,  that  he  should  one  hour  daily, 
for  seven  days  together,  look  and  think  upon  it ;  which  bred  a  great 
change  in  his  life. 

Ah  !  young  men,  the  serious  thoughts  of  death  may  do  that  for  you 
that  neither  friends,  counsel,  examples,  prayers,  sermons,  tears,  have 
not  done  to  this  very  day.  Well !  remember  this  ;  to  labour  not  to  die 
is  labour  in  vain,  and  to  put  this  day  far  from  you,  and  to  live  without 
fear  of  death,  is  to  die  living.  Death  seizeth  on  old  men,  and  lays  wait 
for  the  youngest.  Death  is  oftentimes  as  near  to  the  young  man's  back 
as  it  is  to  the  old  man's  face.1 

It  is  storied  of  Charles  the  Fourth,  king  of  France,  that  being  one 
time  affected  with  the  sense  of  his  many  and  great  sins,  he  fetched  a 
deep  sigh,  and  said  to  his  wife,  By  the  help  of  God  I  will  now  so  carry 

1  Senibus  mors  injanuis  ;  adolescentilus  in  insidiis. — Bernard.     De  convers.  ad  Cler.,  c.  14. 

VOL.  I.  P 


226  APPLES  OF  GOLD.  [1  KlNGS  XIV.  13. 

myself  all  my  life  long,  that  T  will  never  offend  him  more;  which  words 
he  had  no  sooner  uttered,  but  he  fell  down  dead  and  died.1 

Do  Dot,  young  men,  put  this  day  far  from  you,  lest  you  are  suddenly 
surprised,  and  then  you  cry  out,  when  too  late,  'A  kingdom  for  a  Christ, 
;i  kingdom  for  a  Christ ;  as  once  crooked-backed  Richard  the  Third  in 
1 1 is  distiess,  '  A  kingdom  for  a  horse,  a  kingdom  for  a  horse.'2 

Ah  !  young  men,  did  you  never  hear  of  a  young  man  that  cried  out, 
'  Oh  !  I  am  so  sick,  that  I  cannot  live,  and  yet,  woful  wretch  that  I 
am!  so  sinful,  that  I  dare  not  die.  Oh  that  I  might  live!  oh  that  I 
might  die  :  oli  that  I  might  do  neither!'  Well!  young  men,  remember 
this,  the  frequent,  the  serious  thoughts  of  death  will  prevent  many  a 
sin,  it  will  arm  you  against  many  temptations,  it  will  secure  you  from 
many  afflictions,  it  will  keep  you  from  doating  on  the  world,  it  will 
make  you  do  much  in  a  little  time,  it  will  make  death  easy  when  it 
comes,  and  it  will  make  you  look  out  betimes  for  a  kingdom  that  shakes 
not,  for  riches  that  corrupt  not,  and  for  glory  that  fadeth  not  away. 
Therefore  do  not,  Oh  do  not  put  the  day  of  death  far  from  you.  Take 
heed  of  crying  Cras,  eras,  to-morrow,  to-morrow,  saith  Luther;  for  a 
man  lives  forty  years  before  he  knows  himself  to  be  a  fool,  and  by  that 
time  he  sees  his  folly  his  life  is  finished.  So  men  die  before  they 
begin  to  live. 

Direction  (2).  Secondly,  If  you  would  be  good  betimes,  then  take 
heed  of  leaning  to  your  own  understand* mg. 

This  counsel  wise  Solomon  gives  to  his  son  (or  the  young  men  in  his 
time) :  '  My  son,  forget  not  my  law  ;  but  let  thy  heart  keep  my  com- 
mandments. Trust  in  the  Lord  with  all  thy  heart ;  and  lean  not  to 
thy  own  understanding/  Prov.  iii.  1,  5. 

Youth  is  the  age  of  folly,  of  vain  hopes,  and  overgrown  confidence. 
Ah  !  how  wise  might  many  have  been,  had  they  not  been  too  early  wise 
in  their  own  opinion. 

Rehoboam's  young  counsellors  proved  the  overthrow  of  his  kingdom. 
It  is  brave  for  youth  at  all  times  to  be  discreet  and  sober-minded. 
Three  virtues,  they  say,  are  prime  ornaments  of  youth,  modesty,  silence, 
and  obedience. 

Ah  !  young  men,  keep  close  in  every  action  to  this  one  principle,  viz., 
in  every  action  resolve  to  be  discreet  and  wise,  rather  than  affectionate' 
and  singular. 

I  remember  that  a  young  gentleman  of  Athens,  being  to  answer  for 
his  life,  hired  an  orator  to  make  his  defence,  and  it  pleased  him  well  at 
his  first  reading;  but  when  the  young  man  by  often  reading  it,  that  he 
might  recite  it  publicly  by  heart,  begun  to  grow  weary  and  displeased 
with  it,  the  orator  bid  him  consider  that  the  judges  and  the  people 
were  to  hear  it  but  once  :  and  then  it  was  likely  that  they  at  the  first 
instant  might  be  as  well  pleased  as  he. 

Ah  !  young  men,  your  leaning  upon  yourselves,  or  upon  others,  will 
in  the  end  he  bitterness  and  vexation  of  spirit.  Young  men  are  very 
ap1  to  lean  on  their  own  wit,  wisdom,  arts,  parts,  as  old  men  are  to  lean 

1  Doubtful.— G. 

'-'  Another  tacit  Shakesporian  reminiscence  probably.     Cf.  Richard  III.  v.  4.  'A  horse! 
b  horse!  my  kingdom  for  a  horse !' — G. 
:1 '  Affected.'— G. 


1  Kings  XIV.  13]  apples  of  gold.  227 

on  a  staff  to  support  them  (as  the  Hebrew  word  [jyp,  shagnan]  signifies, 
that  is  rendered  lean,  in  that  of  Prov.  iii.  5).  This  hath  been  the  bane 
of  many  a  choice  wit,  the  loss  of  many  a  brave  head,  the  ruin  of  many 
a  subtle  pate. 

Ajax  thought  it  was  only  for  cowards  and  weaklings  to  lean  upou  the 
Lord  for  succour,  not  for  him  when  he  was  foiled  ;  lean  not  to  great 
parts,  lean  not  to  natural  or  acquired  accomplishments,  lest  you  lose 
them  and  yourselves  too.  Leaning  to  natural  or  moral  excellencies,  is 
the  ready  way  to  be  stripped  of  all.  Babylon,  that  bore  herself  bold 
upon  her  high  towers,  thick  walls,  and  twenty  years'  provision  laid  in 
for  a  siege,  was  surprised  by  Cyrus.1 

It  was  said  of  Caesar,  that  he  received  not  his  wounds  from  the 
swords  of  enemies,  but  from  the  hands  of  friends  ;  that  is,  from  trusting 
in  them. 

Ah  !  how  many  young  men  have  been  wounded,  yea  slain,  by  trust- 
ing to  their  own  understandings,  their  own  abilities  ! 

It  was  an  excellent  saying  of  Austin,  In  te  stas,  et  non  stas,  he  that 
stands  upon  his  own  strength  shall  never  stand.  A  creature  is  like  a 
single  drop  left  to  itself,  it  spends  and  wastes  itself  presently,  but  if 
like  a  drop  in  the  fountain  and  ocean  of  being,  it  hath  abundance  of 
security. 

Ah  !  young  men,  young  men,  if  you  will  needs  be  leaning,  then  lean 
upon  precious  promises,  2  Peter  L  4,  Ps.  xxvii.  1  ;  lean  upon  the  rock 
that  is  higher  than  yourselves,  lean  upon  the  Lord  Jesus  Christ,  as  John 
did,  who  was  the  youngest  of  all  the  disciples,  and  the  most  beloved  of  all 
the  disciples,  John  xxi.  20,  chap.  xiii.  23.  John  leaned  much,  and  Christ 
loved  him  much.  Oh  lean  upon  Christ's  wisdom  for  direction,  lean  upon 
his  power  for  protection,  lean  upon  his  purse,  his  fulness,  for  provision, 
Cant.  viii.  5  ;  lean  upon  his  eye  for  approbation,  lean  upon  his  righteous- 
ness for  justification,  lean  upon  his  blood  for  remission,  lean  upon  his 
merits  for  salvation.  As  the  young  vine,  without  her  wall  to  support  her, 
will  fall  and  sink,  so  will  you,  young  men,  without  Christ  puts  under  his 
everlasting  arms  to  support  you,  and  uphold  you  ;  therefore,  above  all 
leanings,  lean  upon  him.  By  leaning  on  him,  you  will  engage  him  ; 
by  leaning  on  him,  you  will  gain  more  honour  than  you  can  give  ;  by 
leaning  on  him,  you  may  even  command  him,  and  make  him  eternally 
yours,  &c. 

Direction  (3).  Thirdly,  If  you  would  be  good  betimes,  if  you  would 
seek  and  serve  the  Lord  in  the  spring  and  morning  of  your  days,  then 
take  heed  of  flatterers  and  flattery.  Ah  !  how  many  young  men  might 
have  been  very  good,  who  are  now  exceeding  bad,  by  hearkening  to  flat- 
terers, and  affecting2  flattery !  Flattery  undid  young  Rehoboam, 
Ahab,  Herod,  Nero,  Alexander,  &c.  Flatterers  are  soul-murderers  ;  they 
are  soul-undoers ;  they  are  like  evil  chirurgeons,  that  skin  over  the  wound, 
but  never  heal  it. 

Anastasius  the  emperor's  motto  was,  mellitum  venenum  blanda 
oratio,  smooth  talk  proves  often  sweet  poison.  Flattery  is  the  very 
spring  and  mother  of  all  impiety  ;  it  blows  the  trumpet,  and  draws 
poor  souls  into  rebellion  against  God,  as  Sheba  drew  Israel  to  rebel 
against  David.     It  put  our  first  parents  upon  tasting  the  forbidden 

1  Cf.  Sibbes's  Works,  Vol.  IT.  pp.  217,  248.— G.  2  '  Courting.*— G. 


228  APPLES  OF  GOLD.  [1  KlNGS  XIV.  13. 

fruit ;  it  put  Absalom  upon  dethroning  of  his  father ;  it  put  Haman 
upon  plotting  the  ruin  of  the  Jews  ;  it  put  Korah,  Dathan,  and  Abiram 
upon  rebelling  against  Moses;  it  makes  men  call  evil  good  and  good 
evil,  darkness  light  and  light  darkness,  &c. ;  it  puts  persons  upon 
neglecting  the  means  of  grace,  upon  undervaluing  the  means  of  grace, 
and  upon  contemning  the  means  of  grace  ;  it  puts  men  upon  abasing 
God,  slighting  Christ,  and  vexing  the  Spirit;  it  unmans  a  man;  it  makes 
him  call  black  white  and  white  black  ;  it  makes  a  man  change  pearls 
for  pebbles,  and  gold  for  counters;  it  makes  a  man  judge  himself  wise 
when  he  is  foolish;  knowing,  when  he  is  ignorant ;  holy,  when  he  is  pro- 
fane ;  free,  when  he  is  a  prisoner  ;  rich,  when  he  is  poor :  high,  when 
he  is  low ;  full,  when  he  is  empty ;  happy,  when  he  is  miserable,1  Rev. 
iii.  17,  18.  Ah!  young  men,  young  men,  take  heed  of  flatterers;  they 
are  the  very  worst  of  sinners ;  they  are  left  of  God,  blinded  by  Satan, 
hardened  in  sin,  and  ripened  for  hell.  God  declares  sadly  against 
them,  and  that  in  his  word  and  in  his  works  :  in  his  word,  as  you  may 
see  by  comparing  these  scriptures  together,  Deut.  xxix.  18-20;  Ps. 
lxxviii.  36,  xxxvi.  1,  3 ;  Job  xvii.  5  ;  Ezek.  xii.  24 ;  Dan.  xi.  21,  32,  34*. 
Ps.  xii.  2,  3;  '  They  speak  vanity  every  one  with  his  neighbour :  with 
flattering  lips,  and  with  a  double  heart,  do  they  speak.  The  Lord  shall 
cut  off  all  flattering  lips,  and  the  tongue  that  speaketh  proud  things.'2 
And  as  God  declares  sadly  against  them  in  his  word,  so  he  hath 
declared  terribly  against  them  in  his  works,  as  you  may  run  and  read 
in  his  judgments  executed  upon  Ahab's  flattering  prophets,  and  upon 
Haman,  and  upon  Daniel's  princely  false  accusers,  &c.  And  why,  then, 
will  not  you  stop  your  ears  against  those  wretches,  that  the  hand  and 
heart  of  God  is  so  much  against  ? 

Again,  as  God  declares  against  them,  so  good  men  detest  them  and 
declare  against  them,  as  you  may  see  by  comparing  these  scriptures 
together,  Ps.  v.  8-10  ;  Prov.  ii.  16,  vii.  21,  xxviii.  23  ;  Job  xxxii.  21,  22; 
1  Thes.  ii.  5,  10.  Prov.  xx.  19,  'Meddle  not  with  him  that  flattereth 
with  his  lips/  Why  so  ?  Why !  Because  a  man  that  flattereth  his 
neighbour  spreadeth  a  net  for  his  feet,  Prov.  xxix.  5.  The  Hebrew 
word  Mahhalik,  from  hhalak,  that  is  here  rendered  flatterer,  signifies 
a  smooth-boots,  a  soft  butter-spoken  man,  because  flatterers  use  smooth-, 
soft  speeches.  Also  the  word  signifies  '  to  divide/  because  a  flatterer's 
tongue  is  divided  from  his  heart.  Flatterers  have  their  nets,  and  those 
that  give  ear  to  them  will  be  taken  to  their  ruin.3  A  lying  tongue 
hateth  those  that  are  afflicted  by  it,  '  and  a  flattering  mouth  worketh 
ruin,'  Prov.  xxvi.  28.  A  flattering  mouth  ruins  name,  fame,  estate, 
body,  sold,  life/ 

Valerian,  the  Roman  emperor,  used  to  say,  Ron  acerba,  sed  blanda, 
not  bitter,  but  flattering  words  do  all  the  mischief. 

When  Alexander  the  Great  was  hit  with  an  arrow  in  the  siege  of  an 
Indian  city,  which  would  not  heal,  he  said  to  his  parasites,  You  say  that 
I  am  Jupiter's  son,  but  this  wound  cries  that  I  am  but  a  man. 

1  The  flatterers  told  Dionysius  that  his  spittle  was  as  sweet  as  honey. 
3  Karah  signifies  any  cutting  off,  either  hy  death  or  banishment,  &c. 

3  A  preacher  in  Constantino's  time  presumed  to  call  the  emperoi  saint  to  his  face,  hut 
he  went  away  with  a  check.—  Eu.icb.  de  vit.  Const.  1.  44. 

4  The  Hebrew  word  iim.  Dahhah,  signifies  such  a  violent  forcing  of  one  as  he  cannot 
stand  it,  signifies  to  thruw  down,  to  drive  on  forwards  till  a  man  fall  into  destruction. 


1  Kings  XIV.  13.]  apples  of  gold.  229 

Now  shall  good  men  detest  them  and  abhor  them,  as  they  are  the 
pest  of  pests,  the  plague  of  plagues,  and  will  you  own  them,  will  you 
take  pleasure  in  them,  to  your  ruin  here  and  hereafter  ?  The  Lord 
forbid !  Oh  say  to  all  flatterers,  as  he  to  his  idols,  '  Get  you  hence,  for 
what  have  I  more  to  do  with  you  ?'  Hosea  xiv.  8. 

Nay,  once  more  consider,  that  not  only  the  good,  but  the  bad,  not 
only  the  best,  but  some  of  the  worst  of  men,  have  manifested  their 
detestation  of  flatterers  and  flattery. 

Leo  the  emperor  used  to  say,  Occulti  inimici  pessimi,  a  close  enemy 
is  far  worse  than  an  open.  When  a  court  parasite  praised  Sigismund 
the  emperor  above  measure,  the  emperor  gave  him  a  sound  box  on  the 
ear. 

When  Aristobulus  the  historian  presented  to  Alexander,  the  great 
book  that  he  had  written  of  his  glorious  acts,  wherein  he  had  flatter- 
ingly made  him  greater  than  he  was,  Alexander,  after  he  had  read  the 
book,  threw  it  into  the  river  Hydaspes,  and  said  to  the  author,  It  were 
a  good  deed  to  throw  thee  after  it. 

When  the  flatterers  flattered  Antigonus,  he  cried  out,  Mentiris, 
mentiris  in  gutture,  hce  virtutes  non  latent  in  me,  thou  liest,  thou 
liest  in  thy  throat ;  these  virtues  that  thou  speakest  of  I  have  not  in 
me,  but  I  am  like  a  leopard,  that  have  ten  black  spots  to  one  white. 

Augustus  Caesar  and  Tiberius  Caesar  were  deadly  enemies  to  flat- 
terers, insomuch  that  they  would  not  be  called  lords  by  their  own 
children. 

A  good  symbol  is  attributed  to  Trebonianus  Gallus,1  viz.  Nemo  ami- 
cus idem  et  adulator,  no  flatterer  can  be  a  true  friend. 

Aristippus,  the  philosopher,  seeing  Diogenes  washing  of  herbs  for  his 
dinner,  said,  If  Diogenes  knew  how  to  make  use  of  kings,  he  need  not 
live  upon  raw  herbs,  as  he  doth ;  to  which  Diogenes  replied,  that  if 
Aristippus  could  content  himself  with  herbs,  he  need  not  to  turn 
spaniel,  or  to  flatter  king  Dionysius  for  a  meal's  meat. 

Ah !  young  men,  young  men,  shall  God,  shall  good  men,  shall  bad 
men,  detest  and  declare  against  flatterers  and  flattery,  and  will  not  you 
turn  a  deaf  ear  upon  them,  yea,  fly  from  them  as  from  a  serpent,  and 
shun  them  as  you  would  shun  hell  itself?  If  you  do  not,  the  very 
heathens  but  now  cited  will  rise  in  judgment  against  you. 

Flatterers  are  the  very  worst  of  sinners.  The  flatterers  told  Caesar, 
that  his  freckles  in  his  face  were  like  the  stars  in  the  firmament ;  they 
bought  and  sold  Aurelius  the  emperor  at  pleasure.  And  Augustus 
complained,  when  Varrus  was  dead,  that  he  had  none  now  left  that 
would  deal  plainly  and  faithfully  with  him. 

So  men  may  gain  by  flattery ;  they  will  be  like  Harpalus,  who  said, 
Quod  regi  placet,  mihi  placet,  that  which  pleaseth  the  king  pleaseth 
me,  when  Astyages  set  his  own  son  before  him  to  feed  upon  him. 

Oh  !  but  let  every  young  man  say,  into  whose  hands  this  treatise 
shall  fall,  Quod  Deo  placet,  mihi  placet,  that  which  pleaseth  God 
pleaseth  me. 

I  have  been  the  longer  upon  this,  out  of  love  to  young  men's  souls, 
who  are  so  apt  to  be  ensnared  in  the  flatterer's  net.  If  ever  you  would 
be  good  in  good  earnest,  you  must  abhor  flatterers  as  the  first-born  of 
1  Roman  emperor,  a-d.  251-254 — G. 


230  APPLES  OF  GOLD.  [1  KlNGS  XIV.  13. 

t!ic  devil,  and  as  such  as  are  most  pernicious  to  men's  happiness  both 
here  and  hereafter.1 

It  is  reported  of  one  Oramazes,  that  he  had  an  enchanted  egg,  in 
which,  as  he  boasted  himself,  he  had  enclosed  all  the  happiness  of  the 
world  ;  bul  being  broken,  nothing  was  found  in  it  but  wind.  Flatterers 
are  the  greatest  cheaters,  the  greatest  deceivers  in  the  world. 

The)  say  of  the  crocodile,  that  when  he  bath  killed  a  man,  he  will 
weep  over  him,  as  if  he  were  sorry,  and  did  repent  for  what  he  had 
done  ;  the  application  is  easy. 

Di/recticm  (4).  Fourthly,  If  you  would  be  good  betimes,  if  you  would 
seek  and  serve  the  Lord  in  the  spring  and  morning  of  your  days,  then 
take  heed  bf  engaged  affections  to  the  things  of  the  ivorld. 

The  young  man  in  the  Gospel  took  many  a  step  towards  heaven  : 
'  All  these  things  have  I  kept  from  my  youth  up  :  what  lack  I  yet  ?' 
Mat.  xix.  16-24.  Christ  makes  a  very  fair  offer  to  him  in  the  next 
words  :  'Jesus  said  unto  him,  If  thou  wilt  be  perfect,  go  and  sell  that 
thou  hast,  and  give  to  the  poor,  and  thou  shalt  have  treasure  in  heaven ; 
and  come  and  follow  me.'  Thou  shalt  have  heaven  for  earth,  a  sea  for 
a  drop,  a  treasure  for  a  mite,  a  crown  for  a  crumb.  Ay,  but  the  young 
man's  affections  were  strongly  engaged  to  the  things  of  the  world  ;  and 
therefore  he  turns  his  back  upon  Christ,  and  goes  away  sorrowful, 
because  he  had  great  possessions.2  Oh  the  madness,  the  folly  of  this 
young  man,  who,  to  enjoy  a  little  temporal  felicity,  hath  bid  an  ever- 
lasting farewell  to  Christ  and  glory  !  In  that  Gen.  xiii.  2,  it  is  said, 
that  Abraham  was  very  rich  in  cattle,  in  silver,  and  in  gold  ;  the  He- 
brew word  cabedh,  that  is  here  rendered  rich,  signifies  heavy  ;  it  signifies 
a  burden,  to  shew  us  that  riches  are  a  heavy  burden  and  an  hindrance 
many  times  to  heaven  and  happiness  ;  and  this  young  man  in  the 
Gospel  found  it  so  to  his  eternal  undoing.  Though  the  loadstone  can- 
not draw  the  iron  when  the  diamond  is  in  presence,  yet  earthly  posses- 
sions did  draw  this  young  man's  soul  away  when  Christ  the  pearl  of 
price  was  present.  The  world  is  a  silken  net,  and  this  young  man 
found  it  so  ;  the  world  is  like  golden  fetters,  and  this  young  man  found 
it  so ;  the  world  is  like  sweet  poison,3  and  this  young  man  found  it  so  ; 
for  he  had  drunk  so  large  a  draught  of  it,  that  there  was  no  room  in 
his  soul  for  Christ  or  heaven,  for  grace  or  glory.  Some  say,  that  when 
the  serpent  Scytale  cannot  overtake  the  flying  passenger,  she  doth  with 
her  beautiful  colours  so  astonish  and  amaze  them,  that  they  have  no 
power  to  pass  away  till  she  have  stung  them  ;  such  a  serpent  the  world 
proved  to  the  young  man  in  the  Gospel ;  it  did  so  affect  him  and  take 
bim,  so  amaze  him  and  amuse  him,  that  he  could  not  stir  till  it  stung 
him  to  death. 

\\  hoi  the  moon  is  fullest,  it  is  furthest  from  the  sun  ;  so  the  more 
men  have  of  the  world,  the  further  commonly  they  are  from  God  ;  and 
this  the  young  man  in  the  Gospel  made  good. 

Many  have  ventured  life  and  limb,  and  many  a  better  thing,  to  gain 
the  things  of  this  world  ;  and  yet,  after  all,  they  have  got  nothing  at 

1   Whilst  an  ass  is  stroked  under  the  belly,  you  may  lay  on  his  back  what  burden  you 

-  Mullx  (tni'iiulo  res  noxias  sunt  miseri,  h'il>nul<>  viisrriores. — August,  in  Ps.  xxvi. 
3  They  arc  dulce  venerium,  a  sweet  poison. — Bernard. 


1  Kings  XIV.  13.]  apples  of  gold.  231 

all.  Achan's  golden  wedge  proved  a  wedge  to  cleave  him,  and  his 
garment  a  garment  to  shroud  him.1 

The  whole  world  is  circular,  the  heart  of  a  man  is  triangular,  and  we 
know  a  circle  cannot  fill  a  triangle  ;  yea,  if  it  be  not  rilled  with  the 
three  persons  in  Trinity,  it  will  be  filled  with  the  world,  the  flesh,  and 
the  devil.  The  world  may  be  resembled  to  the  fruit  that  undid  us  all, 
which  was  fair  to  the  sight,  smooth  in  handling,  sweet  in  taste,  but 
deadly  in  effect  and  operation. 

Ah  !  young  men,  young  men,  have  none  of  you  found  it  so  ? 

The  world  in  all  its  bravery  is  no  better  than  the  cities  which  Solo- 
mon gave  to  Hiram,  which  he  called  Cab  id,  that  is  to  say,  displeasing 
or  dirty,  1  Kings  ix.  13  ;  the  world  will  afford  nothing  but  trivial 
flowers,  surrounded  with  many  briers.  Oh  the  vanity,  the  uncertainty, 
the  imperfection  of  all  things  below  !  If  a  man  should  weigh  his  pay 
and  his  pains  together,  his  miseries  and  his  pleasures  together,  his  joys 
and  his  sorrows  together,  his  mercies  and  his  crosses  together,  his  good 
days  and  his  bad  days  together,  will  he  not  conclude,  Vanity  of  vanities, 
and  all  is  vanity  ? 

It  was  a  wise  and  Christian  speech  of  Charles  the  Fifth  to  the  Duke 
of  Venice,  who,  when  he  had  shewed  him  the  glory  of  his  princely 
palace  and  earthly  paradise,  instead  of  admiring  it,  or  him  for  it,  only 
returned  him  this  grave  and  serious  memento,  Hcec  sunt  quae  faciunt 
invitos  mori,  these  are  the  things  which  make  us  unwilling  to  die.  It 
was  a  good  saying  of  one  to  a  great  lord,  upon  his  shewing  him  his 
stately  house  and  pleasant  gardens,  Sir,  you  had  need  make  sure  of 
heaven,  or  else  when  you  die  you  will  be  a  very  great  loser.2 

Ah  !  young  men,  young  men,  it  is  only  heaven  that  is  above  all  winds, 
storms,  and  tempests;  nor  hath  God  cast  man  out  of  paradise  for  him 
to  think  to  find  out  another  paradise  in  this  world.  The  main  reason 
why  many  young  men  doat  upon  the  world  is,  because  they  are  not 
acquainted  with  a  greater  glory.  Men  ate  acorns  till  they  were 
acquainted  with  the  use  of  wheat.  The  woman  had  the  moon  under 
her  feet  when  she  was  clothed  with  the  sun,  and  had  a  crown  of  twrelve 
stars  upon  her  head,  Rev.  xii.  1. 

Ah  !  young  men,  were  you  but  clothed  with  the  Sun  of  righteousness, 
and  had  you  a  crown  set  upon  your  heads  by  the  hand  of  faith,  you 
would  have  all  the  things  of  tins  world  which  are  as  low,  bespotted,  and 
mutable  as  the  moon,  under  your  feet,  He b.  xi.  24-27,  35,  x.  34.  Well! 
young  men,  as  ever  you  would  be  good  betimes,  sit  loose  from  the 
things  of  this  wrorld,  be  no  longer  worshippers  of  this  golden  calf,  and 
never  let  the  world,  that  shall  be  but  j^our  servant,  become  your  Lord. 
Oh  !  let  not  the  devil  and  the  world  have  more  service  for  an  ounce  of 
gold,  than  Christ  shall  have  for  the  kingdom  of  heaven ! 

Ah,  young  men  !  the  world  and  you  must  part,  or  Christ  and  you 
will  never  meet,  '  you  cannot  serve  God  and  mammon/  Mat.  vi.  24. 
The  two  poles  shall  sooner  meet,  than  the  love  of  Christ  and  the  love  of 
the  world. 

1  If  money  were  thrown  to  the  dogs,  they  would  not  so  much  as  smell  at  it ;  the  greater 
is  their  folly  and  madness  that  will  go  to  hell-gates  for  it. 

2  In  my  other  treatises,  you  may  read  more  of  the  vanity,  insufficiency,  impotency, 
immutability,  uncertainty,  and  inconstancy  of  the  world  ;  and  to  them  I  refer  you. 


232  APPLES  OF  GOLD.  []    KlNGS  XIV.  13. 

Direction  (5).  Fifthly,  If  you  would  be  good  betimes,  if  you  would 
know,  seek,  and  serve  the  Lord  in  the  spring  and  morning  of  your 
youth,  then  take  heed  betimes  of  camial  reason,  take  heed  of  consult- 
ing with  fleah  and  blood,  Gal.  i.  15,  16. 

Many  a  hopeful  young  man  hath  been  undone  temporally  and  undone 
eternally,  by  hearkening  to  those  evil  counsellors. 

Carnal  reason  is  an  enemy,  yea,  an  utter  enemy,  nay,  it  is  not  only 
an  utter  enemy,  but  it  is  enmity,  yea,  enmities,  Rom.  viii.  7.1  An 
enemy  may  be  reconciled,  but  enmity  can  never  be  reconciled.  Carnal 
reason  is  not  only  averse,  but  it  is  utterly  averse  to  all  goodness;  it 
builds  strongholds  and  syllogisms  against  the  most  glorious  gospel 
truths,  and  accounts  the  precious  things  of  Christ  as  a  strange  thing. 
Carnal  reason  will  make  God  and  gospel  do  homage  to  it.  When 
carnal  reason  is  in  the  throne,  Christ  and  his  truths  must  all  bow  or  be 
judged  before  its  bar. 

Ah  !  young  men,  young  men,  as  ever  you  would  be  good  betimes, 
stop  your  ears  against  all  carnal  reasonings  within  you.  Carnal  reason 
judges  the  choicest  things  of  the  gospel  to  be  mere  foolishness,  1  Cor. 
i.  23.  It  is  purblind,  and  cannot  see  how  to  make  a  right  judgment 
of  Christ,  his  word,  his  ways,  and  yet  will  control  all. 

If  you  are  resolved  to  be  still  scholars  to  this  master,  then  you  must 
resolve  to  be  unhappy  here  and  miserable  hereafter.  But  it  is  safer 
and  better  for  you  to  imitate  those  young  men,  who  in  the  morning  of 
their  days  have  graciously,  wisely,  and  resolutely  withstood  those  evil 
counsellors,  carnal  reason,  flesh  and  blood  ;  Joseph  and  Moses,  Daniel, 
Shadrach,  Meshach,  and  Abednego,  all  these  in  the  primrose  of  their 
youth  were  good  at  turning  the  deaf  ear  to  carnal  counsel  and  carnal 
counsellors,  Gen.  xxxix.  7-11,  &c  ;  Heb.  xi.  24-26  ;  Dan.  i. 

Cassianus  reports  of  a  young  man  that  had  given  himself  up  to  a 
Christian  life,  and  his  parents  misliking  that  way,  they  wrote  letters 
to  him  to  persuade  him  from  it ;  and  when  he  knew  there  were  letters 
come  from  them,  he  would  not  open  them,  but  threw  them  into  the  fire. 
This  example  is  worth  a  following. 

Another  famous  example  you  have  in  the  story  of  King  Edward  the 
Sixth,  when  Cranmer  and  Ridley  came  to  him,  and  were  very  earnest  to 
have  him  give  way  to  his  sister  the  Lady  Mary  to  have  mass.  He  stood 
out  and  pleaded  the  case  with  them,  that  it  was  a  sin  against  God,  and 
provoking  to  the  eyes  of  his  glory,  &c,  but  they  still  continued  to  use 
many  carnal  arguments  to  persuade  the  king,  who  was  but  a  child  about 
fifteen  years  of  age,  but  he  withstood  them  a  great  while  ;  but  at  length 
when  he  saw  he  could  not  prevail  with  all  his  pleading  against  those 
brave  men,  but  that  they  still  continued  their  suit,  he  burst  out  into 
bitter  weeping  and  sobbing,  desiring  them  to  desist.  The  motioners 
seeing  his  zeal  and  constancy,  went  as  fast  as  he,  and  being  overcome, 
they  went  away  and  told  one  that  the  king  had  more  divinity  in  his 
little  finger,  than  they  had  in  all  their  bodies. 

Ah  !  young  men,  it  will  be  your  safety  and  your  glory  to  write  after 
this  princely  copy,  when  you  are  surrounded  with  carnal  reason  and 
carnal  counsellors,  &c. 

1  Cicero,  a  heathen,  could  say,  that  man  would  not  be  so  wicked,  and  do  so  wickedly, 
were  it  not  for  his  reason. 


1  Kings  XIV.  13.]  apples  of  gold.  233 

Direction  (6).  Sixthly  and  lastly,  If  you  would  be  good  betimes, 
then  take  heed  of  comparing  yourselves  with  those  that  are  worse  than 
yourselves. 

Young  men  are  very  apt  to  compare  themselves  with  those  that  are 
worse  than  themselves,  and  this  proves  a  snare  unto  them,  yea,  often- 
times their  bane,  their  ruin,  John  ix.  39,  40,  as  it  did  the  young  pha- 
risee  in  the  Gospel,  who  pleaded  his  negative  righteousness  ;  he  was  not 
as  other  men  are,  '  extortioners,  unjust,  adulterers,'  and  stood  on  his  com- 
parative goodness,  '  nor  as  this  publican  ;'  he  stands  not  only  upon  his 
comparisons,  but  upon  his  disparisons,  being  blind  at  home,  and  too 
quick-sighted  abroad ;  he  contemneth  and  condemneth  this  poor  pub- 
lican, who  was  better  than  himself,  Luke  xviii.  11-14, x  making  good  that 
saying  of  Seneca,  '  The  nature  of  man,'  saith  he,  '  is  very  apt,  utimur 
perspicillis  magis  quam  speculis,  to  use  spectacles  to  behold  other 
men's  faults,  rather  than  looking-glasses  to  behold  our  own.'  Such  pha- 
risees  do  justly  incur  the  censure  which  that  sour  philosopher  passed 
upon  grammarians,  that  they  were  better  acquainted  with  the  evil  of 
Ulysses  than  with  their  own.2 

Ah  !  young  man,  young  man,  you  know,  he  that  drinks  poison, 
though  he  drinks  not  so  much  as  another,  and  be  that  commits  treason, 
though  not  so  great,  so  high  treason  as  another,  shall  yet  as  certainly 
be  poisoned,  and  hanged,  as  he  that  hath  drunk  a  greater  quantity  of 
poison,  and  committed  higher  acts  of  treason.3 

Sirs !  do  not  delude  and  befool  your  own  souls  ;  if  you  are  not  as 
wicked  as  others,  you  shall  not  be  as  much  tormented  as  others,  but 
yet  you  shall  be  as  certainly  damned  as  others ;  you  shall  as  certain  to 
hell  as  others ;  you  shall  as  sure  be  shut  out  for  ever  from  God,  Christ, 
saints,  angels,  and  all  the  treasures,  pleasures,  and  glories  of  heaven,  as 
others,  except  it  be  prevented  by  timely  repentance  on  your  side,  and 
pardoning  mercy  on  God's.  Wilt  thou  count  it  madness,  0  young  man ! 
in  him  that  is  sick,  to  reason  thus  ?  I  am  not  so  sick  as  such  and  such, 
and  therefore  I  will  not  send  to  the  physician  ;  and  in  the  wounded 
man  to  say,  I  am  not  so  desperately  wounded  as  such  and  such,  and 
therefore  I  will  not  send  to  the  chirurgeon  ;  and  in  the  traitor  to  say, 
I  am  not  guilty  of  so  many  foul  and  heinous  treasons  as  such  and  such, 
and  therefore  I  will  not  look  after  a  pardon  ;  and  in  the  necessitous 
man  to  say,  I  am  not  so  hard  put  to  it  as  such  and  such,  and  therefore 
I  will  not  welcome  a  hand  of  charity  ?  And  wilt  thou  not  count  it  the 
greatest  madness  in  the  world  for  thee  to  put  off  thy  repentance,  and 
thy  returning  to  the  Lord  in  the  spring  and  morning  of  thy  youth,  be- 
cause that  thou  art  not  as  sinful,  as  wicked  as  such  and  such.  If  to  have 
a  softer  bed,  a  milder  punishment  in  hell  than  others,  will  satisfy  thee, 
then  go  on  ;  but  if  thou  art  afraid  of  the  worm  that  never  dies,  and  of 
the  fire  that  never  goes  out,  being  like  that  stone  in  Arcadia,  which 
being  once  kindled  could  not  be  quenched,  oh,  then,  begin  to  be  good 
betimes  !  Oh  seek  and  serve  the  Lord  in  the  spring  and  morning  of 
your  days  ! 

1  Thales,  one  of  the  seven  sages,  being  asked  what  was  the  easiest  thing  in  the  world 
to  do?  answered,  to  know  other  men's  faults,  and  none  of  our  own. 

2  Diogenes  apud  Laertium.  lib.  vi. 

3  Mat.  xi.  22-25.  As  in  heaven,  one  is  more  glorious  than  another,  so  in  hell,  one  shall 
be  more  miserable  than  another. — Aug\ustine\. 


23 1-  APPLES  OF  GOLD.  [1  KlNGS  XIV.  13. 

To  think  often  of  hell,  is  the  way  to  be  preserved  from  falling  into 
hell.1  Ah  !  young  men,  young  men,  that  you  would  often  consider  of 
the  bitterness  of  the  damned's  torments,  and  of  the  pitilessness  of  their 
torments,  and  of  the  diversity  of  their  torments,  and  of  the  easelessness  of 
their  torments,  and  of  the  remedilessness  of  their  torments.  Mom,  uta- 
newm  est  quod  ,1,1,1  l,i  t  yaitemum  quod  cruciat,  The  sinner's  delight  here 
is  momentary,  that  which  torments  hereafter  is  perpetual.  When  a  shi- 
ner is  in  hell,  dost  thou  think,  0  young  man  !  that  another  Christ  shall 
be  found  to  die  for  him,  or  that  the  same  Christ  will  be  crucified  again 
for  him,  or  that  another  gospel  should  be  preached  to  him  ?    Surely  no. 

Ah !  why  then  wilt  thou  not  betimes  return  and  seek  out  after  the 
tilings  that  belong  to  thy  everlasting  peace  ?  I  have  read  of  Pope  Cle- 
ment  the  Fifth,  that  when  a  young  nephew  of  his  died,  he  sent  his 
chaplain  to  a  necromancer,  to  know  of  him  how  it  fared  with  him  in 
the  other  world ;  the  conjuror  shewed  him  to  the  chaplain,  lying  in  a 
fiery  bed  in  hell,  which,  when  the  pope  understood,  he  never  joyed 
more,  &c.a 

Ah  !  young  man,  that  these  occasional  hints  of  hell  may  be  a  means 
to  preserve  thee  from  lying  in  those  everlasting  flames. 

Bellarmine  tells  us  of  a  certain  advocate  of  the  court  of  Rome,  that 
being  at  the  point  of  death,  was  stirred  up  by  them  that  stood  by,  to 
repent  and  call  upon  God  for  mercy ;  he,  with  a  constant  countenance, 
and  without  sign  of  fear,  turned  his  speech  to  God,  and  said,  Lord!  I 
have  a  desire  to  speak  unto  thee,  not  for  myself,  but  for  my  wife  and 
children,  for  I  am  hastening  to  hell,  neither  is  there  anything  that  thou 
shouldst  do  for  me  ;  and  this  he  spake,  saith  Bellarmine,  who  was  pre- 
sent, and  heard  it,  as  if  he  had  spoken  of  a  journey  to  some  village  or 
town,  and  Avas  no  more  affrighted.3 

Sir  Francis  Bacon  also,  in  his  History  of  Henry  the  Seventh,  relates 
how  it  was  a  common  byword  of  the  Lord  Cordes,  that  he  would  be 
content  to  live  seven  years  in  hell,  so  he  might  win  Calice  [Calais]  from 
the  English  ;4  but  if  thou,  0  young  man,  art  given  up  to  such  despe- 
rate atheism,  and  carnal  apprehensions  of  hell,  I  am  afraid  God  will 
confute  thee  one  day  by  fire  and  brimstone  ;  but  I  would  willingly  hope 
better  things  of  all  those  young  persons,  into  whose  hands  this  treatise 
shall  fall  ;  and  thus  you  see  what  things  must  be  declined  and  avoided, 
if  ever  you  would  be  good  betimes,  if  ever  you  would  seek  and  serve 
the  Lord  in  the  spring  and  morning  of  your  days.  . 


CHAPTER  VII. 

But  in  the  second  place,  as  those  things  must  be  declined,  so  other 

things  huisf  c,i  ,;j',i/l  a  a  ml  ii 'ilige  nfl  ij  be  practised,  if  ever  you  wo  ah  I 
be  ijonil  betimes.  1  shall  instance  only  in  those  that  are  most  consider- 
able  and  weighty  ;  as, 

First,  If  ever  you  would  be  good  betimes,  &c,  then  you  must  labour 
to  be  acquainted  with  four  tilings  betimes. 

1  Chrysostom.  Horn.  44.  in  Mat.  2  Jac.  Rev.  Hist  Pont.  Rom.,  199. 

liar.  De  arte  Moriemti,  lib.  ii.  cap.  10. 
4  Works,  by  Speckling,  Ellis,  and  lleath,  vol.  vi.  p.  100. — G. 


1  Kings  XIV.  13.]  apples  of  gold.  235 

Duty  (1).  First,  You  must  labour  to  acquaint  yourselves  with  the 
Scripture  betimes.  You  must  study  the  word  betimes.  David  studied 
the  word  in  the  morning  of  his  days,  in  the  primrose  of  his  youth ;  and 
this  made  him  wiser  than  his  enemies,  yea,  than  his  teachers ;  this 
made  him  as  much  excel  the  ancients,  as  the  sun  excels  the  moon,  or 
as  the  moon  excels  the  twinkling  stars,  Ps.  cxix.  97—103.  Timothy  was 
good  betimes  ;  and  no  wonder,  for  in  the  primrose  of  his  days  he  was 
acquainted  with  the  Scripture  ;  he  was  inured  to  the  word  from  his 
childhood,  yea,  from  his  infancy,  as  the  word  properly  signifies.1  So  in 
that  119th  Psalm,  the  9th  verse, 'Wherewithal  shall  a  young  man 
cleanse  his  way  ?  By  taking  heed  according  to  thy  word.'  There  is  no 
way  to  a  holy  heart  and  a  clean  life  but  by  acquainting  yourselves  with 
the  word  betimes.  One  hath  long  since  observed,  that  God  hath  bowed 
down  the  Scriptures  to  the  capacity  even  of  babes  and  sucklings,  that 
all  excuse  may  be  taken  away,  and  that  young  men  may  be  encouraged 
to  study  the  Scripture  betimes.2  Ah,  young  men !  no  histories  are  com- 
parable to  the  histories  of  the  Scriptures  :  1,  for  antiquity  ;  2,  rarity  ; 
3,  variety;  4,  brevity;  5,  perspicuity;  G,  harmony;  7,  verity.  All  other 
books  cannot  equal  God's,  either  in  age  or  authority,  in  dignity  or  excel- 
lency, in  sufficiency  or  glory.3 

Moses  is  found  more  ancient  and  more  honourable  than  all  those 
whom  the  Grecians  make  most  ancient  and  honourable  ;  as  Homer, 
Hesiod,  and  Jupiter  himself,  whom  the  Greeks  have  seated  in  the  top 
of  their  divinity. 

The  whole  Scripture  is  but  one  entire  love-letter,  despatched  from 
the  Lord  Christ  to  his  beloved  spouse  ;  and  who  then  but  would  still 
be  a  reading  in  this  love-letter  1  Like  Cascilia,  a  Roman  maiden  of 
noble  parentage,  who  carried  always  about  her  the  New  Testament, 
that  she  might  still  be  a-reading  in  Christ's  love-letter,  and  behold  the 
sweet  workings  of  his  love  and  heart  towards  his  dear  and  precious 
ones.4 

Luther  found  so  much  sweetness  in  the  word,  in  Christ's  love-letter, 
that  made  him  say  he  would  not  live  in  paradise,  if  he  might,  without 
the  word ;  at  cum  verbo  etiam  in  inferno  facile  est  vivere,  but  with 
the  word  he  could  live  in  hell  itself. 

The  word  is  like  the  stone  garamantides,  that  hath  drops  of  gold  in 
itself,  enriching  of  the  believing  soul.  This  the  martyrs  found,  which 
made  them  willing-  to  give  a  load  of  hav  for  a  few  leaves  of  the  Bible 
in  English. 

Augustine  professeth  that  the  sacred  Scriptures  were  his  whole 
delight. 

And  Jerome  tells  us  of  one  Nepotianus,  who,  by  long  and  assiduous 
meditation  on  the  holy  Scriptures,  had  made  his  breasts  the  library  of 
Jesus  Christ.5 

And  Rabbi  Chiia,  in  the  Jerusalem  Talmud,  saith  that  in  his  ac- 
count all  the  world  is  not  of  equal  value  with  one  word  out  of  the  law. 
That  which  a  papist  reports  lyingly  of  their  sacrament  of  the  mass,  viz. 

1  2  Tim.  iii.  15,  anl  B^'apois,  from  a  suckling.  s  Augustine. — G. 

3  Adoro  pltnitudinem  Scripturarum. — Tertullian.  Gregory  calls  the  Scripture  cor  et 
animam  Dei,  the  heart  and  soul  of  God. 

4  Cf.  Clarke's  '  Martyrologie,'  3d  edition,  1677,  p.  35.— G. 

5  Hier.  Epistola  ad  Heliod.  in  Epitaphium  Nepotiani. 


236  APPLES  OF  GOLD.  [1  KlNGS  XIV.  13. 

that  there  are  as  ninny  mysteries  in  it  as  there  be  drops  in  the  sea,  dust 
on  the  earth,  angels  in  heaven,  stars  in  the  sky,  atoms  in  the  sunbeams, 
or  sands  on  the  sea-shore,  &c.,  may  be  truly  asserted  of  the  Holy  Scrip- 
tures. 

Oh !  the  mysteries,  the  excellencies,  the  glories  that  are  in  the  word  ! 
Ah !  no  book  to  this  book  ;  none  so  useful,  none  so  needful,  none  so  de- 
lightful, none  so  necessary  to  make  you  happy  and  to  keep  you  happy  as 
this.  It  is  .said  of  Caesar,  major  fuit  cura  Gcesari  libellorum,  quam 
pn  rpu  rOB,  that  lie  had  a  greater  care  of  his  books  than  of  his  royal  robes ; 
for,  swimming  through  the  waters  to  escape  his  enemies,  he  carried  his 
books  in  his  hand  above  the  waters,  but  lost  his  robe.  Now,  what  are 
Caesar's  books  to  God's  books? 

Ah!  young  men,  young  men  !  the  word  of  the  Lord  is  a  light  to  guide 
you,  a  counsellor  to  counsel  you,  a  comforter  to  comfort  you,  a  staff  to 
support  you,  a  sword  to  defend  you,  and  a  physician  to  cure  you.  The 
word  is  a  mine  to  enrich  you,  a  robe  to  clothe  you,  and  a  crown  to  crown 
you.  It  is  bread  to  strengthen  you,  and  wine  to  cheer  you,  and  a  honey- 
comb to  feast  you,  and  music  to  delight  you,  and  a  paradise  to  entertain 
you.1 

Oh!  therefore,  before  all  and  above  all,  search  the  Scripture,  study  the 
Scripture,  dwell  on  the  Scripture,  delight  in  the  Scripture,  treasure  up 
the  Scripture ;  no  wisdom  to  Scripture  wisdom,  no  knowledge  to  Scrip- 
ture knowledge,  no  experience  to  Scripture  experience,  no  comforts  to 
Scripture  comforts,  no  delights  to  Scripture  delights,  no  convictions  to 
Scripture  convictions,  nor  no  conversion  to  Scripture  conversion. 

Augustine  hearing  a  voice  from  heaven,  that  bade  him  take  and  read, 
tolle  et  lege,  whereupon,  turning  open  the  New  Testament,  he  fell  upon 
that  place,  'Let  us  walk  honestly,  as  in  the  day;  not  in  rioting  and 
drunkenness,  not  in  chambering  and  wantonness,  not  in  strife  and  envy- 
ing. But  put  ye  on  the  Lord  Jesus  Christ,  and  make  not  provision  for 
the  flesh,  to  fulfil  the  lusts  thereof,'  Rom.  xiii.  13,  14.  This  scripture 
so  sunk  into  his  heart,  as  that  it  proved  the  means  of  his  conversion,  as 
himself  reports.  This  Augustine,  as  he  was  once  preaching,  his  memory 
failing  of  him,  contrary  to  his  purpose,  he  fell  upon  reproving  the  Mani- 
cheans,  and  by  a  scripture  or  two,  not  before  thought  of,  to  confute  their 
heresies,  he  converted  Firmus,  a  Manichean,  as  he  after  acknowledged 
to  Augustine,  blessing  God  for  that  sermon.2 

It  is  reported  of  one  Adrianus,  who  seeing  the  martyrs  suffer  such 
grievous  things  in  the  cause  of  God,  he  asked  what  was  that  which 
caused  them  to  suffer  such  things  ?  and  one  of  them  named  that  text, 
'  Eye  hath  not  seen,  nor  ear  heard,  neither  hath  it  entered  into  the  heart 
of  mau  to  conceive,  the  things  which  God  hath  prepared  for  them  that 
love  him,'  1  Cor.  ii.  9.  And  this  text  was  set  home  with  such  a  power 
upon  him,  as  that  it  converted  him  and  made  him  to  profess  religion, 
and  not  only  to  profess  it,  but  to  die  a  martyr  for  it. 

Cyprian  was  converted  by  reading  the  prophecy  of  Jonah.  Junius 
was  converted  by  reading  the  first  chapter  of  John  the  evangelist. 

I  have  read  of  a  scandalous  minister  that  was  struck  at  the  heart, 

1  The  Jewish  Rabbins  were  wont  to  say,  that  upon  every  letter  of  the  law  there  hangs 
mountains  of  profitable  matter. 
*  Lib.  viii.  Uonfes.  cap.  xi.    Possidon.  de  vita. — Augustine. 


1  Kings  XIV.  13.]  apples  of  gold.  237 

and  converted,  in  reading  that  scripture  :  '  Thou  which  teachest  another, 
teachest  thou  not  thyself?'  &c,  Rom.  ii.  21. 

We  read  that  Paphnutius  converted  Thais  and  Ephron,  two  famous 
strumpets,  from  uncleanness,  only  with  this  scripture  argument,  '  That 
God  seeth  all  things  in  the  dark,  when  the  doors  are  fast,  the  windows 
shut,  the  curtains  drawn,'  Heb.  iv.  13. 

I  have  read  of  a  poor  man  who  persuaded  a  young  scholar  to  leave 
reading  of  poetry,  &c,  and  fall  upon  reading  of  the  Scripture,  which 
accordingly  he  did  ;  and  it  pleased  the  Lord,  before  he  had  read  out 
Genesis,  to  change  his  heart  and  to  turn  him  to  the  Lord  in  the  prim- 
rose of  his  days,  he  being  then  but  twenty  years  of  age. 

I  have  read  of  a  young  lady,1  called  Potamia,  of  a  very  illustrious 
family,  who  endured  very  much  in  her  martyrdom,  by  the  extreme  cruelty 
of  Basilides  her  executioner,  yet,  after  her  death,  he  bethinking  himself 
of  the  holy  words  and  scripture-expressions  that  were  uttered  by  her, 
during  her  cruel  torments,  became  a  Christian,  and  within  few  days 
after  was  himself  likewise  crowned  with  martyrdom. 

James  Andreas,  a  godly  minister,  hearing  of  a  Jew  that  for  theft  was 
hanged  by  the  heels,  with  his  head  downward,  having  not  seen  that 
kind  of  punishment,  he  went  to  the  place  where  he  was  hanging  between 
two  dogs  that  were  always  snatching  at  him  to  eat  his  flesh  ;  the  poor 
wretch  repeated  in  Hebrew  some  verses  of  the  Psalms,  wherein  he  cried 
to  God  for  mercy,  whereupon  Andreas  went  near  to  him  and  instructed 
him  in  the  principles  of  Christian  religion,  about  Christ  the  Messiah, 
&c,  exhorting  him  to  believe  in  him,  and  it  pleased  God  so  to  bless  his 
Scripture  exhortations  to  him,  that  the  dogs  gave  over  tearing  of  his 
flesh,  and  the  poor  Jew  desired  him  to  procure  that  he  might  be  taken 
down  and  baptized,  and  hung  by  the  neck  for  the  quicker  despatch, 
which  was  done  accordingly. 

I  might  produce  other  instances,  but  let  these  suffice  to  provoke  all 
young  persons  to  a  speedy,  serious,  diligent,  and  constant  study  of  the 
Scripture.2  Ah !  sirs,  you  do  not  know  how  soon  your  blind  minds  may 
be  enlightened,  your  hard  hearts  softened,  your  proud  spirits  humbled, 
your  sinful  natures  changed,  your  defiled  consciences  purged,  your  dis- 
tempered affections  regulated,  and  your  poor  souls  saved,  by  searching 
into  the  Scriptures,  by  reading  the  Scripture,  and  by  pondering  upon  the 
Scripture.  You  should  lay  up  the  manna  of  God's  word  in  your  hearts, 
as  Moses  laid  up  the  manna  in  the  golden  pot,  Heb.  ix.  4.  And  as 
Tamar  did  with  the  staff  and  signet  that  she  received  from  Judah,  she 
laid  them  up  till  she  came  to  save  her  life,  and  did  save  her  life  by  it, 
as  you  may  see  in  holy  story,  Gen.  xxxviii.  ]  8-36.  The  laying  up  of 
the  word  now,  may  be  the  saving  of  your  souls  another  day. 

I  have  read  of  little  bees,  that  when  they  go  out  in  stormy  weather, 
they  will  carry  a  little  of  their  comb  or  gravel  with  them,  that  they  may 
be  balanced  and  not  carried  away  with  the  wind. 

Ah !  young  men,  young  men,  you  had  need  to  have  your  thoughts  and 
hearts  balanced  with  the  precious  Word,  that  you  may  not  be  carried 

1  Origen  was  her  schoolmaster.  [Potamiena,  not  Potamia.  See  Clarke's  '  Martyrolo- 
gie,'  as  before,  page  35,  on  Basilides. — G.] 

2  Much  in  the  word  is  wrapped  up  in  a  little.  It  is  more  to  be  admired  than  to  have 
Homer's  Iliads  comprised  in  a  nutshell. 


238  APPLES  OF  GOLD.  [1  KlNcs  XIV.  13. 

away  with  '  every  wind  of  doctrine,'  as  many  have  been  in  those  days, 
to  their  destruction  .-11111  con  fusion. 

Narcissus,  a  beautiful  youth,  though  he  would  not  love  them  that 
loved  him,  yei  afterwards  fell  in  love  with  his  own  shadow.1     Ah,  how 

many  Noun-  men  in  these  'lays,  who  were  once  lovely  and  hopeful,  are 
now  fallen  in  love  with  their  own  and  others' shadows,  with  high,  empty, 

airy  notions,  and  with  strange  monstrous  speculations  to  their  own  dam- 
nation: 2  Thess.  ii.  10-12. 

llolv  Melancthon,  being  newly  converted,  thought  it  impossible  fox 

his  hearers  to  withstand  the  evidence  of  the  gospel,  but  soon  after  he 
complained  that  old  Adam  was  too  hard  for  young  Melancthon.2 

Ah  !  young  men,  young  men,  if  you  do  not  in  good  earnest  give  up 
yourselves  to  the  reading,  to  the  studying,  to  the  pondering,  to  the 
believing,  to  the  affecting,  to  the  applying,  and  to  the  living  up  to  the 
Scripture,  Satan  will  be  too  hard  for  you,  the  world  will  be  too  hard  for 
you,  }rour  lusts  will  be  too  hard  for  you,  temptations  will  be  too  hard 
for  you,  and  deceivers  will  be  too  hard  for  you,  and  in  the  end  you  will 
be  miserable  ;  and  thus  much  for  the  first  thing,  &c. 

Duty  (2).  Secondly,  If  you  would  be  good  betimes,  then  you  must 
acquaint  yourselves  wvbh  yourselves  betimes. 

If  you  would  be  gracious  in  the  spring  and  morning  of  your  days,  then 
you  must  see  betimes  how  bad  you  are,  how  vile,  how  sinful,  how 
wretched  you  are.  No  man  begins  to  be  good  till  he  sees  himself  to  be 
bad.  The  young  prodigal  never  began  to  mend,  he  never  thought  of 
returning  to  his  father,  till  he  came  to  himself,  till  he  began  to  return 
into  his  own  soul,  and  saw  himself  in  an  undone  condition,  Luke  xv. 
12-22. 

Ah  !  young  men,  young  men,  You  must  see  yourselves  to  be  chil- 
dren of  wrath,  to  be  enemies,  to  be  strangers,  to  be  afar  off  from  God, 
from  Christ,  from  the  covenant,  from  heaven,  to  be  sin's  servants,  and 
Satan's  bond-slaves.3  The  ready  way  to  be  found,  is  to  see  yourselves 
lost  ;  the  first  step  to  mercy,  is  to  see  your  misery  ;  the  first  step  to- 
wards heaven  is  to  see  yourselves  near  to  hell.  You  won't  look  after 
the  physician  of  souls,  you  won't  prize  the  physician  of  souls,  you  won't 
desire  the  physician  of  souls,  you  won't  match  with  the  physician  of 
souls,  you  won't  fall  in  love,  in  league  with  the  physician  of  souls,  you 
won't  resign  up  yourselves  to  the  physician  of  souls,  till  you  come  to  see 
your  wounds,  till  you  come  to  feel  your  diseases,  till  you  see  the  tokens, 
the  plague-sores  of  divine  wrath  and  displeasure  upon  you.  As  the 
whole  do  not  need  the  physician,  so  they  do  not  desire,  they  do  not  care 
for  the  physician.' 

Ah!  young  men,  as  you  would  be  good  betimes,  begin  to  acquaint 
yourselves  with  your  sinful  solves  betimes,  begin  to  acquaint  yourselves 
betimes  with  your  natural  and  undone  condition.5 

There  is  a  threefold  self. 

(1.)  There  is  a  natural  self;  as  a  man's  parts,  wit,  reason,  will,  affec- 
tions, and  inclinations,  &c. 

1  Ovid.  Met  Hi.  341,  scq. — G.  2  Melch.  Adam,  sub  nomine. — G. 

'  Eph.  ii.  1-8,  12,  U  ;  Rom.  vi.  10;  John  viii.  44;  2  Tim.  ii.  26. 

*  Austin  aaith,  lie  would  willingly  yu  through  hell  to  Christ,  so  will  all  that  see  their 
need  of  Christ-  "  Zanchias  writ  a  tractate,  Quod  nihil  scicur. 


1  Kings  XIV.  13.]  apples  of  gold.  239 

(2.)  A  religious  self;  and  so  a  man's  duties,  graces,  obedience,  right- 
eousness, holiness,  are  called  one's  self. 

(3.)  There  is  a  sinful  self;  and  so  a  man's  corruptions,  lusts,  sinful 
nature,  and  dispositions,  are  called  one's  self.  Now,  if  ever  you  would 
be  good  betimes,  you  must  acquaint  yourselves  with  your  sinful  selves 
betimes.1 

Demonicus  being  asked  at  what  time  he  began  to  be  a  philosopher, 
answered,  When  I  began  to  know  myself.  So  a  man  never  begins  to  be 
a  Christian  till  he  begins  to  know  himself.  And  indeed,  for  a  man  to 
know  himself,  to  acquaint  himself  with  himself,  is  one  of  the  hardest 
works  in  all  the  world.  For  as  the  eye  can  see  all  things  but  itself,  so 
most  can  discern  all  faults  but  their  own.  Henry 'the  Fourth,  emperor 
of  Germany,  his  usual  speech  was  Multi  multa  sciunt,  se  autem  nemo, 
many  know  much,  but  few  know  themselves. 

The  very  heathens  did  admire  that  saying  as  an  oracle,  nosceteipsum, 
know  and  be  acquainted  with  thy  own  self  The  main  exhortation  of 
Chilo,  one  of  the  seven  sages,  was  '  Know  thyself  And  Plato  recordeth 
that  this  saying  of  Chilo,  '  Know  thyself,'  was  written  in  letters  of  gold 
upon  the  portal  of  Apollo's  temple. 

Juvenal  saith  that  this  saying,  '  Know  thyself,'  came  from  heaven. 
Macrobius  saith  that  the  oracle  of  Apollo,  being  demanded  what  course 
should  be  taken  for  attaining  to  felicity,  answered,  only  teach  a  man  to 
'know  himself.'2 

Thus  you  see  that  both  divinity  and  philosophy  doth  agree  in  this, 
that  the  best  and  surest  way  to  true  felicity  is,  to  know  ourselves,  to 
acquaint  ourselves  with  ourselves. 

This  duty  the  apostle  charges  upon  the  Ephesians,  '  Remember  that 
you,  being  in  times  past  Gentiles  in  the  flesh,  that  at  that  time  you 
were  without  Christ,  aliens  from  the  commonwealth  of  Israel,  and 
strangers  from  the  covenant  of  promise,  having  no  hope,  and  without 
God  in  the  world,'  Eph.  ii.  11,  12. 

Here  are  five  withouts  :  without  Christ,  without  the  church,  without 
the  promise,  without  hope,  and  without  God  in  the  world. 

Man  in  his  natural  state  is  afar  off;  he  is  without,  three  manner  of 
ways : 

(1.)  In  point  of  opinion  and  apprehension. 

(2.)  In  point  of  fellowship  and  communion. 

(3.)  In  point  of  grace  and  conversion.  ' 

As  you  would  be  good  betimes,  dwell  much  upon  your  corrupt  nature 
betimes.3  Ah  !  such  is  the  corruption  of  our  nature,  that  propound  any 
divine  good  to  it,  it  is  entertained  as  fire  by  water,  or  wet  wood  with 
hissing ;  propound  any  evil,  then  it  is  like  fire  to  straw ;  it  is  like  the 
foolish  satyr,  that  made  haste  to  kiss  the  fire  ;  it  is  like  that  unctuous 
matter  which  the  naturalists  say  sucks  and  snatches  the  fire  to  it,  with 

1  Luther  said,  that  if  a  man  could  perfectly  see  his  own  faults,  the  sight  thereof 
would  be  a  very  hell  unto  him. 

2.  The  precept,  Tvvtii  triavrav,  has  gathered  around  it  a  little  literature  of  its  own.  It  has 
been  assigned  to  Chilo,  as  above ;  but  also  to  Pythagoras,  Thales,  Cleobulus,  Bias,  and 
Socrates,  and  to  Phoemonoe,  a  Greek  poetess  of  the  pre-Homeric  period.  The  reference 
to  Juvenal  is  found  in  Sat.  xi.  27,  Eccelo  descendit  y\uh  tnaurov. — G. 

3  Of  dull  and. insensible  men,  one  long  since  thus  complained,  Patientius  ferre  Christi 
jacturam  quam  suam,  that  they  did  more  calmly  pass  by  the  injuries  done  to  Christ  than 
those  that  were  done  unto  themselves      Oh  the  plague  of  insensibleness! 


240  ArPLES  OF  GOLD.  [1  Kings  XIV.  13. 

which  it  is  consumed.  Till  you  come  to  be  sensible  of  this,  you  will 
never  begin  to  be  good  ;  you  will  never  look  to  have  your  hearts  changed, 
and  your  souls  saved. 

The  Ethiopians  paint  angels  black,  and  devils  white,  in  favour  of 
their  own  complexion ;  and  they  say  that  if  the  brute  creatures  could 
draw  a  picture  of  the  divine  nature,  they  would  make  their  shape  the 
copy,  and  thus  they  flatter  and  delude  themselves.  Take  heed,  young 
men,  take  heed  that  you  do  not  put  the  like  cheats  upon  your  own 
souls  ;  take  heed  that  you  be  not  like  those  limners  who,  so  as  they  can 
make  a  man's  picture  gay  and  gaudy,  care  not  to  draw  it  so  as  to  re- 
semble him.  It  is  safest  and  best,  O  young  man !  to  know  the  worst 
of  thyself,  and  to  know  thyself  as  thou  art  in  thyself,  and  not  as  thy 
own  flattering  heart,  or  as  other  flatterers,  may  represent  thee  to 
thyself. 

Duty  (3).  Thirdly,  If  you  would  be  good  betimes,  then  you  must 
acquaint  yourselves  with  Jesus  Christ  betimes. 

You  must  know  him  betimes.  A  man  never  begins  to  be  good  till 
he  begins  to  know  him  that  is  the  fountain  of  all  goodness  :  '  This  is 
life  eternal,  to  know  thee,  the  only  true  God,  and  Jesus  Christ,  whom 
thou  hast  sent,'  John  xvii.  3. 

The  knowledge  of  Christ  is  the  beginning  of  eternal  life  ;  it  is  the 
way  to  eternal  life,  it  is  a  taste  of  eternal  life,  it  is  a  sure  pledge  and 
pawn  to  the  soul  of  eternal  life. 

The  Spaniards  say  of  Aquinas,  that  he  that  knows  not  him  knows 
not  anything,  but  he  that  knows  him  knows  all  things.  He  that  knows 
Jesus  Christ  not  notionally  only,  but  practically,  not  apprehensively 
only,  but  affectively,  he  knows  all  things  that  may  make  him  happy ; 
but  he  that  knows  not  Jesus  Christ  knows  nothing  that  will  stand  him 
in  stead,  when  he  shall  He  upon  a  dying  bed,  and  stand  before  a  judg- 
ment seat. 

Justin  Martyr  relates  that  when,  in  his  discourse  with  Trypho,  he 
mentioned  the  knowledge  of  Christ  as  conducing  to  our  happiness  and 
perfection,  Trypho's  friends  laughed  at  it ;  but  I  hope  better  things  of 
all  those  into  whose  hands  this  treatise  shall  fall. 

Sirs !  the  sun  is  not  more  necessary  to  the  world,  the  eye  to  the  body, 
the  pilot  to  the  ship,  the  general  to  the  army,  &c,  than  the  knowledge 
of  Christ  betimes  is  necessary  for  all  those  that  would  be  good  betimes. 

Dear  hearts,  as  ever  you  would  be  good  betimes,  you  must  labour, 
even  as  for  life,  to  know  and  be  thoroughly  acquainted  with  these  six 
things  concerning  Jesus  Christ  betimes. 

(1.)  First,  If  you  would  be  good  betimes,  then  you  must  know  be- 
times thai  there  is  everything  in  Christ  that  may  encourage  you  to 
seek  him  and  serve  him,  to  love  him  and  obey  him,  to  believe  on  him 
and  to  marry  with  him} 

If  you  look  upon  his  names,  his  natures,  his  offices,  his  graces,  his 
dignities,  his  excellencies,  his  royalties,  his  glories,  his  fulnesses,  they 
all  speak  out  as  much. 

Are  you  poor?  Why,  Christ  hath  tried  gold  to  enrich  you,  Rev.  iii. 
18.  Are  you  naked?  Christ  hath  white  raiment  to  clothe  you.  Are 
you  spiritually  blind?  Christ  hath  eye-salve  to  enlighten  you.  Are 
1  Nee  Christut,  nee  ccelum,  patitur  hyperbolem. 


1  Kings  XIV.  13.].  apples  of  gold.  24-1 

you  in  straits  ?  He  bath  wisdom  to  counsel  you.  Are  you  unrighteous  ? 
He  will  be  righteousness  to  you  ?  Are  you  unholy  ?  He  will  be  holiness 
and  sanctification  to  you,  1  Cor.  i.  30.  Are  you  hungry?  He  is  bread 
to  feed  you.  Are  you  thirsty  ?  He  is  wine  and  milk  to  satisfy  you. 
Are  you  weary  ?  He  is  a  bed,  a  seat,  to  rest  you.  Are  you  sick  ?  Why, 
he  is  a  physician  to  cure  you,  &c.  Omne  bonum  in  summo  bono,  All 
good  is  in  the  chiefest  good.1 

The  creatures  have  their  particular  goodness,  health  hath  its  parti- 
cular goodness,  and  wealth  hath  its  particular  goodness,  and  learning 
hath  its,  and  the  favour  of  the  creature  hath  its,  &c,  but  now  Jesus 
Christ  he  is  an  universal  good.2  All  the  petty  excellencies  that  are 
scattered  abroad  in  the  creatures  are  united  to  Christ ;  yea,  all  the  whole 
volume  of  perfections  which  is  spread  through  heaven  and  earth  is 
epitomised  in  him.  Ipse  unus  erit  tibi  omnia,  quia  in  ipso  uno  bono, 
bona  sunt  omnia — [Augustine],  One  Christ  will  be  to  thee  instead 
of  all  things  else,  because  in  him  are  all  good  things  to  be  found. 
Abraham's  servant  brought  forth  jewels  of  silver  and  jewels  of  gold,  to 
win  Rebekah's  heart  to  Isaac ;  so  should  you,  O  young  men  !  be  often 
in  presenting  to  your  own  view  all  those  amiable  and  excellent  things 
that  be  in  Christ,  to  win  your  hearts  over  to  Christ  betimes. 

Secondly,  If  you  would  be  good  betimes,  then  you  must  know  be- 
times that  Jesus  Christ  is  mighty  to  save. 

'  He  is  able  to  save  to  the  uttermost  all  them  that  come  unto  him, 
that  believe  in  him,  and  that  cast  themselves  upon  him/3  The  Lord 
hath  laid  help  upon  one  that  is  mighty.  Christ  saves  perfectly,  tho- 
roughly, perpetually,  them  that  come  unto  him. 

The  three  tongues  that  were  written  upon  the  cross,  in  Greek,  Latin, 
and  Hebrew,  to  witness  Christ  to  be  the  king  of  the  Jews,  do  each  of 
them,  in  their  several  idioms,  avouch  this  axiom,  that  Christ  is  an  all- 
sufficient  Saviour  ;  and  '  a  threefold  cord  is  not  easily  broken.'  They 
say  it  is  true  of  the  oil  at  Rheims,  that  though  it  be  continually  spent 
in  the  [inauguration  of  their  kings  of  France,  yet  it  never  wasteth. 
Christ  is  that  pot  of  manna,,  that  cruse  of  oil,,  that  bottomless  ocean, 
that  never  fails  his  people.  There  is  in  Christ  an  all-sufficiency  for  all 
creatures  at  all  times,  in  all  places.4 

The  great  Cham  is  said  to  have  a  tree  full  of  pearls  hanging  by 
clusters. ;  but  what  is  the  great  Cham's  tree  to  Christ,  our  tree  of  life, 
who  hath  all  variety  and  plenty  of  fruit  upon  him.5  The  happinesses 
that  come  to  believers  by  Christ  are  so  many,  that  they  cannot  be 
numbered  ;  so  great,  that  they  cannot  be  measured  ;  so  copious,  that 
they  cannot  be  denned  ;  so  precious,  that  they  cannot  be  valued  ;  all 
which  speaks  out  the  fulness  and  all-sufficiency  of  Christ. 

There  is  in  Christ  plenitudo  abundantice,  and  plenitudo  redundan- 
tice,  a  fulness  of  abundance,  and  a  fulness  of  redundancy,  as  well  as  a 
fulness  of  sufficiency. 

1  John  vi.  48;  Isa.  Iv.  1;  Matt.  xi.  28,  ix.  12.      2  Christ  is  the  bonum  in  quo  omnia  bona. 

3  Heb.  vii.  25,  h;  ro  a-avrtxis,  perpetually,  constantly.  Matt.  ix.  28,  Isa.  lxiii.  1. 
Mighty  to  save. 

4  Christ  is  never  vacuis  minibus  empty-handed. 

6  Rev.  xxii.  2.  Christ  is  like  the  trees  of  the  sanctuary,  which  were  both  for  meat  and 
for  medicine,  Ezek.  xlvii.  12. 

VOL.  I.  Q 


'1V1  APPLES  OF  GOLD.  [1  KlNGS  XIV.  13. 

There  is  in  Christ, 

1.  The  fulness  of  the  Spirit. 

2.  The  fulness  of  grace. 

3.  The  fulness  of  the  image  of  God. 

4.  The  fulness  of  the  Godhead. 

5.  The  fulness  of  glory. 

But  T  must  not  now  open  nor  dilate  on  these  things,  lest  I  should 
tire  both  myself  and  the  reader. 

Plutarch,  in  the  life  of  Phocion,  tells  us  of  a  certain  gentlewoman  of 
Ionia,  who  shewed  the  wife  of  Phocion  all  the  rich  jewels  and  precious 
stones  she  had.  She  answered  her  again,  All  my  riches  and  jewels  is 
my  husband  Phocion.  So  may  a  penitent  sinner  say  of  his  blessed 
Saviour,  Christ  is  all  my  jewels,  my  riches,  my  treasures,  my  pleasures, 
&C.  ;  his  sufficiency  is  all  these,  and  more  than  these,  to  me. 

The  Spanish  ambassador,  coming  to  see  the  treasury  of  St  Mark  in 
Venice,  which  is  cried  up  throughout  the  world,  fell  a-groping  to  find 
whether  it  had  any  bottom,  and  being  asked  why,  answered,  In  this 
amongst  other  things,  my  great  Master's  treasure  differs  from  yours,  in 
that  his  hath  no  bottom,  as  I  find  yours  to  have, — alluding  to  the  mines 
in  Mexico  and  Potosi.  But  what  are  the  Spaniard's  treasures  to  Christ's 
treasures  ?  A  man  may,  without  much  groping,  find  the  bottom  of  all 
earthly  treasures,  but  who  can  find  the  bottom  of  Christ's  treasures  ?' 
Should  all  created  excellencies  meet  in  one  glorified  breast,  yet  they 
could  not  enable  that  glorious  God-like  creature  to  sound  the  bottom 
of  those  riches  and  treasures  which  are  in  Christ,  Ephes.  iii.  8  ;  all  which 
speaks  out  Christ's  all-sufficiency ;  and  thus  much  for  the  second  thing. 

(3.)  Thirdly,  If  you  would  be  good  betimes,  then  you  must  know 
betimes,  That  there  is  a  marvellous  ivillingness  and  readiness  in 
Christ  to  embrace,  to  enteHain,  to  welcome  returning  sinners,  and 
to  shew  mercy  and  favour  to  them. 

The  young  prodigal  did  but  think  of  returning  to  his  father,  and  he 
ran  and  met  him,  and  instead  of  kicking  or  killing  him,  he  kissed  him 
and  embraced  him,  his  bowels  rolled  within  him,  and  his  compassions 
flowed  out  freely  to  him,  Luke  xv.  20-22.  '  Ho  everyone  that  thirsteth, 
come  ye  to  the  waters, and  he  that  hath  no  money;  come  ye,  buy  and  eat, 
yea,  come,  buy  wine  and  milk  without  money  and  without  price,'  Isa. 
lv.  I.2  Nazianzen  improveth  this  place  thus:  '  Oh,  this  easy  way  of 
contract,  he  giveth  more  willingly  than  others  sell ;  if  thou  wilt  but 
accept,  that  is  all  the  price  ;  though  you  have  no  merits,  though  you 
have  nothing  in  yourselves  to  encourage  you,  yet  will  you  accept  ?  If 
you  will,  all  is  freely  yours  ;  the  waters  shall  be  yours  to  cleanse  you, 
and  the  milk  yours  to  nourish  you,  and  the  bread  yours  to  strengthen 
you,  and  the  wine  yours  to  comfort  you.  Here  poor  sinners  are  called 
three  times  to  come  :  Come,  saith  Christ,  come,  come,  to  shew  how  mar- 
vellous ready  and  willing  he  is  that  poor  sinners  should  taste  of  gospel 
delicates.3  So  in  that  John  vii.  37,  '  Jesus  stood  and  cried,  If  any  man 
thirst,  let  him  come  to  me  and  drink  ;'  so  in  that  Rev.  xxii.  17,  'Let 

1  //m«  Deus  si/fficit  ad pramium. — Bernard. 

'-'  The  meaning  is,  Bel)  thyself,  thine  own  wit,  reason,  self-worth  ;  and  that  is  all  Christ 
desires,  saith  Augustine  upon  the  words. 

a  Cant,  ii  8.  Christ  comes  leaping  upon  the  mountains,  and  skipping  upon  the  hills,  to 
shuw  his  readiness  and  willingness  to  do  good  to  souls. 


1  Kings  XIV.  13.]  apples  of  gold.  243 

him  that  is  athirst  come,  and  whosoever  will,  let  him  take  the  water  of 
life  freely'  ;  so  in  that  Rev.  iii.  20,  '  Behold,  I  stand  at  the  door  and 
knock  :  if  any  man  hear  my  voice,  and  open  the  door,  I  will  come  in  to 
him,  and  will  sup  with  him,  and  he  with  me  ;'  and  so  in  that  Luke 
xiv.  21,  'The  master  of  the  house  said  to  his  servant,  Go  out  quickly 
into  the  streets  and  lanes  of  the  city,  and  bring  in  hither  the  poor,  and 
the  maimed,  and  the  halt,  and  the  blind.'  Here  is  no  man  of  quality,  of 
dignity,  of  worldly  pomp  or  glory,  or  of  any  self-sufficiency,  that  is  invited 
to  the  feast,  but  a  company  of  poor,  ragged, deformed,  slighted,  neglected, 
impoverished,  wounded  sinners  ;  these  are  invited  to  feast  with  Christ. 

Concerning  this  willingness  of  Christ,  I  shall  speak  more  when  I  come 
to  deal  with  old  sinners  in  the  close  of  this  discourse,  and  to  that  I  refer 
you  for  further  and  fuller  satisfaction  concerning  the  great  readiness  and 
willingness  of  Jesus  Christ  to  entertain  returning  sinners. 

(4.)  Fourthly,  If  you  would  be  good  betimes,  then  you  must  know 
betimes,  That  Jesus  Christ  is  designed,  sealed,  and  appointed  by  the 
Father  to  the  office  of  a  Mediator} 

'  Labour  not  for  the  meat  which  perisheth,  but  for  that  meat  which 
endureth  to  everlasting  life,  which  the  Son  of  man  shall  give  unto  you ; 
for  him  hath  God  the  Father  sealed.'  God  the  Father  hath  made 
Christ's  commission  authentical,  as  men  do  theirs  by  their  seal.  It  is 
a  metaphor,  a  simile  taken  from  them  who  give  commissions  under  hand 
and  seal.  God  the  Father  hath  given  it  under  his  hand  and  seal,  that 
Jesus  Christ  is  the  only  person  that  he  hath  appointed  and  sealed, 
allowed  and  confirmed,  to  the  office  of  our  redemption.  If  J  esus  Christ 
were  never  so  able  to  save,  and  never  so  willing  and  ready  to  save  poor 
sinners,  yet  if  he  were  not  appointed,  designed,  and  sealed,  for  that 
work,  the  awakened  sinner  would  never  look  out  after  him,  nor  desire 
union  with  him,  nor  interest  in  him  ;  and  therefore  it  is  of  very  great 
consequence  to  know  that  God  the  Father  hath  sent  and  sealed  Christ 
to  be  a  Saviour  to  his  people  :  '  Him  hath  God  the  Father  sealed.' 
Sealed  by  way  of  destination  and  sealed  by  way  of  qualification,  sealed 
by  his  doctrine,  sealed  by  his  miracles,  sealed  by  his  baptism,  sealed  by 
his  resurrection,  but  above  all,  sealed  by  his  glorious  unction.  '  The 
Spirit  of  the  Lord  is  upon  me  ;  because  the  Lord  hath  anointed  me  to 
preach  good  tidings  unto  the  meek :  he  hath  sent  me  to  bind  up  the 
broken-hearted,  to  proclaim  liberty  to  the  captives,  and  the  opening  of 
the  prison  to  them  that  are  bound  ;  to  proclaim  the  acceptable  year 
of  the  Lord,  and  the  day  of  vengeance  of  our  God  ;  to  comfort  all  that 
mourn ;  to  appoint  unto  them  that  mourn  in  Zion,  to  give  unto  them 
beauty  for  ashes,  the  oil  of  joy  for  mourning,  the  garment  of  praise  for 
the  spirit  of  heaviness :  that  they  might  be  called  trees  of  righteous- 
ness, the  planting  of  the  Lord,  that  he  might  be  glorified,'  Isa.  lxi.  1-3, 
Luke  iv.  18.2  Neither  saints  nor  angels  are  sealed  and  anointed  to  the 
great  work  of  redemption,  but  the  Lord  Jesus  is.  You  should  always 
look  upon  the  Lord  Jesus  as  sealed  and  anointed  to  the  office  of  a  Me- 
diator, and  accordingly  plead  with  him. 

1  John  vi.  27,  The  Father  sealed,  even  God  ;  so  the  Greek  hath  it. 

*  Christ  was  anointed  of  God,  1,  by  way  of  designation  ;  2,  by  way  of  qualification  ; 
3.  by  way  of  inauguration.  This  anointing  was  ordinarily  used  in  the  installing  men 
to  offices  of  any  eminence. 


244  APPLES  OF  GOLD.  [1  KlNGS  XIV.  13. 

Ah,  Lord  !  it  is  thy  office,  as  thou  art  a  sealed  and  an  anointed  Sa- 
viour and  Redeemer,  to  subdue  my  sins,  to  change  my  nature,  to  sanctify 
my  heart,  to  reform  my  life,  ;u'd  to  save  my  soul;  and  therefore  do  it 
for  thy  Dame's  sake,  oh  doit  for  thy  office'  sake,  do  it  for  thy  glory's  sake  ! 

'Thou  art  anointed  with  the  oil  of  gladness  above  thy  fellows/  Ps. 
xlv.  8,  Acts  iv.  27.  Thou  hast  a  larger  effusion  of  the  Spirit  upon  thee 
than  others;  thou  art  anointed  with  the  Holy  Ghost  and  with  power 
after  an  extraordinary  measure  and  manner;  thou  art  endued  with  all 
beroical  gifts  and  excellencies,  plentifully,  abundantly,  transcendently ; 
thou  art  Bealed  and  predestinated;1  thou  art  invested  into  this  office  of 
Mediatorship  under  the  Father's  hand  and  seal :  and  therefore  whither 
should  I  go  for  salvation,  for  remission,  for  redemption,  for  grace,  for 
glory,  but  to  thee  ? 

(5.)  Fifthly,  If  you  would  be  good  betimes,  then  you  must  know  be- 
times, that  there  is  no  way  to  salvation  but  by  Jesus  Christ. 

'Neither  is  there  salvation  in  any  other'2  (speaking  of  Christ),  'for 
there  is  none  other  name  under  heaven,  given  among  men,  whereby  we 
must  be  saved,'  Acts  iv.  12.  If  ever  you  are  saved,  you  must  be  saved 
by  him,  and  him  only;  you  must  not  look  for  another  saviour,  nor  you 
must  not  look  for  a  co-saviour;  you  must  be  saved  wholly  by  Christ  and 
only  by  Christ,  or  you  shall  never  be  saved  ;  you  must  cry  out,  as  Lam- 
bert did  when  he  was  in  the  fire,  and  lifted  up  his  hands,  and  fingers '- 
ends  flaming,  'None  but  Christ,  none  but  Christ'!3  When  Augustus 
Caesar  desired  the  senate  to  join  two  consuls  with  him  for  the  better 
government  of  the  state,  the  senate  answered,  that  they  held  it  as  a 
diminution  of  his  dignity,  and  a  disparagement  of  their  own  judgment, 
to  join  any  with  so  incomparable  a  man  as  Augustus.4 

Ah !  friends,  it  is  a  diminution  of  Christ's  dignity,  sufficiency,  and 
glory,  in  the  business  of  your  salvation,  to  join  anything  with  the  Lord 
Jesus ;  and  it  is  the  greatest  disparagement  in  the  world  to  your  own 
judgments,  knowledge,  prudence,  and  wisdom,  to  yoke  any  with  Christ 
in  the  work  of  redemption,  in  the  business  of  salvation. 

Augustine  saith,  that  Marcellina  hung  Christ's  picture  and  the  pic- 
ture of  Pythagoras  together ;  many  there  are,  not  only  in  Rome,  but 
in  England  (yea,  I  am  afraid  in  London),  who  join  Christ  and  their 
works  together,  Christ  and  their  prayers  together,  Christ  and  their 
teachers  together,  Christ  and  their  mournings  together,  Christ  and 
their  hearings  together,  Christ  and  their  alms  together. 

Ah,  what  a  poor,  what  a  weak,  what  an  impotent,  what  an  insuffi- 
cient Saviour  doth  these  men  make  Jesus  Christ  to  be  !  Except  these 
men  come  off  from  these  things,  and  come  up  only  to  Jesus  Christ,  in 
the  great  business  of  salvation,  they  will  as  certainly  and  as  eternally 
perish,  notwithstanding  their  hearing,  knowing,  and  talking  much  of 
Christ,  as  those  that  never  heard  of  Jesus  Christ. 

In  the  Old  Testament,  God  commands  them  not  to  wear  a  garment 
of  divers  sorts,  as  of  woollen  and  linen  together,  '  neither  shall  a  gar- 
ment mingled  of  linen  and  woollen  come  upon  thee,'  Deut.  xxii.  11. 

This  law  was  figurative,  and  shews  us  that  in  the  case  of  our  justifi- 
cation, acceptation,  and  salvation,  we  are  not  to  join  our  works,  our 

1  John  i   16,  iii.  34.  *  U  &xxu,  that  is,  by  or  through  the  mediation  of  any  other. 

*  Act.  and  Mon.     [Foxe,  sub  nomine  — G.]  4  Suetonius. 


1  Kings  XIV.  13.]  apples  of  gold.  248 

services,  with  the  righteousness  of  Christ.  God  abhors  a  linsey-woolsey 
righteousness.  And  as  by  the  letter  of  this  law,  in  the  Hebrews' 
account,  one  thread  of  wool  in  a  linen  garment,  or  one  linen  thread  in 
a  woollen  garment,  made  it  unlawful,  so  the  least  manner  of  mixture  in 
the  business  of  justification  makes  all  null  and  void.1  'And  if  by  grace, 
then  it  is  no  more  of  works,  otherwise  grace  is  no  more  grace.  But  if 
it  be  of  works,  then  it  is  no  more  grace,  otherwise  work  is  no  more 
work.'2  He  that  shall  mix  his  righteousness  with  Christ's,  he  that  shall 
mix  his  puddle  with  Christ's  purple  blood,  his  rags  with  Christ's  royal 
robes,  his  copper  with  Christ's  gold,  his  water  with  Christ's  wine,  &c, 
is  in  the  ready  way  to  perish  for  ever. 

On  earth  kings  love  no  consorts ;  power  is  impatient  of  participation. 
Christ  will  be  Alexander  or  Nemo,  nobody  ;  he  will  be  all  in  all  in  the 
business  of  justification,  or  he  will  be  nothing  at  all.  We  must  say  of 
Christ,  as  it  was  once  said  of  Csesar,  Socium  habet  neminem,  He  may 
have  a  companion,  &c,  but  he  must  not  have  a  competitor,  1  Cor.  i.  30, 
Rom.  v.  19,  20. 

Let  us  say  of  Christ,  as  the  heathen  once  said  of  his  petty  gods,  Con- 
temno  minutulos  istos  deos,  modo  Jovem  propitium  habeam,  so  long 
as  he  had  his  Jupiter  to  friend,  he  regarded  them  not.  So,  so  long  as 
we  have  our  Jesus  to  friend,  and  his  righteousness  and  blood  to  friend, 
we  shall  contemn  all  other  things,  and  abhor  the  bringing  of  any  thing 
into  .competition  with  him.  A  real  Christian  cares  not  for  any  thing 
that  hath  not  aliquid  Christi,  something  of  Christ  in  it.  He  that 
holds  not  wholly  with  Christ,  doth  very  shamefully  neglect  Christ,  Aut 
totum  mecum  tene,  aut  totum  omitte,  saith  Gregory  Nazianzen.  (Eph. 
iii.  9,  10,  Ps.  lxxi.  15,  16,  19,  compared.) 

There  is  no  other  name,  no  other  nature,  no  other  blood,  no  other 
merits,  no  other  person  to  be  justified  and  saved  by,  but  Jesus  Christ. 
You  may  run  from  creature  to  creature,  and  from  duty  to  duty,  and 
from  ordinance  to  ordinance,  and  when  you  have  wearied  and  tired  out 
yourselves  in  seeking  ease  and  rest,  satisfaction  and  remission,  justifica- 
tion and  salvation,  in  one  way  and  another,  you  will  be  forced  after  all 
to  come  to  Christ,  and  to  cry  out,  Ah  !  none  but  Christ,  none  but 
Christ !  Isa.  lv.  2,  Rom.  x.  3.  Ah  !  none  to  Christ,  none  to  Christ ;  no 
works  to  Christ ;  no  duties,  no  services  to  Christ ;  no  prayers,  no  tears  to 
Christ ;  no  righteousness,  no  holiness  to  Christ.  Well !  friends,  remember 
this,  that  all  the  tears  in  the  world  cannot  wipe  off  meritoriously  one 
sin,  nor  all  the  grace  and  holiness  that  is  in  angels  and  men  buy  out 
the  pardon  of  the  least  transgression.  All  remission  is  only  by  the 
blood  of  Christ. 

(6.)  Sixthly  and  lastly,  If  you  would  be  good  betimes,  then  you  must 
know  betimes,  that  the  heart  of  Jesus  Christ  is  as  much  set  upon 
sinners  noiv  he  is  in  heaven,  as  ever  it  was  when  he  was  upon  earth. 

Christ  is  no  less  loving,  less  mindful,  less  desirous  of  sinners'  eternal 
welfare  now  he  is  heaven  in  a  far  country,  than  he  was  when  he  lived 
on  earth.  Witness  his  continuing  the  ministry  of  reconciliation  among 
poor  sinners  in  all  ages  ;  witness  the  constant  treaties,  that  by  his 
ambassadors  and  Spirit  he  still  hath  with  poor  sinners,  about  the  things 

1  Philip,  iii.  9,  10  ;  Rev.  xix.  8  ;  Gal.  iii.  28,  ii.  16. 
8  Horn.  x'i.  6 ;  Eph.  ii.  5  ;  Rom.  v.  15-18. 


246  APPLES  OF  GOLD.  [1   KINGS  XIV.  13. 

of  their  peace,  the  things  of  eternity  ;  witness  his  continual  knocking, 
his  continual  callings  upon  poor  sinners  by  his  word,  rod,  Spirit,  to 
open,  to  repent,  to  lay  hold  on  mercy,  and  to  be  at  peace  with  him  ; 
witness  his  continual  wooing  of  poor  sinners  in  the  face  of  all  neglects 
and  put-offs,  in  the  face  of  all  delays  and  denials,  in  the  face  of  all  harsh 
entertainment  and  churlish  answers,  in  the  face  of  all  gainsayings  and 
carnal  reasonings,  in  the  face  of  all  the  scorn  and  contempt  that  wretched 
sinners  put  upon  him,1  and  witness  that  plain  word,  '  Jesus  Christ,  the 
same  yesterday,  and  to-day,  and  for  ever,'  Heb.  xiii.  8.  Christ  is  the 
same  afore  time,  in  time,  and  after  time,  he  is  unchangeable  in  his 
essence,  in  his  promises,  and  in  his  affections  :  •  I  am  Alpha  and  Omega, 
the  beginning  and  the  ending,  saith  the  Lord,  which  is,  and  which  was, 
and  which  is  to  come/  Rev.  i.  8,  11,  xxi.  6,  xxii.  13. 2 

The  phrase  is  taken  from  the  Greek  letters,  whereof  Alpha  is  the 
first  and  Omega  is  the  last.  The  first  and  last  letter  of  the  Greek 
alphabet  is  a  description  of  me,  saith  Christ,  who  am  before  all  and 
after  all,  who  am  above  all  and  in  all,  who  am  unchangeable  in  myself, 
and  in  my  thoughts  and  good  will  to  poor  sinners.  Therefore  do  not, 
poor  souls,  entertain  any  hard  thoughts  concerning  Jesus  Christ,  as  if 
he  was  less  mindful,  less  pitiful,  and  less  merciful  to  poor  souls  now 
he  is  in  heaven,  than  he  was  when  his  abode  was  in  this  world. 

And  thus  I  have  gone  over  those  six  things  that  you  must  know  con- 
cerning Christ  betimes,  if  ever  you  be  good  betimes.  When  Pope  Leo 
lay  upon  his  death-bed,  Cardinal  Bembus  citing  a  text  of  Scripture  to 
comfort  him,  he  replied,  '  A  "page  has  nugas  de  Christo,  away  with  these 
baubles  concerning  Christ !'  But  I  hope  better  things  of  you,  and  do 
desire  that  you  will  say  of  all  things  below  this  knowledge  of  Christ 
that  I  have  opened  to  you,  as  that  devout  pilgrim,  who,  travelling  to 
Jerusalem,  and  by  the  way  visiting  many  brave  cities,  with  their  rare 
monuments,  and  meeting  with  many  friendly  entertainments,  would 
often  say,  I  must  not  stay  here,  this  is  not  Jerusalem.  Ah  !  so  do  you, 
young  men  and  women,  in  the  midst  of  all  your  worldly  delights  and 
contents,  cry  out,  Oh  !  we  must  not  stay  here,  this  is  not  Jerusalem, 
this  is  not  that  knowledge  of  Christ  that  I  must  have,  if  ever  I  am 
happy  here  and  blessed  hereafter. 

Duty  (4).  Fourthly  and  lastly,  If  you  would  be  good  betimes,  then 
you  must  acquaint  yourselves  with  those  that  are  good  betimes. 

Direction  (1).  First,  If  you  would  be  gracious  in  the  spring  and 
morning  of  your  youth,  then  you  must  begin  betimes  to  be  much  in 
with  them  who  are  much  in  with  Christ,  who  lie  near  his  heart  and 
know  much  of  his  mind.  '  He  that  walketh  with  wise  men  shall  be 
wise,  but  a  companion  of  fools  shall  be  destroyed,'  or,  as  the  Hebrew 
hath  it,  shall  be  broken  in  pieces,  as  when  an  army  is  broken  and  routed 
by  an  enemy.*  llolech  from  Halech,  walking  with  the  wise,  he  shall  be 
wise,  for  so  the  original  hath  it.  It  is  not  talking  with  the  wise,  but 
walking  with  the  wise,  that  will  make  you  wise  ;  it  is  not  your  com- 
mending and  praising  of  the  wise,  but  your  walking  with  the  wise,  that 

1  2  Cor.  v.  20  ;  Rev.  iii.  20  ;  Isa.  xxvii.  6,  lvi.  4  ;  Cant.  v.  2  ;  Prov.  vi.  9  ;  Matt.  xxii. 
4,  23,  27. 

s  It  was  a  custom  among  the  Turks,  to  cry  out  every  morning  from  an  high  tower, 
God  always  was.  ami  always  will  be,  and  so  salute  their  Mahomet. 

8  l'rov.  xiii.  20,  yi"V,  shall  be  broken,  or  shall  be  worse,  from  yi">,  to  be  naught. 


1  Kings  XIV.  13.]  apples  of  gold.  24-7 

will  make  you  wise  ;  it  is  not  your  taking  a  few  turns  with  the  wise 
that  will  make  you  wise,  but  your  walking  with  the  wise  that  will  make 
you  wise.  There  is  no  getting  much  good  by  them  that  are  good,  but 
by  making  them  your  ordinary  and  constant  companions.1 

Ah,  friends  !  you  should  do  as  Joseph  in  Egypt,  of  whom  the  Scrip- 
ture saith,  Ps.  cv.  22  (according  to  the  Hebrew  phrase),  that  he  tied  the 
princes  of  Pharaoh's  court  about  his  heart. 

If  ever  you  would  gain  by  the  saints,  you  must  bind  them  upon  your 
souls,  you  must  labour  to  have  very  near,  close,  and  intimate  communion 
with  them. 

The  Jews  have  a  proverb,  that  two  dry  sticks  put  to  a  green  one  will 
kindle  it.  The  best  way  to  be  in  a  flame  God-ward,  Christ-ward,  heaven- 
ward, and  holiness-ward,  is  to  be  among  the  dry  sticks,  the  kindle-coals,2 
the  saints  ;  for  as  live  coals  kindle  those  that  are  dead,  so  lively  Chris- 
tians will  heat  and  enliven  those  that  are  dead  God-wards,  Christ-wards, 
heaven-wards,  and  holiness-wards.  'As  iron  sharpeneth  iron,  so  doth 
the  face  of  a  man  his  friend,'  Prov.  xxvii.  17. 

Men's  wits,  parts,  and  gifts,  and  industry,  commonly  grow  more 
strong,  vigorous,  and  quick,  by  friendly  conference  and  communion. 

And  as  he  that  comes  where  sweet  spices  and  ointments  are  stirring, 
carries  away  a  sweet  savour  with  him,  so  he  that  converseth  with  those 
that  are  good  shall  carry  away  that  goodness  and  sweetness  with  him 
that  shall  render  him  sweet,  desirable,  and  delectable  to  others.  Pole- 
mon,  that  Augustine  speaks  of,  who  was  all  for  wine  and  play,  &c,  be- 
came a  brave  man  when  he  came  acquainted  with  the  philosopher's 
school.3  So  many  young  men,  that  have  been  all  for  wine  and  women, 
for  playing  and  toying,  for  vanity  and  folly,  have  become  brave  men, 
precious  men,  by  the  company,  counsel,  and  example  of  those  who  were 
gracious.  Doctor  Taylor,  the  martyr,  rejoiced  that  ever  he  came  into 
prison,  because  he  came  thither  to  have  acquaintance  with  that  angel 
of  God  John  Bradford,  as  he  calls  him  :  so,  doubtless,  many  young  per- 
sons there  be  that  have  much  cause  to  rejoice,  and  for  ever  to  bless  the 
Lord,  that  ever  they  came  acquainted  with  such  and  such  who  fear  the 
Lord,  and  who  walk  in  his  ways,  for  the  good  that  they  have  received 
by  them. 

Algerius,  an  Italian  martyr,  said  he  had  rather  be  in  prison  with 
Cato,  than  with  Caesar  in  the  senate  house.*5 

Ah !  young  men,  young  men,  you  were  better  be  with  the  people  of 
God,  when  they  are  in  the  lowest  and  most  contemptible  condition, 
than  with  the  great  wicked  ones  of  the  world,  when  they  are  in  all  their 
royalty  and  glory.  In  the  day  of  account  you  will  find  that  they  have 
made  the  best  market,  who  have  rather  chosen  to  keep  company  with 
Lazarus,  though  in  his  rags,  than  they  would  with  others  keep  com- 
pany with  Dives,  though  in  his  purple  robes. 

Well !  young  men,  remember  this,  clothes  and  company  do  oftentimes 
tell  tales,  in  a  mute  but  significant  language. 

1  It  was  the  saying  of  one,  As  oft  as  I  have  been  among  wicked  men,  I  return  home 
less  a  man  than  I  was  before.     [Bernard. — G.] 

s  '  Kindling-coal,'  or  piece  left  over  night  in  the  fire-place. — G. 

3  Augustine,  Ep.  130. 

*  See  interesting  account  of  Algerius  in  Clarke's  'Martyrologie,'  as  before,  p.  187. — G. 

5  Moses  was  of  the  same  mind  and  metal,  Heb.  xi.  24-27. 


248  APPLES  OF  GOLD.  [1  KlNGS  XIV.  13. 

Tell  me  with  whom  thou  £oest,  and  I  will  tell  thee  what  thou  art, 
saith  the  Spanish  proverb.1  Cicero,  though  a  heathen,  had  rather  to 
have  no  companion,  than  a  bad  one.  The  Lord  grant  that  this  heathen, 
and  others  among  them,  that  were  of  the  same  mind  with  him,  may 
never  rise  up  in  judgment  against  any  of  you,  into  whose  hands  this 
treatise  may  fall. 

And  thus  I  have  despatched  those  four  things  that  you  must  be 
acquainted  with  betimes,  viz.,  the  Scripture,  your  own  hearts  and  con- 
ditions, the  Lord  Jesus  Christ,  and  those  that  fear  him,  if  ever  you 
would  be  good  betimes. 

Direction  (2).  Secondly,  If  you  would  be  good  betimes,  if  you  would 
seek  and  serve  the  Lord  in  the  spring  and  morning  of  your  days,  Then 
you  must  shun  the  occasions  of  sin  betimes.  A  man  will  never  begin 
to  be  good,  till  he  begin  to  decline  those  occasions  that  have  made  him 
bad  :   1  Thes.  v.  22,  '  Abstain  from  all  appearances  of  evil/2 

You  must  shun  and  be  shy  of  the  very  appearance  of  sin,  of  the  very 
shows  and  shadows  of  sin.  The  word  sfdoc,  which  is  ordinarily  rendered 
appearance,  signifies  kind,  or  sort  ;  and  so  the  meaning  of  the  apostle 
seems  to  be  this,  '  Abstain  from  all  sort,  or  the  whole  kind  of  evil  ;' 
from  all  that  is  truly  so,  be  it  never  so  small. 

The  least  sin  is  dangerous.  Csesar  was  stabbed  with  bodkins,  and 
many  have  been  eaten  up  of  mice  and  lice. 

The  least  spark  may  consume  the  greatest  house,  the  least  leak  may 
sink  the  greatest  ship,  the  least  sin  is  enough  to  undo  thy  soul ;  and 
therefore  shun  all  the  occasions  that  lead  unto  it. 

Job  made  a  covenant  with  his  eyes,  Job  xxxi.  1  ;  Joseph  would  not 
be  in  the  room  where  his  mistress  was,  Gen.  xxxix.  10  ;  and  David, 
when  himself,  would  not  sit  with  vain  persons,  Ps.  xxvi.  3—7.  As  long 
as  there  is  fuel  in  our  hearts  for  a  temptation,  we  cannot  be  secure  ;  he 
that  hath  gunpowder  about  him,  had  need  keep  far  enough  off  from 
sparkles  ;  he  that  is  either  tender  of  his  credit  abroad,  or  comfort  at 
home,  had  need  shun,  and  be  shy  of  the  very  show  and  shadow  of  sin  ; 
he  that  would  neither  wound  conscience  nor  credit,  God  nor  gospel, 
had  need  hate  '  the  garment  spotted  with  the  flesh,'  Jude  23.3 

In  the  law,  God  commanded  his  people,  not  only  that  they  should 
worship  no  idol,  but  that  they  should  demolish  all  the  monuments  of 
them,  and  that  they  should  make  no  covenant  nor  affinity  with  those 
who  worshipped  them,  and  all  lest  they  should  be  drawn  by  those  occa- 
sions to  commit  idolatry  with  them.  He  that  would  not  taste  of  the 
forbidden  fruit,  must  not  so  much  as  gaze  on  it  ;  and  he  that  would 
not  be  bit  by  the  serpent,  must  not  so  much  as  parley  with  the  ser- 
pent. 

It  is  very  observable,  that  in  the  law,  the  Nazarite  was  not  only  com- 
manded to  abstain  from  wine  and  strong  drink,  but  also  he  might  not 
eat  grapes,  whether  moist  or  dry,  or  anything  that  is  made  of  the  vine 

1  Those  that  keep  ill  company,  are  like  those  that  walk  in  the  sun,  who  are  tanned 
insensibly. 

5  We  must  shun,  quicquid  juerit  male  coloratum,  whatsoever  looks  but  ill-favouredly, 
as  Bernard  hath  it. 

:'  The  sin  and  the  coat  of  the  sin  is  to  bo  hafed,  saith  Ambrose.  Latet  anguis  inherba. 
Snakes  aro  found  among  ro^es,  Num.  vi.  3,  4.  Quid  est  vitare peccata,  nisivitare  occasione* 
peccatoruin/ — Mt,-lau[cthon].    What  is  it  to  uvoid  sin,  but  to  avoid  the  occasions  of  sin  '.' 


1  Kings  XIV.  13.]  apples  of  gold.  24.9 

tree,  from  the  kernels  even  to  the  husk.  But  why  not  these  small 
things,  in  which  there  could  be  no  danger  of  drunkenness  ?  Surely, 
lest  by  the  contentment  of  these,  he  might  be  drawn  to  desire  the  wine, 
and  so  be  brought  on  to  sin,  to  break  his  vow,  and  so  make  work  for 
hell,  or  for  the  physician  of  souls.  God  hereby  forbidding  the  most 
remote  occasions,  shews  how  wary  and  exactly  careful  men  should  be 
to  shun  and  avoid  all  occasions,  provocations,  and  appearances  of  evil ; 
and  indeed  we  had  need  to  keep  off  from  slippery  places  who  can  hardly 
stand  fast  on  dry  ground ;  he  that  ventures  upon  the  occasion  of  sin 
and  then  prays,  '  Lord,  lead  me  not  into  temptation,'  is  like  him  that 
thrusts  his  finger  into  the  fire,  and  then  prays  that  it  may  not  be  burnt ; 
or  like  him  that  is  resolved  to  quench  the  fire  with  oil,  which,  instead 
of  quenching  it,  is  as  fuel  to  feed  it  and  increase  it.  It  was  a  notable 
saying  of  one,  Majus  est  miraculum  inter  vehementes  occasiones  non 
cadere,  quam  mortuos  suscitare.1  It  is  a  greater  miracle  not  to  fall, 
being  among  strong  occasions,  than  it  is  to  raise  up  the  dead  ;  he  that 
would  not  be  defiled,  must  not  touch  pitch  ;  he  that  would  not  he  burnt, 
must  not  carry  fire  in  his  bosom  ;  he  that  would  not  eat  the  meat,  must 
not  meddle  with  the  broth  ;  he  that  would  not  fall  into  the  pit,  must 
not  dance  upon  the  brink  ;  he  that  would  not  feel  the  blow,  must  keep 
off  from  the  train  :2  '  Keep  thee  far  from  a  false  matter/  Exod.  xxiii.  7. 
He  that  will  not  fly  from  the  occasions  and  allurements  of  sin,  though 
they  may  seem  never  so  pleasant  to  the  eye,  or  sweet  to  the  taste, 
shall  find  them  in  the  end  more  sharp  than  vinegar,  more  bitter  than 
wormwood,  more  deadly  than  poison. 

There  is  a  great  truth  in  that  saying  of  the  son  of  Sirach,  '  He  that 
loveth  danger,  shall  perish  therein  ;  he  that  will  not  decline  danger, 
shall  not  be  able  to  decline  destruction,'  Ecclus.  iii.  26,  27.3 

Socrates  speaks  of  two  young  men  that  flung  away  their  belts  when, 
being  in  an  idol  temple,  the  lustrating  water  fell  upon  them,  detesting, 
saith  the  historian,  'the  garment  spotted  by  the  flesh  ;'  and  will  you, 
0  young  men,  play  and  toy  with  the  occasions  of  sin  ?  The  Lord 
forbid. 

There  are  stories  of  several  heathens  that  have  shunned  and  avoided 
the  occasions  of  sin,  and  will  you  dare  to  venture  upon  the  occasions  of 
sin? 

Alexander  would  not  see  the  woman  after  whom  he  might  have 
lusted. 

Scipio  Africanus,  warring  in  Spain,  took  New  Carthage  by  storm,  at 
which  time  a  beautiful  and  noble  virgin  fled  to  him  for  succour  to  pre- 
serve her  chastity.  He  being  but  four  and  twenty  years  old,  and  so  in 
the  heat  of  youth,  hearing  of  it,  would  not  suffer  her  to  come  into  his 
sight  for  fear  of  temptation,  but  caused  her  to  be  restored  in  safety  to 
her  father.4 

Livia  counselled  her  husband  Augustus,  not  only  not  to  do  wrong, 
but  not  to  seem  to  do  so,  &c. 

1  Bernard  in  Cant.  serm.  65. 

2  Prov.  vi.  27-29.  Non  diu  tutus  est,  periculo  proximus.  —  Cyprian,  He  is  not  long 
safe  that  is  near  to  danger. 

3  Brooks's  second  quotation  from  the  Apocrypha  thus  far — G>' 

4  Aure  :  Victor.  Dio,  Laert.  in  vita. 


250  APPLES  OF  GOLD.  [1  KlNOS  XIV.  13. 

Caesar  would  not  search  Pompey's  cabinet,  lest  he  should  find  new 
matters  of  revenge. 

Plato  mounted  upon  his  horse,  and  judging  himself  a  little  moved 
with  pride,  did  presently  light  from  his  horse,  lest  he  should  be  over- 
taken with  loftiness  in  riding. 

Theseus  is  said  to  cut  off  his  golden  locks,  lest  his  enemies  should 
take  advantage  by  taking  hold  of  them. 

Ah  !  young  men,  young  men,  shall  the  very  heathens  thus  shun  and 
fly  from  the  occasion  of  sin,  and  will  not  you  ?  will  not  you  who  sit 
under  the  sunshine  of  the  gospel  ?  These  will  in  the  great  day  of  ac- 
count be  sad  and  sore  witnesses  against  those  that  dally  and  play  with 
the  occasions  of  sin. 

To  prevent  carnal  carefulness,  Christ  sends  his  disciples  to  school,  to 
the  irrational  creatures  (Matt.  vi.  26-32).  And  to  prevent  your  closing 
with  the  occasions  of  sin,  let  me  send  you  to  school  to  the  like  creatures, 
that  you  may  learn  by  them  to  shun  and  avoid  the  occasions  of  sin. 

The  Sepiai,  a  certain  kind  of  fish,  perceiving  themselves  in  danger  of 
taking,  by  an  instinct  which  they  have,  they  do  darken  the  water,  and 
so  many  times  escape  the  net  which  is  laid  for  them. 

Geese,  they  say,  when  they  fly  over  Taurus  they  keep  stones  in  their 
mouths,  lest  by  gaggling '  they  should  discover  themselves  to  the  eagles, 
which  are  amongst  the  mountains  waiting  for  them.2  Now,  if  all  these 
considerations  put  together  will  not  work  you  to  decline  the  occasions 
of  sin,  I  know  not  what  will.     There  is  a  truth  in  that  old  saying — 

He  that  will  no  evil  do, 

Must  do  nothing  belongs  thereto. 

The  Israelites  must  have  no  leaven  in  their  houses  till  the  Passover 
be  done,  lest  they  should  be  tempted  to  eat  of  it,  Exod.  xiii. 

Direction  (3).  Thirdly,  If  you  would  be  good  betimes,  then  you  must 
remember  the  eye  of  God  betimes. 

If  you  would  seek  and  serve  the  Lord  in  the  spring  and  morning  of 
your  days,  then  you  must  study  God's  omnipresence  betimes.  '  Doth 
not  he  see  my  ways,  and  count  all  my  steps  V  '  For  his  eyes  are  upon 
the  ways  of  man,  and  he  seeth  all  his  goings.  There  is  no  darkness, 
nor  shadow  of  death,  where  the  workers  of  iniquity  may  hide  them- 
selves,' Ps.  cxxxix.  2-14  ;  Job  xxxi.  4,  21,  22. 

I  have  read  that  Paphnutius  converted  two  famous  young  strumpets, 
Thais  and  Ephron,  from  uncleanness  only  with  this  argument,  that  God 
seeth  all  things  in  the  dark,  when  the  doors  are  fast,  the  windows  shut, 
and  the  curtains  drawn.3  By  this  very  argument  Solomon  labours  to 
take  off  his  young  men  from  carnal  and  sinful  courses  :  '  And  why  wilt 
thou,  my  son,  be  ravished  with  a  strange  woman,  and  embrace  the 
bosom  of  a  stranger  !  For  the  ways  of  man  are  before  the  eyes  of  the 
Lord,  and  he  pondereth  all  his  goings,'  Prov.  v.  20,  21.  Thou  mayest 
deceive  all  the  world,  like  that  counterfeit  Alexander  in  Josephus  his 

1  '  Gabbling.'— G. 

s  Pliny  has  much  curious  lore  on  the  '  goose  '  which  Brooks  here  and  elsewhere  re- 
cords.    Bee  sub  voce. — G. 

8  Non  se  patent  adulter i  noctis  tenebris  vel  parietum  obtegi. — Bede. 


1  Kings  XIV.  13.]  apples  of  gold.  251 

story,  but  Augustus  will  not  be  deceived  ;  he  hath  quicker  and  sharper 
eyes.1 

Ah  !  young  men,  young  men,  you  may  deceive  this  man  and  that, 
and  as  easily  deceive  yourselves,  but  you  cannot  deceive  him,  who  is 
irav6$6a\[Log,  totus  oculus,  all-eye.  As  the  eyes  of  a  well  drawn  picture 
are  fastened  upon  thee  which  way  soever  thou  turnest,  so  are  the  eyes 
of  the  Lord.  I  have  read  of  one  who,  being  tempted  to  adultery,  said 
they  could  not  be  private  enough,  and  being  carried  from  room  to 
room,  answered,  We  are  not  yet  private  enough,  God  is  here. 

Ah,  friends  !  His  eyes,  which  are  ten  thousand  times  brighter  than 
the  sun,  compasseth  thy  words,  thy  ways,  thy  works,  thy  thoughts,  thy 
bed,  thy  board,  thy  bench.  The  Egyptian  hieroglyphic  for  God  was  an 
eye  on  a  sceptre,  shewing  that  he  sees  and  rules  all  things,  Jer.  xiii.  27, 
xxix.  23. 

Ah,  friends  !  All  thoughts,  words,  hopes,  and  hearts,  are  naked, 
opened,  dissected  and  quartered  before  that  God  with  whom  you  have 
to  do.  God  is  very  curious  and  exact  in  marking  and  observing  what 
is  done  by  men,  that  he  may  render  to  every  man  according  to  his 
works.2 

Augustine  speaks  of  an  old  comedian,  when  having  no  other  specta- 
tors, went  usually  into  the  theatre,  and  acted  before  the  statues  of  the 
gods.3 

Ah  !  young  men  and  women,  the  eye  of  God  should  be  more  to  you 
than  all  the  world  besides.  Oh  that  the  Scripture  might  be  written 
with  the  pen  of  a  diamond  upon  your  hearts.  '  Hear  ye  not  me,'  saith 
the  Lord,  '  and  will  you  not  tremble  at  my  presence  ?'  Jer.  v.  21,  22. 
There  is  a  great  truth  in  that  saying  of  his,  Magna  nobis  ex  hoc  indita 
est  probitatis  necessitas,  quia  omnia  ante  oculos  judicis  facimus 
cuncta  cerne7itis.i  A  great  necessity  of  goodness  is  from  hence  put 
into  us,  because  we  do  all  things  before  the  eyes  of  a  judge  that  sees  all 
things. 

Direction  (4).  Fourthly,  If  you  would  be  good  betimes,  then  you 
must  hearken  to  the  voice  of  conscience  betimes,  2  Tim.  i.  3. 

A  man  will  never  begin  to  be  good  till  he  begins  to  hearken  to  what 
conscience  speaks.  So  long  as  a  man  turns  a  deaf  ear  to  conscience, 
he  is  a  safe  prisoner  to  Satan,  and  a  sure  enemy  to  good,  Ps.  lviii.  4, 
John  iii.  20,  21. 

Ah  !  how  good  might  many  have  been  had  they  but  begun  betimes 
to  hearken  to  conscience  ! 

Ah !  young  men,  do  not  dally  with  conscience,  do  not  play,  do  not 
trifle  with  conscience,  do  not  stop  your  ears  against  conscience.  He  that 
will  not  in  his  youth  give  conscience  audience,  shall  at  last  be  forced  to 
hear  such  lectures  from  conscience,  as  shall  make  his  life  a  very  hell. 
A  sleepy  conscience  is  like  a  sleepy  lion,  when  he  awakes,  he  roars  and 
tears ;  so  will  conscience,  Mark  ix.  22.  Conscience  is  mille  testes,  a 
thousand  witnesses  for  or  against  a  man.5  He  that  hath  long  turned 
the  deaf  ear  to  conscience,  shall  at  last  find  his  conscience  like  Prome- 

1  Nolipeccare  ;  Deus  videt,  angeli  astant,  $c.  Take  heed  what  thou  doest,  God  beholds 
thee,  angels  observe  thee. 

2  Heb.  IV.  13,  Ter^a^nA/ir^/va. 

3  Aug.  de  civ.  Dei.  1.  vi.  c.  x.  4  Boetius  de  consol.  1.  v. 
6  Such  shall  find  conscience  to  be  judex,  index,  vindex. 


252  APPLES  OF  GOLD.  [1  KlXGS  XIV.  13. 

theus's  vulture,  that  lies  ever  a-gnawing.  Judas  found  it  so,  and  Spira 
found  it  so,  and  Blair,  a  great  councillor  of  Scotland,  found  it  so. 

1  have  read  of  one  John  Hofmeister,  that  fell  sick  in  his  inn,  as  he 
was  travelling  towards  Auspurge  in  Germany,  and  grew  to  that  horror 
of  conscience,  that  they  were  fain  to  bind  him  in  his  bed  with  chains, 
where  he  cried  out,  that  he  was  for  ever  cast  off  by  God,  and  that  the 
promises  that  were  set  before  him  would  do  him  no  good,  and  all  be- 
cause  he  had  wounded  his  conscience,  and  turned  a  deaf  ear  to  con- 
science.1 

Well !  young  men,  if  you  will  not  betimes  hearken  to  conscience,  you 
shall  at  last  hear  conscience  saying  to  you,  as  the  probationer  disciple 
said  to  Christ,  '  Master,  I  will  follow  thee  whithersoever  thou  goest,' 
Mat.  viii.  19  ;  so  saith  conscience,  Sinner,  I  have  called  upon  thee  many 
a  thousand  times,  and  told  thee,  that  1  must  by  commission  be  thy  best 
friend,  or  thy  worst  enemy,  but  thou  wouldst  not  hear ;  and  therefore 
now  I  will  follow  thee  whither  ever  thou  goest  f  fast,  and  I  will  follow 
thee,  and  fill  thee  with  horrors  and  terrors  ;  feast,  and  I  will  follow 
thee,  and  shew  thee  such  a  handwriting  upon  the  wall,  as  shall  cause 
thy  countenance  to  change,  thy  thoughts  to  be  troubled,  the  joints  of  thy 
loins  to  be  loosed,  and  thy  knees  dashed  one  against  another,  Dan.  v. 
5,  6  ;  stay  at  home,  and  I  will  follow  thee  from  bed  to  board ;  go  abroad, 
and  I  will  follow  thee  into  all  places  and  companies,  and  thou  shalt 
know  that  it  is  an  evil  and  a  bitter  thing,  that  thou  hast  so  often  and 
so  long  neglected  my  calls,  and  disobeyed  my  voice,  and  walked  con- 
trary to  me  ;  how  thou  shalt  find  a  truth  in  that  saying  of  Luther, 
una  guttula  malai  conscientice  totum  mare,  &c,  one  drop  of  an  evil 
conscience  swallows  up  the  whole  sea  of  worldly  joy. 

Well !  young  men,  there  is  a  day  coming  wherein  a  good  conscience 
will  be  better  than  a  good  purse,  for  then  the  Judge  will  not  be  put  off 
with  a  suit  of  compliments  or  fair  words,  nor  drawn  aside  with  hope  of 
reward  ;  and  therefore,  as  you  would  be  able  to  hold  up  your  heads  in 
that  day,  make  conscience  of  hearkening  to  the  voice  of  conscience  in 
this  your  day. 

Direction  (5).  Fifthly,  If  you  would  be  good  betimes,  then  you  must 
know  betimes  wherein  true  happiness  lies. 

For  a  man  will  never  begin  to  be  good  till  he  begins  to  understand 
wherein  his  happiness  consists. 

The  philosophers,  speaking  of  happiness,  were  divided  into  two  hun- 
dred and  eighty-eight  opinions,  everyone  intending  something,  and  yet 
resolving  nothing.3  Therefore  the  man  in  Plutarch,  hearing  them 
wrangle  about  man's  summum  bonum,  chiefest  good,  one  placing  it  in 
this,  and  another  in  that,  he  went  to  the  market  and  bought  up  all  that 
was  good,  hoping,  among  all,  he  should  not  miss  of  it,  but  he  did. 
Many  look  for  happiness  in  sin,  others  look  for  it  in  the  creatures,  but 
they  must  all  say,  It  is  not  in  us,  Isa.  lvi.  12,  Job  xxviii.  14  :  Nil  dat 
quod  non  Jutbet,  nothing  can  give  what  it  hath  not.  If  the  conduit 
pipe  hath  no  water,  it  can  give  no  water  ;  if  a  man  hath  no  money,  he 
can  give  no  money  ;  if  the  creatures  have  no  happiness,  they  can  give 

1  Jo.  Wolf,  lect  mem.  To.  II.  ad.  an.  1547.     [Augsburg. — O.] 

4  Tolle  conscientiam,  tolle  omnia,  take  away  conscience,  and  take  away  all,  said  the 
heathen.  3  Quot  homines,  lot  sentential :  so  many  men,  so  many  minds. 


1  Kings  XIV.  13.]  apples  of  gold.  253 

no  happiness.  Now  this  jewel,  this  pearl,  happiness,  is  not  to  be  found 
in  the  breast,  in  the  bosom  of  creatures.  In  a  word,  because  I  must 
hasten  to  a  close,  man's  happiness  lies, 

First,  In  his  communion  with  God,  as  experience  and  Scripture 
demonstrates.  '  Happy  is  that  people  that  is  in  such  a  case  (but  give 
me  that  word  again),  yea,  happy  is  that  people  whose  God  is  the  Lord,' 
Ps.  cxliv.  15.  A  man  whose  soul  is  in  communion  with  God  shall  find 
more  pleasure  in  a  desert,  in  a  dungeon,  in  a  den,  yea,  in  death,  than 
in  the  palace  of  a  prince,  than  in  all  worldly  delights  and  contents, 
&c. 

Secondly,  In  'pardon  of  sin.  '  Blessed  is  he  whose  transgression  is 
forgiven,  whose  sin  is  covered  :  blessed  is  the  man  unto  whom  the  Lord 
imputeth  not  iniquity,  and  in  whose  spirit  there  is  no  guile/  Ps.  xxxii. 
1,  2.  It  is  not,  blessed  is  the  honourable  man,  but  blessed  is  the  par- 
doned man.  It  is  not,  blessed  is  the  rich  man,  but  blessed  is  the  par- 
doned man.  It  is  not,  blessed  is  the  learned  man,  but  blessed  is  the 
pardoned  man.  It  is  not,  blessed  is  the  politic  man,  but  blessed  is  the 
pardoned  man.  It  is  not,  blessed  is  the  victorious  man,  but  blessed  is 
the  pardoned  man.  Do  with  me  what  thou  wilt,  since  thou  hast  par- 
doned my  sins,  saith  Luther. 

Thirdly,  In  a  complete  fruition  and  enjoyment  of  God,,  when  we 
shall  be  here  no  more.  '  Blessed  are  the  pure  in  heart,  for  they  shall 
see  God,  Mat.  v.  8  ;  '  Now  they  see  him  but  darkly,  but  in  heaven  they 
shall  see  him  face  to  face  ;  they  shall  know  as  they  are  known/  1  Cor. 
xiii.  12.  But  of  these  things  I  have  spoken  largely  elsewhere,  and 
therefore  shall  satisfy  myself  with  these  hints. 

Direction  (6).  Lastly,  If  you  would  be  good  betimes,  then  you  must 
break  your  covenant  with  sin  betimes. 

You  must  fall  out  with  your  lusts  betimes  ;  you  must  arm  and  fence 
yourselves  against  sin  betimes,  Isa.  xxviii.  15-18.  A  man  never  begins 
to  fall  in  with  Christ  till  he  begins  to  fall  out  with  his  sins.  Till  sin 
and  the  soul  be  two,  Christ  and  the  soul  cannot  be  one.  Now,  to  work 
your  hearts  to  this,  you  should  always  look  upon  sin  under  these 
notions  : 

Notion  (1).  First,  If  you  would  have  the  league  dissolved  betwixt 
sin  and  your  souls  betimes,  then  look  upon  sin  under  the  notion  of  an 
enemy  betimes. 

'Dearly  beloved,  I  beseech  you  as  strangers  and  pilgrims,  abstain 
from  fleshly  lusts,  which  war  against  the  soul/  1  Peter  ii.  11.  As  the 
viper  is  killed  by  the  young  ones  in  her  belly,  so  are  poor  sinners  be- 
trayed and  killed  by  their  own  lusts,  that  are  nourished  in  their 
bosoms.1 

Pittacus,  a  philosopher,  challenged  Phlyon2  the  Athenian  captain, 
in  their  wars  against  them,  to  single  combat,  carried  a  net  privily,  and 
so  caught  him,  and  overcame  him  ;  so  doth  sin  with  poor  sinners,  the 
dangerous,  pernicious,  malignant  nature  of  sin.  You  may  see  in  the 
story  of  the  Italian,  who  first  made  his  enemy  deny  God,  and  then 

1  Sms,  especially  against  knowledge,  are  peccata  imlneranlia  et  dcvastantia,  wounding 
and  wasting. 

2  Rather,  Plirynon ;  the  ahove  feat  is  recorded  by  Diog.  Laertius,  i.  75 :  Herodotus,  v. 
54,  95,  &c,  &c— G. 


254  APPLES  OF  GOLD.        [1  KlNGS  XIV.  13. 

stabbed  him  to  the  heart,  and  so  at  once  murdered  both  body  and  soul. 
Sin  betrays  us  into  the  hand  of  the  devil,  as  Delilah  did  Samson  into 
the  hands  of  the  Philistines. 

Sugared  poisons  go  down  pleasantly.  Oh !  but  when  they  are  down, 
they  gall  and  gnaw,  and  gripe  the  very  heart-strings  asunder ;  it  is  so 
with  sin.     Ah  !  souls,  have  not  you  often  found  it  so  ? 

When  Phocas  the  murderer  thought  to  secure  himself  by  building 
high  walls,  he  heard  a  voice  from  heaven  telling  him,  that  though  he 
built  his  bulwarks  never  so  high,  yet  sin  within  would  soon  undermine 
all.1 

Ambrose  reports  of  one  Theotimus,  that  having  a  disease  upon  his 
body,  the  physician  told  him,  that  except  he  did  abstain  from  intem- 
perance, drunkenness,  uncleanness,  he  would  lose  his  eyes ;  his  heart 
was  so  desperately  set  upon  his  sins,  that  he  cries  out,  then,  Vale  lumen 
amicum,  farewell,  sweet  light.  Ah,  how  did  his  lusts  war  both  against 
body  and  soul ! 

The  'old  man'  is  like  a  treacherous  friend,  and  a  friendly  traitor. 
Though  it  be  a  harder  thing  to  fight  with  a  man's  lusts,  than  it  is  to 
fight  with  the  cross,  yet  you  must  fight  or  die ;  if  you  are  not  the 
death  of  your  sins,  they  will  prove  the  death  of  your  souls. 

The  oracle  told  the  Cyrrheans,  noctesque  diesque  belliyerandum,  they 
could  not  be  happy,  unless  they  waged  war  night  and  day ;  no  more 
can  we,  except  we  live  and  die  fighting  against  our  lusts.2 

Ah !  young  men,  can  you  look  upon  sin  under  the  notion  of  an  enemy, 
and  not  break  with  it,  and  not  arm  against  it? 

Well!  remember  this,  the  pleasure  and  sweetness  that  follows  victory 
over  sin,  is  a  thousand  times  beyond  that  seeming  sweetness  that  is  in 
sin  ;  and  as  victory  over  sin  is  the  sweetest  victory,  so  it  is  the  greatest 
victory.  There  is  no  conquest  to  that  which  is  gotten  over  a  man's 
own  corruptions.  '  He  that  is  slow  to  anger  is  better  than  the  mighty : 
and  he  that  ruleth  his  spirit  than  he  that  taketh  a  city/  Prov.  xvi.  32. 

It  is  noble  to  overcome  an  enemy  without,  but  it  is  more  noble  to 
overcome  an  enemy  within  ;  it  is  honourable  to  overcome  fiery  flames, 
but  it  is  far  more  honourable  to  overcome  fiery  lusts. 

When  Valentinian  the  emperor  was  upon  his  dying-bed,  among  all 
his  victories  only  one  comforted  him,  and  that  was  victory  over  his 
worst  enemy,  viz.,  his  own  naughty  heart.3 

Ah  !  young  men,  young  men,  your  worst  enemies  are  within  you, 
and  all  their  plots,  designs,  and  assaults  are  upon  your  souls,  your  most 
noble  part.  They  know  if  that  fort-royal  be  won,  all  is  their  own,  and 
you  are  undone,  and  shall  be  their  slaves  for  ever  ;  and  therefore  it 
stands  upon  you  to  arm  yourselves  against  these  inbred  enemies  ;  and 
if  you  engage  Christ  in  the  quarrel,  you  will  carry  the  day;  and  when 
you  shall  lie  upon  your  dying-beds,  you  will  then  find  that  there  is  no 
comfort  to  that  which  ariseth  from  the  conquests  of  your  own  hearts, 
your  own  lusts. 

Notion  (2).  Secondly,  If  you  would  break  covenant  with  sin,  if  you 


1  The  'monster'  emperor  of  Constantinople,  a.d.  G02-610.—  G- 

■  As  one  of  the  dukes  of  Venice  died  righting  against  tho  Nauratiues,  with  his  weapons 
in  bis  hand. 
»  Rom.  vii.  22,  23  ;  2  Cor.  x.  3-6  ;  Gal.  v.  17. 


1  Kings  XIV.  13.]  apples  of  gold.  255 

would  arm  and  fence  yourselves  against  sin  betimes,  then  look  upon 
sin  as  the  soul's  bonds,  Gal.  iii.  10,  John  viii.  34. 

For  as  bonds  tie  things  together,  so  doth  sin  tie  the  sinner  and  the 
curse  together.  It  binds  the  sinner  and  wrath  together,  it  links  the 
sinner  and  hell  together  :  '  I  perceive  that  thou  art  in  the  gall  of  bitter- 
ness, and  in  the  bond  of  iniquity,'  Acts  viii.  23.  Iniquity  is  a  chain,  a 
bond.  Now,  bonds  and  chains  gall  the  body,  and  so  doth  sin  the  soul ; 
and  as  poor  captives  are  held  fast  in  their  chains,  so  are  sinners  in  their 
sins  ;  they  cannot  redeem  themselves  by  price,  nor  by  power,  2  Tim 
ii.  26. 

Ah  !  young  men,  young  men  !  no  bondage  to  soul  bondage,  no  slavery 
to  soul  slavery.  The  Israelites'  bondage  under  Pharaoh,  and  the  Chris- 
tians' bondage  under  the  Turks,  is  but  the  bondage  of  the  body,  of  the 
baser  and  ignoble  part  of  man ;  but  yours  is  soul  bondage,  and  soul 
slavery,  which  is  the  saddest  and  greatest  of  all.1 

Ah,  friends !  you  should  never  look  upon  your  sins  but  you  should 
look  upon  them  as  your  bonds  ;  yea,  as  the  worst  bonds  that  ever  were. 
All  other  chains  are  golden  chains,  chains  of  pearl,  compared  to  those 
chains  of  iron  and  brass,  those  chains  of  lust,  with  which  you  are  bound. 
Ah !  who  can  thus  look  upon  his  chains,  his  sins,  and  not  loathe  them, 
and  not  labour  for  freedom  from  them  ?  Justinus  the  emperor's  motto 
was  Libertas  res  inestimabilis,  liberty  is  invaluable.  If  civil  liberty 
be,  surely  spiritual  liberty  is  much  more.  If  you  ask  souls  that  were 
once  in  a  state  of  bondage,  but  are  now  Christ's  free  men,  they  will  tell 
you  so. 

It  was  a  good  observation  of  Chrysostom,  that  Joseph  was  the  free 
man  and  his  mistress  was  the  servant,  when  she  was  at  the  beck  of  her 
own  lusts,  when  she  tempted  and  he  refused.2  Such  as  live  most  above 
sin  and  temptation,  are  the  greatest  freemen  ;  others,  that  live  under 
the  power  of  their  lusts,  are  but  slaves,  and  in  bonds,  though  they  dream 
and  talk  of  freedom,  Titus  iii.  3. 

Notion  (3).  Thirdly,  If  you  would  break  league  with  sin,  and  arm 
and  fence  yourselves  against  it,  then  look  always  upon  sin  under  the 
notion  of  fire. 

'  And  others  save  with  fear,  pulling  them  out  of  the  fire,'  Jude  23.3 
Oh,  snatch  them  out  of  their  sins,  as  you  would  snatch  a  child,  a  friend, 
out  of  the  fire,  or  as  the  angel  snatched  Lot  out  of  Sodom,  hastily,  and 
with  a  holy  violence.  Natural  fire  may  burn  the  house,  the  goods,  the 
treasure,  the  servant,  the  child,  the  wife,  the  body ;  but  this  fire  burns 
the  soul,  it  destroys  and  consumes  that  noble  part  which  is  more  worth 
than  all  the  treasures  of  a  thousand  worlds.  Every  man  hath  a  band 
and  a  heart  to  quench  the  fire  which  burns  his  neighbour's  house,  but 
few  men  have  either  hands  or  hearts  to  quench  the  fire  that  burns  their 
neighbour's  souls  ;  this  is,  and  this  shall  be,  for  a  lamentation. 

I  have  read  of  one  who,  upon  the  violence  of  any  temptation  to  sin, 
would  lay  his  hand  upon  burning  coals,  and  being  not  able  to  abide  it, 
would  say  to  himself,  Oh,  how  unable  shall  I  be  to  endure  the  pains  of 

1  Augustine  saith  of  Rome,  that  she  was  the  great  mistress  of  the  world,  and  the  great 
drudge  of  sin.  2  Chrysost.  Horn.  xix.  in  prior.  Epist.  ad  Corinth. 

3  jjw^vns  signifies  a  violent  snatching,  as  the  tender-hearted  mother,  to  save  the 
life  of  her  child,  pulls  it  hastily,  and  with  violence,  out  of  the  fire. 


2.">f>  APPLES  OF  GOLD.  [1  KlXGS  XIV.  13. 

lit  11 !  and  tins  restrained  him  from  evil.1  But  what  is  the  fire  of  hell  to 
the  fire  of  sin  ?  Now,  to  provoke  you  to  look  upon  sin  under  the  notion 
of  fire,  consider  with  me  the  sundry  resemblances  between  material  and 
immaterial  fire,  between  corporeal  common  fire  and  between  this  spiri- 
tual fire,  sin.     As, 

[1.]  First,  Fire  is  terrible  and  dreadful.  A  ship  on  fire,  an  house 
on  fire,  oh  how  dreadful  is  it !  So  sin  set  home  upon  the  conscience  is 
exceeding  terrible  and  dreadful.  '  Mine  iniquity/  so  the  Hebrew,  '  is 
greater  than  I  can  bear/  Sin  or  iniquity  is  often  put  for  the  punish- 
ment of  sin,  by  a  metonymy  of  the  efficient  for  the  effect ;  for  sin  is 
the  natural  parent  of  punishment.  '  Mine  iniquity,'  saith  Cain,  '  is  so 
great,  and  lies  so  heavy,  so  terrible  and  dreadful  upon  my  conscience, 
that  it  cannot  be  forgiven,'  Gen.  iv.  13,  and  thus,  by  his  diffidence,  he 
stabs  two  at  once,  the  mercy  of  God,  and  his  own  soul.2  So  Judas,  '  I 
have  sinned,  in  that  I  have  betrayed  innocent  blood ;  and  he  went  and 
hanged  himself/  Mat.  xxvii.  3-5. 

As  there  is  no  fighting  with  a  mighty  fire,  so  there  is  no  bearing  up 
when  God  sets  home  sin  upon  the  conscience  ;  a  man  will  then  choose 
strangling  or  hanging,  rather  than  living  under  such  wounds  and  lashes 
of  conscience.  Histories  abound  with  instances  of  this  nature ;  but  I 
must  hasten  to  a  close. 

[2.]  Secondly,  Fire  is  most  dangerous  and  pernicious  when  it 
breaks  forth  of  the  chimne}^,  or  of  the  house  ;  so  it  is  with  sin.  Sin  is 
bad  in  the  eye,  worse  in  the  tongue,  worser  in  the  heart,  but  worst  of 
all  in  the  life.  Fire,  when  out  of  its  proper  place,  may  do  much  hurt 
in  the  house,  but  when  it  flames  abroad,  then  it  doth  most  mischief  to 
others,  2  Sam.  xii.  9-15. 

Sin  in  the  heart  may  undo  a  man,  but  sin  in  the  life  may  undo 
others  as  well  as  a  man's  self.  Set  a  guard  upon  the  eye,  a  greater 
upon  thy  heart,  but  the  greatest  of  all  upon  thy  life,  Job  xxxi.  1,  Prov. 
iv.  23,  Eph.  v.  15. 

Salvian  relates  how  the  heathen  did  reproach  some  Christians,  who 
by  their  lewd  lives  made  the  gospel  of  Christ  to  be  a  reproach.  '  Where/ 
said  they,  'is  that  good  law  which  they  do  believe?  Where  are  those 
rules  of  godliness  which  they  do  learn?  They  read  the  holy  Gospel, 
and  yet  are  unclean  ;  they  hear  the  apostles'  writings,  and  yet  are  drunk  ; 
they  follow  Christ,  and  yet  disobey  Christ ;  they  jirofess  a  holy  law, 
and  j^et  do  lead  impure  lives.3 

But  the  lives  of  other  Christians  have  been  so  holy,  that  the  very 
heathens  observing  them,  have  said,  Surely  this  is  a  good  God,  whose 
servants  are  so  good. 

It  is  brave4  when  the  life  of  a  Christian  is  a  commentary  upon 
Christ's  lii'e. 

One  speaking  of  the  Scripture,  saith  [Augustine],  verba  vivenda, 
uon  legenda,  they  are  words  to  be  lived,  and  practised,  not  read  only. 

A  heathen  [Plutarch]  adviseth  us  to  demean  ourselves  so  circum- 
spectly, as  if  our  enemies  did  always  behold  us.  And  said  another 
[EpictetusJ,  For  shame,  either  live  as  Stoics,  or  leave  off  the  name  of 
Stoics  ;  sirs,  live  as  Christians,  or  lay  down  the  name  of  Christians. 

1  Dr  Denison's  'Threefold  Resolution,1  par,  ii.  sect.  2.  8  Salvianus,  de  G.  D.  1.  4. 

2  MenlirU,  Cain,  Thou  lieat,  Cain,  saith  one  on  Iho  text.         *  Koble,  good. — G. 


1  Kings  XIV.  13.]  apples  of  gold.  257 

[3.]  Thirdly,  Fire  hardens,  it  makes  the  weak  and  limber  clay  to 
become  stiff  and  strong  for  the  potter's  use.  So  sin  hardens  :  it  hardens 
the  heart  against  the  commands  of  God,  the  calls  of  Christ,  and  the 
wrestlings  of  the  Spirit.  And  as  you  see  in  Pharaoh,  the  Jews,  and 
most  that  are  under  the  sound  of  the  gospel,  Jer.  v.  3,  xix.  15  ;  Isa.  ix. 
13. 

Ah  I  how  many  hath  this  fire — sin — hardened  in  these  days,  by  work- 
ing them  to  slight  soul-softening  means,  and  by  drawing  them  to 
entertain  hardening  thoughts  of  God,  and  to  fall  in  with  soul-hardening 
company,  and  soul-hardening  principles,  and  soul-hardening  examples 
of  hardened  and  unsensible  sinners,  Jer.  ii.  25,  xviii.  12.  One  long 
since  thus  complained,  that  they  did,  patientius  ferre  Ghristi  jacturam, 
quam  suam,  more  calmly  pass  by  the  injuries  done  to  Christ,  than 
those  which  are  done  unto  themselves.  This  age  is  full  of  such  hardened 
unsensible  souls. 

[4.]  Fourthly,  Fire  is  a  lively  active  element,  so  is  sin. 

Ah !  how  lively  and  active  was  this  fire  in  Abraham,  David,  Job, 
Peter,  Paul,  and  other  saints  !  Though  Christ  by  his  death  hath  given 
it  its  mortal  wound,  yet  it  lives,  and  is  and  will  be  active  in  the  dearest 
saints.  Though  sin  and  grace  were  not  born  together,  neither  shall 
they  die  together ;.  yet  while  believers  live  in  this  world,  they  must 
live  together.  There  is  a  history  that  speaks  of  a  fig-tree  that  grew  in 
a  stone-wall,  and  all  means  was  used  to  kill  it.  They  cut  off  the 
branches  and  it  grew  again,  they  cut  down  the  body  and  it  grew  again, 
they  cut  it  up  by  the  root  and  still  it  lived  and  grew,  until  they  pulled 
down  the  stone-wall  ;  till  death  shall  pull  down  our  stone-walls,  sin  will 
live,  this  fire  will  burn,1 

We  may  say  of  sin  as  some  say  of  cats,  that  they  have  many  lives  ;  kill 
them  and  they  will  live  again,  kill  them  again  and  they  will  live  again  ; 
so  kill  sin  once  and  it  will  live  again,  kill  it  again  and  it  will  live  again, 
&c.  Sin  oftentimes  is  like  that  monster  Hydra,  cut  off  one  head  and 
many  will  rise  up  in  its  room.2 

[5.]  Fifthly,  Fire  is  of  a  penetrating  nature,  it  pierceth  and  wiDdeth 
itself  into  every  corner  and  chink,  and  so  doth  sin  wind  itself  into  our 
thoughts,  words,  and  works.  It  will  wind  itself  into  our  understand- 
ings to  darken  them,  and  into  our  judgments  to  pervert  them,  and  into 
our  wills  to  poison  them,  and  into  our  affections  to  disorder  themr  and 
into  our  consciences  to  corrupt  them,  and  into  our  carriages3  to  debase 
them  Sin  will  wind  itself  into  every  duty  and  every  mercy,  it  will 
wind  itself  into  every  one  of  our  enjoyments  and  concernments. 

Hannibal  having  overcome  the  Romans,  put  on  their  armour  on  his 
soldiers,  and  so  by  that  policy,  they  being  taken  for  Romans,  won  a  city  ; 
\mt  what  are  Hannibal's  wiles  to  sin's  wiles  or  Satan's  wiles  ?  If  you 
have  a  mind  to  be  acquainted  with  their  wiles,  look  over  my  treatise, 
called,  '  Precious  Remedies  against  Satan's  Devices.' 

[6.].  Sixth  and  lastly,  Fire  is  a  devouring,  a  consuming  element, 

1  Isidore  the  monk  was  very  much  out,  who  vaunted  that  he  had  folt  in  himself  no 
motion  to  sin  forty  years  together.. 

2  Isa.  i.  5,  6,  Horn.  vii.  13,  17.  Sin  is  malum  catholicum,  a  catholic  evil.  Quodcunqnc 
mpeccato,  peccaium  est,  whatsoever  is  in  sin  is  sin. 

3  '  W  alk  and  conversation'  =  conduct  or  actions. — G. 

VOL.  I.  R 


258  .   APPLES  OF  GOLD.  [1  KlNGS  XIV.  13. 

Ps.  xxi.  9.  It  turns  all  fuel  into  ashes.  It  is  a  wolf  that  eats  up  all 
So  sin  is  a  fire  that  devours  and  consumes  all ;  it  turned  Sodom  and 
Gomorrah  into  ashes  ;  it  hath  destroyed  the  Chaldean,  Persian,  and 
Grecian  kingdoms,  and  will  at  last  destroy  the  Roman  kingdom  also. 
This  wolf  ate  up  Samson's  strength,  Absalom's  beauty,  Ahithophel's 
policy,  and  Herod's  glory,  &c.  It  hath  drowned  one  world  already, 
ami  will  at  last  burn  another,  even  this.1  Oh  the  hopes,  the  hearts, 
the  happiness,  the  joys,  the  comforts,  the  souls  that  this  fire,  sin,  hath 
"consumed  and  destroyed  !  &c. 

Peter  Camois,  a  bishop  of  Berry  in  France,  in  his  Draught  of  Eternity, 
tells  us,  that  some  devout  personages  caused  those  words  of  the  prophet 
Isaiah  to  be  written  in  letters  of  gold  upon  their  chimney-pieces  : 
'  Who  among  us  shall  dwell  with  the  devouring  fire  ?  who  among  us 
shall  dwell  with  everlasting  burnings  T  Isa.  xxxiii.  14. 

Ah  !  young  men,  young  men,  I  desire  that  you  may  always  look 
upon  sin  under  the  notion  of  fire,  yea,  as  such  fire  as  lays  the  founda- 
tion for  everlasting  fire,  for  everlasting  burnings  ;  and  this  may  work 
when  other  things  will  riot. 

I  have  read  of  a  grave  and  chaste  matron,  who  being  moved  to  com- 
mit folly  with  a  lewd  Russian,  after  some  discourse,  she  called  for  a  pan 
of  burning  coals,  requesting  him  for  her  sake  to  hold  his  finger  in  them 
but  one  hour ;  he  answered,  it  is  an  unkind  request ;  to  whom  she 
replied,  that  seeing  he  would  not  do  so  much  as  to  put  one  finger  upon 
the  coals  for  one  hour,  she  could  not  yield  to  do  that  for  which  she 
should  be  tormented,  both  body  and  soul,  in  hell-fire  for  ever.  The 
application  is  easy,  &c. 

Notion  (4).  Fourthly,  If  you  would  break  with  sin  betimes,  if  you 
would  arm  against  sin  in  the  spring  and  morning  of  your  days,  then 
you  should  look  upon  sin  under  the  notion  of  a  thief. 

And,  indeed,  sin  is  the  greatest  thief,  the  greatest  robber  in  the  world. 
It  robbed  the  angels  of  all  their  glory,  2  Pet.  ii.  4  ;  it  robbed  Adam  of 
his  paradise  and  felicity,  Gen.  iii.,  and  it  hath  robbed  all  the  sons  of 
Adam  of  five  precious  jewels,  the  least  of  which  was  more  worth  than 
heaven  and  earth. 

(1.)  It  hath  robbed  them  of  the  holy  and  glorious  image  of  God, 
which  would  have  been  fairly  engraven  upon  them,  had  Adam  stood,  &c. 

(2.)  It  hath  robbed  them  of  their  sonship  ;  and  of  sons  hath  made 
them  slaves. 

(3.)  It  hath  robbed  them  of  their  friendship,  and  made  them  enemies. 

(4.)  It  hath  robbed  them  of  their  communion  and  feUowsldp  with 
Father,  Son,  and  Spirit,  and  made  them  strangers  and  aliens. 

(5.)  It  hath  robbed  them  of  their  glory,  and  made  them  vile  and 
miserable.  It  hath  robbed  many  a  nation  of  the  gospel,  and  many  a 
parish  of  many  a  happy  guide,  and  many  a  Christian  of  the  favour  of 
God,  the  joys  of  the  Spirit,  and  the  peace  of  conscience.2 

Oh  !  the  health,  the  wealth,  the.  honour,  the  friends,  the  relations 
that  sin  hath  robbed  thousands  of. 

Nay,  It  hath  robbed  many  of  their  gifts,  their  arts,  their  parts,  their 

1  2  Tet,  ii.  5,  6  ;  Prov  vi.  32  ;  Eccl.  ix.  18  ;  Prov.  xiii.  13,  xi.  3,  xv.  25,  xxi.  7. 
8  Well  did  one  of  the  fathers  call  pride  and  vain-glory,  the  sweet  spoiler  of  spiritual 
excellencies,  and  a  pleasant  thief. 


1  Kings  XIV.  IS.]  apples  of  gold.  259 

memory,  their  judgment,  yea,  their  very  reason,  as  you  may  see  in  Pha- 
raoh, Nebuchadnezzar,  Belshazzar,  Ahithophel,  Haman,  Herod,  and  those 
Babylonish  princes  that  accused  Daniel. 

And  so  in  Menippus  of  Phoenicia,  who,  having  lost  his  goods,  strangled 
himself.  And  so  Dinarcus  Phidon,  at  a  certain  loss,  cut  his  own  throat 
to  save  the  charge  of  a  cord.  And  so  Augustus  Caesar,  in  whose  time 
Christ  was  born,  was  so  troubled  and  astonished  at  the  relation  of  an 
overthrow  from  Varus,  that  for  certain  months  together,  he  let  the  hair 
of  his  head  and  beard  grow  still,  and  wore  it  long  ;  yea,  and  other  whiles 
would  run  his  head  against  the  doors,  crying  out,  Quintilius  Varus, 
deliver  up  my  legions  again  ;l  by  all  which  it  is  most  apparent  that  sin 
is  the  greatest  thief  in  all  the  world. 

Oh  !  then,  who  would  not  break  league  and  covenant  with  it,  and  be 
still  in  pressing  of  God  to  do  justice  upon  it !  &c. 

Notion  (5).  Fifthly,  If  you  would  break  with  sin,  and  arm  and  fence 
yourselves  against  sin  betimes,  then  you  must  look  upon  sin  under  the 
notion  of  a  burden  betimes.2 

And  indeed,  sin  of  all  burdens  is  the  heaviest  burden  in  all  the  world : 
'  Innumerable  evils  have  compassed  me  about ;  mine  iniquities  have 
taken  hold  upon  me,  so  that  I  am  not  able  to  look  up :  they  are  more 
than  the  hairs  of  my  head  ;  therefore  my  heart  faileth  me,'  Ps.  xl.  12. 

And  again,  '  Mine  iniquities  are  gone  over  my  head,'  saith  the  same 
person ;  '  as  an  heavy  burden,  they  are  too  heavy  for  me  to  bear/  Ps. 
xxxviii.  4.  Sin  is  a  '  weight  that  easily  besets/  Heb.  xii.  1,  poor  souls; 
it  is  a  burden  that  so  troubles  them  and  puzzles  them,  that  so  curbs 
them  and  girds  them,  that  so  presses  and  oppresses  them,  as  that  it 
wrings  many  bitter  tears  from  their  eyes,  and  many  sad  and  grievous 
sighs  and  groans  from  their  hearts,  Rom.  vii.  13. 

Again,  as  sin  is  a  burden  to  Christians,  so  it  is  a  burden  to  heaven. 
It  made  heaven  weary  to  bear  the  angels  that  fell ;  no  sooner  had  they 
sinned  but  heaven  groans  to  be  eased  of  them,  and  it  never  left  groan- 
ing till  justice  had  turned  them  a-groaning  to  hell,  Jude  6. 

Again,  as  sin  is  a  burden  to  heaven,  so  it  is  a  burden  to  the  earth. 
Witness  her  swallowing  up  Korah,  Dathan,  and  Abiram,  their  wives, 
children,  goods,  servants,  &c,  Num.  xvi.  26-35.  Ah,  sinners  !  your  sins 
makes  the  very  earth  to  groan,  they  make  the  earth  weary  of  bearing 
you.  Oh,  how  doth  the  earth  groan  and  long  to  swallow  up  those 
earthly  wretches,  whose  hopes,  whose  hearts,  are  buried  in  the  earth  ! 
These  shall  have  little  of  heaven,  but  enough  of  earth  when  they  come 
to  die. 

Cornelius  a  Lapide  tells  a  story,  that  he  heard  of  a  famous  preacher, 
who,  shewing  the  bondage  of  the  creature,  Rom.  viii.  19-23,  brings  in 
the  creature  complaining  thus :  Oh,  that  we  could  serve  such  as  are 
godly  ;  oh,  that  our  substance  and  our  flesh  might  be  incorporated  into 
godly  people,  that  so  we  might  rise  into  glory  with  them  ;  oh,  that  our 
flesh  might  not  be  incorporated  into  the  flesh  oC  sinners,  for  if  it  be,  we 
shall  go  to  hell,  and  would  any  creatures  go  tjo  hell?.qh,  we  are  weary 
of  bearing  sinners  !  we  are  weary  of  serving,  of  sinners !  Thus  th«  .crea- 
tures groan,  thus  the  creatures  complain,  the  sinner's  sins  forcing  them 
to  it,  &c.  ' 

1  Suetonius.  2  Nab.  i.  1 ;  Hab.  i.  1  ;  Mai.  i.  1. 


2G0  APPLES  OF  GOLD.  [1  KlNGS  XIV.  13. 

Again,  sin  is  a  burden  to  God:  '  Behold,  I  am  pressed  under  you,  as 
a  cart  is  pressed  that  is  full  of  sheaves,'  Amos  ii.  13.  By  this  plain, 
pithy,  country  comparison,  God  shews  how  sadly  he  is  pressed  and 
oppressed,  how  sorely  he  is  wearied  and  tired  with  those  people's  sins. 
Divine  patience  is  even  worn  out.  Justice  hath  lift  up  her  hand,  and 
will  bear  with  them  no  longer.  God  seems  to  groan  under  the  pressure 
of  their  sins,  as  a  cart  seems  to  do  under  a  heavy  load.  Of  this  God 
complains  by  the  prophet  Isaiah  :  '  Thou  hast  made  me  to  serve  with 
thy  sins,  thou  hast  wearied  me  with  thine  iniquities/  Isa.  xliii.  24.  I 
am  as  weary  of  your  sins  as  a  travailing  woman  is  weary  of  her  pains, 
saith  God.  Sin  was  such  a  burden  to  God,  that  he  sweeps  it  off  with 
a  sweeping  flood,  Gen.  vii.,  &c. 

Again,  sin  is  a  burden  to  Christ :  It  made  him  sweat  as  never  man 
sweat ;  it  made  him  sweat  great  drops  of  clotted  or  congealed  blood, 
Luke  xxii.  44.1  Sin  put  Christ's  whole  body  into  a  bloody  sweat ;  it 
made  him  groan  piteously,  when  he  bare  our  sins  in  his  body  on  the 
tree.  Sin  made  his  soul  heavy  even  to  the  death,  and  had  he  not  been 
one  that  was  mighty,  yea,  that  was  Almighty,  he  had  fainted  and  failed 
under  his  burden,  1  Pet.  ii.  24,  Isa.  ix.  6.  And  thus  you  see  what  a 
bur-den  sin  is  to  man,  to  the  creatures,  to  heaven,  to  earth,  to  God,  to 
Christ ;  and  therefore,  as  you  would  break  with  sin  betimes,  look  always 
upon  it  as  a  burden,  yea,  as  the  greatest  and  heaviest  burden  in  all  the 
world,  &c. 

Notion  (6).  Sixthly  and  lastly,  If  you  would  break  covenant  with 
sin,  and  arm  and  fence  yourselves  against  it  betimes,  then  you  must 
look  upon  it  betimes  under  the  notion  of  a  tyrant. 

And  indeed,  sin  is  the  worst  and  greatest  tyrant  in  the  world,  Titus 
iii.  3.  Other  tyrants  can  but  tyrannize  over  our  bodies,  but  sin  is  a 
tyrant  that  tyrannizes  over  both  body  and  soul,  as  you  may  see  in  the 
sixth  and  seventh  of  the  Romans.  Sin  is  a  tyrant  that  hath  a  kind  of 
jurisdiction  in  most  men's  hearts  ;  it  sets  up  the  law  of  pride,  the  law  of 
passion,  the  law  of  oppression,  the  law  of  formality,  the  law  of  hypo- 
crisy, the  law  of  carnality,  the  law  of  self-love,  the  law  of  carnal  reason, 
the  law  of  unbelief,  and  strictly  commands  subjection  to  them,  and  pro- 
claims fire  and  sword  to  all  that  stand  out.  This  saints  and  sinners, 
good  men  and  bad,  do  sufficiently  experience. 

Sin  is  a  tyrant  of  many  thousand  years'  standing,  and  though  it  hath 
had  many  a  wound,  and  many  a  foil,  and  received  much  opposition, 
yet  still  it  plays  the  t}7rant  all  the  world  over !  Oh,  the  hearts  that 
this  tyrant  makes  to  ache  !  the  souls  that  this  tyrant  makes  to  bleed  !3 

Pharaoh's  tyranny  was  nothing  to  sin's  tyranny.  This  tyrant  will 
not  so  much  as  suffer  his  slaves  to  sleep.  They  sleep  not,  except  they 
have  clone  mischief,  and  their  sleep  is  taken  away  unless  they  cause 
some  to  fall,  Prov.  iv.  16.  '  The  wicked  are  like  the  troubled  sea,  when 
it  cannot  rest,  whose  waters  cast  up  mire  and  dirt.  There  is  no  peace 
to  the  wicked,  saith  my  God/  Isa.  lvii.  20,  21. 

Other  tyrants  have  been  brought  down  and  brought  under  by  a 
human  power,  but  this  cannot  but  by  a  divine.     The  power  of  man 

1  A  strange  watering  of  a  garden. — Bernard. 

%  Thales,  one  of  the  Beven  Bages,  used  to  say,  that  few  tyrants  lived  to  be  old  ;  but  it  is 
far  otherwise  with  this  tyrant  sin. 


1  Kings  XIV.  13.]  apples  of  gold.  261 

hath  brought  down  many  of  the  tyrants  of  this  world,  but  it  is  only  the 
power  of  Christ  that  can  bring  down  this  tyrant,  that  can  cast  down  his 
strongholds,  2  Cor.  x.  3-6,  &c.  Therefore,  engage  Christ  in  the  conflict, 
draw  him  into  the  battle,  and  in  the  end  the  conquest  will  be  yours. 

Vitellius,  who  had  been  emperor  of  all  the  world,  yet  was  driven 
through  the  streets  of  Rome  stark  naked,  and  thrown  into  the  river 
Tiber,  &C1 

Andronicus  the  emperor,  for  his  cruelty  towards  his  people,  was  by 
them  at  last  shamefully  deposed,  and,  after  many  contumelies,  hanged 
up  by  his  heels.2 

Ptolemy  was  put  on  a  cross  ;  Bajazet  in  an  iron  cage ;  Phocas 
broken  on  the  wheel ;  Lycaon  cast  to  the  dogs,  as  well  as  Jezebel  ; 
Attalus  thrust  into  a  forge  ;  King  Gath  into  a  beer  barrel,  &c.  But 
none  of  these  that  have  tamed  these  tyrants,  that  have  brought  down 
these  mighty  Nimrods,  have  been  able  to  tame,  to  bring  under  the 
tyrants,  the  sins,  the  lusts,  that  have  been  in  their  own  bosoms.  Many 
a  man  hath  had  a  hand  in  bringing  down  of  worldly  tyrants,  who,  not- 
withstanding, have  died  for  ever  by  the  hand  of  a  tyrant  within,  &c. 


CHAPTER  VIII. 

And  thus  much  for  the  directions  that  young  men  must  follow,  if 
they  would  be  good  betimes,  if  they  would  seek  and  serve  the  Lord  in 
the  spring  and  morning  of  their  days.  I  shall  now  give  some  brief 
answers  to  the  young  man's  objections  and  the  old  man's  scruples,  and 
so  close  up  this  discourse. 

Obj.  I.  But  some  young  men  may  object,  and  say,  You  would  have 
us  to  be  good  betimes,  and  to  seek  and  serve  the  Lord  in  the  primrose 
of  our  days.  But  it  may  be  time  enough  hereafter  to  follow  this 
counsel ;  we  are  young,  and  it  may  be  time  enough  for  us  to  mind 
these  things  hereafter,  when  we  have  satisfied  the  flesh  so  and  so,  or 
when  we  have  got  enough  of  the  world,  and  laid  up  something  that 
will  stand  us  in  stead,  and  tlmt  may  oil  our  joints  when  we  are  old. 
Now, 

To  this  objection  I  answer, 

1.  First,  That  it  is  the  greatest  folly  and  madness  in  the  world  to 
put  off  God  and  the  great  things  of  eternity  with  may-bes.  What 
tradesman,  what  merchant,  what  mariner,  so  mad,  so  foolish,  so  blockish, 
as  to  put  off  a  present  season,  a  present  opportunity  of  profit  and  ad- 
vantage, upon  the  account  of  a  may-be  ?  It  may  be  I  have  as  good  a 
season,  it  may  be  I  shall  have  as  golden  an  opportunity  to  get,  and  to 
enrich  myself  as  this  is  ;  and  therefore  farewell  to  this.  No  men  that 
are  in  their  right  minds  will  argue  thus  ;  and  why  then  should  you, 
especially  in  the  things  that  are  of  an  everlasting  concernment  to  you  ? 

I  have  read  of  one  monarch,  a  frantic  Italian,  who  thought  that  all 
the  kings  of  the  earth  were  his  vassals  ;  and  as  frantic  are  they  who 
wilfully  neglect  present  seasons  of  grace,  upon  the  account  of  a  future 
may-be,  &c. 

1  Previously  dragged  to  the  Gemonise  Scalte,  where  the  body  of  Sabinus  had  been  ex- 
posed.    Cf.  Tillemont,  Histoire  des  Empereurs,  i.— G.  *  Doubtful.— G. 


2G2  APPLES  OF  GOLD.  [1  KlNGS  XIV.  13. 

2.  Secondly,  I  answer,  It  may  be  if  thou  neglect  est  this  present  sea- 
son and  opportunity  of  grace,  thou  mayest  never  have  another.1  It 
may  be  mercy  may  never  knock  more,  if  thou  dost  not  open ;  it  may  be 
Christ  shall  never  be  offered  to  thee  more,  if  now  thou  dost  not  close 
with  him,  and  accept  of  him  ;  it  may  be  the  Spirit  will  never  strive 
more  with  thee,  if  now  thou  dost  resist  him  and  withstand  him  ;  it  may 
be  a  pardon  shall  never  be  offered  to  thee  more,  if  now  thou  wilt  not 
take  it ;  it  may  be  the  gospel  shall  never  sound  more  in  thy  ears,  if 
now  thou  wilt  not  hear  it.  Now  set  one  may-be  against  another  may- 
be, set  God's  may-be  against  thine  own  may-be  ;  but, 

3.  Thirdly,  Doubtless  there  are  many  thousand  thousands  now  in 
hell,  icho  have  pleased  themselves  and  put  off  God  and  the  seasons  of 
grace  with  a  may-be,  hereafter  may  be  time  enough.  It  may  be  when 
I  have  gratified  such  a  lust,  and  when  I  have  treasured  so  much  of  the 
world,  I  will  return,  and  seek,  and  serve  the  Lord  ;  but  before  ever  this 
season  or  opportunity  came,  justice  hath  cut  the  thread  of  their  lives, 
and  they  are  now  miserable  for  ever  ;  and  now  they  are  still  a-cursing 
themselves,  because  they  have  slipped  their  golden  opportunities  upon 
the  account  of  a  may-be,2  &c.     But, 

4.  Fourthly,  and  lastly,  This  putting  off  God  and  the  present  seasons 
of  grace  with  a  may-be,  is  very  provoking  to  God,  as  you  may  see,  if 
you  will  but  read  from  the  20th  verse  to  the  33d  of  the  first  of  Pro- 
verbs. Nothing  stirs  and  provokes  a  master  more  than  his  servants 
putting  off  his  service  or  his  commands  with  a  may-be  ;  it  may  be  I 
will,  it  may  be  I  may  do  this  and  that ;  nothing  puts  a  master  sooner 
into  a  heat,  a  flame,  than  this  ;  nor  nothing  puts  God  more  into  a  flame 
than  this,  as  you  may  see  by  comparing  Ps.  xcv.  ver.  6  to  the  end,  with 
that  3d  of  the  Hebrews,  and  the  7th,  8th,  9th,  10th,  11th,  15th,  16th, 
17th,  18th,  19th.  Head  the  words,  and  tremble  at  the  thoughts  of  a 
may-be,  at  the  thoughts  of  putting  off  of  God  and  the  seasons  of  grace. 

I  have  read  of  two  who  cut  off  their  right  hand  one  for  another,  and 
then  made  it  an  excuse,  a  put  off,  they  were  lame,  and  so  could  not 
serve  in  the  galleys  of  Francis  the  First,  King  of  France  ;  but  this 
practice  of  theirs  did  so  provoke  the  king  that  he  sent  them  both  to  the 
gallows.  I  suppose  the  reader  is  not  so  young  but  knows  how  to 
apply  it. 

Object  %  If  I  should  begin  to  be  good  betimes,  and  to  seek  and  serve 
the  Lord  in  the  spring  and  morning  of  my  days,  I  should  lose  my 
friends,  I  should  lose  their  favours  ;  for  they  are  carnal  and  worldly, 
and  had  rather  I  should  seek  after  gold  than  God,  the  creature  than 
Christ,  earth  than  heaven.  Sec. 

Now  to  this  I  answer,  Surely  you  are  out,  for 

1.  First,  This  is  the  highway,  the  ready  way,  to  gain  the  best,  the 
surest,  and  the  soundest  friends.  '  When  a  man's  ways  please  the 
Lord,  he  maketh  even  his  enemies  to  be  at  peace  with  him/  Prov.  xvi.  7. 
When  a  man  falls  in  with  God,  God  will  work  the  creatures  to  fall  in 
with  him,  Job  lii.  23-28.     Joseph  found  it  so,  and  Jacob  found  it  so, 

•  Young  men,  if  you  will  but  go  into  burial  places,  you  shall  find  graves  exactly  of  your 
length. 

3  It  was  an  unspeakable  vexation  to  King  Lysimachus,  that  his  staying  to  drink  one 
draught  of  water  lost  him  his  kingdom.     [As  before. — G.] 


1  Kings  XIV.  13.]  apples  of  gold.  263 

and  Job  found  it  so,  the  three  children  found  it  so,  and  Daniel  found 
it  so,  as  you  all  know  that  have  but  read  the  Scripture.     And  many  in 
this  age,  as  bad  as  it  is,  have  found,  that  the  best  way  to  make  friends 
is,  first  to  make  God  our  friend.     Ah !  young  men,  young  men,  you 
shall  not  lose  your  friends  by  seeking  and  serving  of  the  Lord  in  the 
spring  and  morning  of  your  days,  but  only  exchange  bad  ones  for  good 
ones,  the  worst  for  the  best.     He  that  gives  up  himself  betimes  to  the 
Lord  shall  have  God  for  his  friend,  and  Christ  for  his  friend,  and  the 
angels  for  his  friends,  and  the  saints  for  his  friends.     Christ  will  be  to 
such,   first,  an  omnipotent  friend ;    secondly,    an  omniscient    friend  ; 
thirdly,  an  omnipresent  friend ;  fourthly,  an  indeficient  friend  ;  fifthly,  an 
independent  friend  ;  sixthly,  an  immutable  friend  ;  seventhly,  a  watchful 
friend  ;  eighthly,  a  loving  friend ;  ninthly,  a  faithful  friend  ;  tenthly, 
a  compassionate  friend  ;  eleventhly,  a  close  friend,  'There  is  a  friend 
that  sticketh  closer  than  a  brother/  Prov.  xviii.  24.     Such  a  friend  is 
Christ,  and  such  a  friend  is  as  one's  own  soul,  a  rare  happiness,  hardly 
to  be  matched.     Twelfthly,  an  universal  friend ;  a  friend  in  all  cases 
and  a  friend  in  all  places.     Christ  is  so  a  friend  to  every  one  of  his,  as  if 
he  were  a  friend  to  none  besides.     Hence  it  is  that  they  say,  not  only 
our  Lord,  our  God,  but  my  Lord,  and  my  God.     Christ  is  such  an 
universal  friend,  as  that  he  supplies  the  place,  and  acts  the  part  of 
every  friend,     Thirteenthly,  '  He  is  our  first  friend,'  Ps.  xc.  1  ;  before 
we  had  a  friend  in  all  the  world  he  was  our  friend,  Prov.  viii.  21.     Lastly, 
he  is  a  constant  friend  :  '  Whom  he  loves,  he  loves  to  the  end,'  John 
xhi.  I.1  2 

Augustus  Csesar  would  not  suddenly  entertain  a  league  of  friendship 
with  any,  but  was  a  constant  friend  to  those  he  loved,  Amare  nee  cito 
desisto,  nee  temere  incipio,  late  ere  I  love,  as  long  ere  I  leave.  Where 
Christ  begins  to  love,  he  always  loves,  Jer.  xxxi.  3,  '  I  have  loved  thee 
with  an  everlasting  love.'  Now  who  would  not  venture  the  loss  of  all 
friends  in  the  world  to  gain  such  a  friend  as  this  is  ? 

Ah  !  young  men  and  women,  let  me  say  to  you  what  Seneca  said  to 
his  friend  Polibius,  Fas  tibi  non  est  de  fortuna  conqueri,  salvo  Gcesare, 
never  complain  of  thy  hard  fortune  as  long  as  Csesar  is  thy  friend.  So 
say  I ;  never  complain  of  your  loss  of  friends  so  long  as  by  losing  of 
them  you  gain  Christ  to  be  your  friend. 

2.  Secondly,  Thou  wert  better  be  without  their  friendship  and 
favour  than  to  enjoy  it  upon  any  sinful  aud  unworthy  accounts. 
Thou  wert  better  run  the  hazard  of  losing  thy  friends  and  their  favour 
by  seeking  and  serving  the  Lord  in  the  primrose  of  thy  days,  than  to 
run  the  hazard  of  losing  God,  Christ,  heaven,  eternity,  and  thy  soul  for 
ever  by  neglecting  the  things  of  thy  peace,  Matt.  xvi.  26,  Mark  viii.  36. 
It  was  a  gallant  return  which  the  noble  Rutilius  made  his  friend,  re- 
questing of  him  an  unlawful  favour  in  such  language  as  this  :  I  had  as 
good  be  without  such  a  friend  as  with  him  who  will  not  let  me  speed 
in  what  I  ask  ;  to  whom  he  replied,  I  can  want  such  a  friend  as  you,  if 

1  Luke  xv.  7  :  Isa.  vi.  7-9 ;  Heb.  iv.  13 ;  Isa.  lix.  16,  17,  xliv.  24 ;  Mai.  iii.  6 ;  Ps. 
exxi.  4-6  ;  1  John  iv.  16  ;  Titus  i.  2  ;  Isa.  lxiii.  9  ;  Luke  i.  45  ;  John  xx.  28;  Philip, 
iv.  19. 

2  Alexander  the  Great  cannot  cut  that  knot  of  friendship  that  is  tied  betwixt  Christ 
and  his.     [The  allusion  is  to  the  sword-cut  Gordian  knot.  — G.] 


2(U  APPLES  OF  GOLD.  [1    KlNGS  XIV.  13. 

for  your  sake  I  must  do  that  which  is  not  honest.  The  application  is 
easy. 

Well  !  young  men,  remember  this,  the  torments  of  a  thousand  hells, 
were  there  so  many,  comes  far  short  of  this  one  voice,  to  be  turned  out 
of  God's  presence  with  a  Non  novi  vos,  I  know  you  not,  Mat.  vii.  23. 

Ah,  young  man,  young  man!  thou  wert  better  ten  thousand  thousand 
times  to  be  cast  out  of  the  thoughts  and  hearts  of  thy  carnal  friends 
and  relations,  than  to  be  cast  out  of  God's  presence  with  cursed  Cain, 
Gen.  iv.,  for  ever,  than  to  be  excommunicated  out  of  '  the  general 
assembly  of  the  saints,  and  congregation  of  the  first-born  which  are 
written  in  heaven,'  Heb.  xii.  23;  and  therefore  away  with  this  objection. 
But, 

3.  Thirdly,  The  favour  and  friendship  of  such  carnal  persons  is 
very  fickle  and  inconstant  ;  it  is  very  fading  and  withering.  Now 
they  stroke,  and  anon  they  strike  ;  now  they  lift  up,  and  anon  they 
cast  down  ;  now  they  smile,  and  anon  -Ahey  frown  ;  now  they  kiss,  and 
anon  they  kill  ;  now  they  cry,  'Hosannah  !  hosannah  !'  and  anon  they 
cry,  'Crucify  him,  crucify  him  !'  Haman  is  one  day  feasted  with  the 
king,  and  the  next  day  made  a  feast  for  crows,  Esther  vii.  The  princes 
of  Babylon  were  highly  in  king  Darius  his  favour  one  day,  and  cast  into 
the  lion's  den  the  next,  Dan.  vi.  The  scribes  and  pharisees  that  cried 
up  Judas  one  day,  did  in  effect  bid  him  go  and  hang  himself  the  next 
day,  Mat.  xxvii.  3-5. 

Such  men's  favour  and  friendship  are  as  Venice  glasses,  quickly 
broken,  and  therefore  not  much  to  be  prized  or  minded.  Histories 
abound  with  instances  of  this  nature.1  But  I  must  hasten  :  only  re- 
member this,  that  every  day's  experience  tells  us  that  wicked  men  can 
soon  turn  tables,  and  cross  their  books  ;  their  favour  and  friendship  is 
usually  like  to  a  morning  cloud,  or  like  to  Jonah's  gourd  :  one  hour 
flourishing  and  the  next  hour  withering ;  and  why  then  shouldest  thou 
set  thy  heart  upon  that  which  is  more  changeable  than  the  moon  ?    But, 

4.  Fourthly  and  lastly,  Who  but  a  bad  man  woidd  adventure  the 
loss  of  the  king's  favour  to  gain  the  favour  of  his  page  ?  Who  but  a 
stark  Bedlam  would  run  the  hazard  of  losing  the  judge's  favour  upon 
the  bench,  to  purchase  the  good  will  of  the  prisoner  at  the  bar? 

Socrates  preferred  the  king's  countenance  before  his  coin  ;  and  so 
must  you  prefer  the  favour  of  God,  the  countenance  of  Christ,  Ps.  iv.  6,  7, 
and  the  things  of  eternity,  above  all  the  favour  and  friendship  of  all  the 
men  in  the  world.  When  your  nearest  friends  and  dearest  relations 
stands  in  competition  with  Christ,  or  the  things  above,  you  must  shake 
them  off,  you  must  turn  your  backs  upon  them,  and  welcome  Christ 
and  the  things  of  your  peace.  He  that  forsakes  all  relations  for  Christ, 
shall  certainly  find  all  relations  in  Christ  ;2  he  will  be  father,  friend, 
husband,  child  ;  he  will  be  everything  to  thee,  who  takest  him  for  thy 
great  all. 

Object.  3.  Aye,  but  I  shall  meet  with  many  reproaches  from  one 
and  other,  if  I  should  labour  to  be  good  betimes,  if  I  should  seek  and 

1  Valerian,   Valens,  Belisaxius,   Bajazot,   Pythias,   Dionysius,    Pompey,  William   the 
Conqueror,  and  many  others,  have  found  it  so.     Glaucus,  who  changed  his  armour  of 
fold  with  Diomedes,  for  his  armour  of  brass,  stands  upon  record  for  a  fool. 
s  Ps.  xlv.  10  ;  Mat.  x.  37  ;  Luko  xiv.  26,  27. 


1  Kings  XIV.  13.]  apples  of  gold.  265 

serve  the  Lord  in  the  spring  and  morning  of  my  youth.     Now,  to 
this  I  answer, 

1.  First,  What  are  reproaches  to  the  great  things  that  others  have 
suffered  for  Christ  his  gospel,  and  the  maintaining  of  a  good  con- 
science ?  What  is  a  prick  of  a  pin  to  a  stab  at  the  heart  ?  what  is  a 
chiding  to  a  hanging,  a  whipping  to  a  burning  ?  No  more  are  all  the 
reproaches  thou  canst  meet  with,  to  the  great  things  that  others  have 
suffered  for  Christ's  sake.1 

Ah,  young  men  !  you  should  be  like  the  Scythian  that  went  naked 
in  the  snow,  and  when  Alexander  wondered  how  he  could  endure  it, 
answered,  I  am  not  ashamed,  for  I  am  all  forehead. 

So  should  you  in  the  cause  and  way  of  Christ ;  you  should  not  be 
ashamed,  you  should  be  all  forehead,  you  should  be  stout  and  bold. 

Colon  us,  the  Dutch  martyr,  under  all  his  reproaches,  called  to  the 
judge  that  had  sentenced  him  to  death,  and  desired  him  to  lay  his  hand 
upon  his  heart,  and  then  asked  him,  Whose  heart  did  most  beat,  his  or 
the  judge's?  All  the  reproaches  in  the  world  should  not  so  much  as 
make  a  Christian's  heart  beat ;  they  should  not  in  the  least  trouble 
him  nor  disturb  him.     But, 

2.  Secondly,  I  answer,  That  all  the  reproaches  thou  meetest  with  in 
the  way  of  Christ,  and  for  the  sake  of  Christ,  they  do  but  add  pearls 
to  thy  crown  ;  they  are  all  additions  to  thy  happiness  and  blessedness. 
If  ye  be  reproached  for  the  name  of  Christ,  happy  are  ye  ;  for  the  Spirit 
of  glory,  and  of  God,  resteth  upon  you  ;  on  their  part  he  is  evil  spoken 
of,  but  on  your  part  he  is  glorified,  1  Peter  iv.  14.  The  more  you  are 
reproached  for  Christ's  sake  on  earth,  the  greater  shall  be  your  reward 
in  heaven ;  they  that  are  most  loaded  with  reproaches  here,  shall  be 
most  laden  with  glory  hereafter,  Mat.  v.  11,  12.  Christ  hath  written 
their  names  in  golden  letters  in  his  book  of  life,  that  are  written  in 
black  letters  of  reproach  for  his  sake  on  earth.  It  was  a  good  saying  of 
one  [Chrysostom]  :  A  reproacher,  saith  he,  is  beneath  a  man,  but  the 
reproached  that  bear  it  well,  are  equal  to  angels  ;  of  all  crowns,  the 
reproached  man's  crown  will  weigh  heaviest  in  heaven.2     But, 

3.  Thirdly,  I  answer,  the  best  men  have  been  mostly  reproached. 
David  was,  Ps.  lxix.  7,  lxxxix.  50,  cxix.  22,  xxxi.  11,  cix.  25  ;  and  Job 
was,  Job  xix.  31,  xx.  3,3  xvi,  10  ;  and  Jeremiah  was,  Jer.  xx.  7,  10. 
Yea,  this  hath  been  the  common  portion  of  the  people  of  God  in  all  ages 
of  the  world,  In  Nehemiah's  time  it  was  so:  Neh.  i.  3,  '  And  they  said 
unto  me,  The  remnant  that  are  left  of  the  captivity,  are  in  great  afflic- 
tion and  reproach/  In  David's  time  it  was  so,  Ps.  lxxix.  4,  and  Ps.  xliv. 
13,  14;  and  in  Jeremiah's  time  it  was  so:  Lam.  v.  1,  'Remember,  O 
Lord,  what  is  come  upon  us  :  consider,  and  behold  our  reproach.'  And 
in  Daniel's  time  it  was  so:  Dan.  ix.  16,  '  Thy  people  are  become  a  re- 
proach to  all  that  are  about  us  ;'  and  it  was  so  in  the  apostle's  time : 
Rom.  iii.  8,  '  And  not  rather,  (as  we  be  slanderously  reported,  as  some 
affirm  that  we  say,)  Let  us  do  evil,  that  good  may  come  ;  whose  damna- 

1  Hebrews  xi. 33.  Eead  of  the  ten  persecutions.   [See  Sibbes's  Works,  vol.i.  p.  384. — G.] 

2  So  was  Joseph,  Mephibosheth,  Naboth,  and  in  latter  times  Luther,  whom  they  said 
died  despairing,  when  he  was  alive  to  confute  it ;  and  that  Beza  run  away  with  another 
man's  wife ;  and  that  Calvin  was  branded  on  the  shoulder  for  a  rogue  :  but  there  would 
be  no  end  to  this  stuff,  should  I  say  all  that  might  be  said. 

3  The  speaker  here  is  Zophar,  not  Job.  — G. 


2°G  APPLES  OF  GOLD.  [1  KlNGS  XIV.  13. 

tion  is  just  ;'  2  Cor.  vi.  8,  '  By  honour  and  dishonour,  by  evil  report  and 
good  report :  as  deceivers  and  yet  true ;'  so  in  that^l  Tim.  iv.  10,  '  For 
therefore  we  both  labour  and  suffer  reproach,  because  we  trust  in  the 
living  God,'  &c.  And  it  was  so  in  the  primitive  times,  for  when  the 
Christians  met  together  before  sun[rise]  to  pray,  the  heathens  reported 
of  them  that  they  worshipped  the  sun,  and  aspired  after  monarchy,  and 
committed  adulteries  and  unnatural  uncleannesses.1  Now,  who  is 
troubled,  who  complains  of  that  which  is  a  common  lot,  as  cold,  winter, 
sickness,  death  ?  &c.  No  more  should  any  complain  of  reproaches,  it 
being  the  common  lot  of  the  people  of  God  in  all  ages ;  yea,  Christ 
himself  was  sadly  reproached,  falsely  accused,  and  strangely  traduced, 
disgraced,  and  scandalized.  He  was  called  a  glutton,  a  drunkard,  a 
friend  of  publicans  and  sinners,  and  judged  to  use  the  black  art,  casting 
out  devils  by  Beelzebub  the  prince  of  devils,  Mat.  ix.  34,  xii.  24.  Christ 
hath  suffered  the  greatest  and  the  worst  reproaches ;  why  then  should 
you  be  afraid  to  wear  that  crown  of  thorns  that  Christ  hath  worn  before 
you  ?  There  is  a  great  truth  in  what  he  said,  Non  potent  qui  pati  timet, 
ejus  esse  qui  passus  est,2  he  that  is  afraid  to  suffer  cannot  be  his  disciple, 
who  suffered  so  much.  If  the  master  hath  been  marked  with  a  black 
coal,  let  not  the  servant  think  to  go  free.  I  am  heartily  angry,  saith 
Luther,  with  those  that  speak  of  my  sufferings,  which,  if  compared  with 
that  which  Christ  suffered  for  me,  are  not  once  to  be  mentioned  in  the 
same  day.     But, 

4.  Fourthly,  I  answer,  That  all  reproachers  shall  at  last  be  arraigned 
at  the  highest  bar  of  justice,  for  all  the  reproaches  that  they  have  cast 
upon  the  people  of  Ood. 

They  think  it  strange,  for  they  think  it  a  new  world,  that  you 
'  run  not  with  them  to  the  same  excess  of  riot,  speaking  evil  of  you, 
who  shall  give  account  to  him  that  is  ready  to  judge  the  quick  and  the 
dead,'  1  Pet.  iv.  4.3 

I  am  in  ecstasy,  saith  Picus  Mirandula,  to  think  how  profane  men 
rail  upon  those  now,  whom  one  day  they  will  wish  they  had  imitated. 
It  was  excellent  counsel  that  the  heathen  orator  gave  his  hearers,  ita  vi- 
vamus,  ut  rationem  nobis  reddendam  arbitremur,  let  us  live  as  those 
that  must  give  an  account  of  all  at  last.4 

Chrysostom  brings  in  Christ  comforting  his  disciples  against  re- 
proaches, speaking  thus  unto  them,  What !  is  the  wrong  grievous  to  you 
that  they  now  call  you  seducers  and  conjurors?  It  will  not  be  long 
before  they  shall  openly  call  you  the  saviours  and  blessings  of  the 
whole  world  ;  that  time  that  shall  declare  all  things  that  are  now  hid, 
shall  rebuke  them  for  their  lying  words  against  you,  and  shall  kindle 
the  splendour  of  your  virtue ;  so  they  shall  be  found  liars,  evil  speakers, 
false  accusers  of  others  ;  but  you  shall  be  more  clear  and  illustrious  than 
the  sun,  and  you  shall  have  all  men  witnesses  of  your  glory.  Such 
as  wisely  and  humbly  bear  reproaches  now,  shall  judge  reproachers  at 
last.6     But, 

5.  Fifthly,  I  answer,  TJiat  God  doth  many  times,  even  in  this  life, 
bear  sad  witness  and  testimony  against  the  reproachers  of  his  people. 

1  Tertullian.  »  Tertul.  defuga  in  persecut. 

8  livi^ovrai  ....  (iXu<r<pi)f*t>vvris.  *  Cicero  iv.  in  Verr. 

5  Mai.  iii.  17  ;  Micah  7-11  ;  1  Cor.  vi.  3,  4. 


1  Kings  XIV.  13.]  apples  of  gold.  267 

'  I  will  bless  them  that  bless  thee,  and  I  will  curse  them  that  curse 
thee/  Gen.  xii.  3,  and  2  Sam.  xvi.  11-13.  God  will  even  in  this  life 
curse  them  with  a  witness,  who  curse  them  that  he  blesseth.  Pharaoh 
found  it  so,  and  Saul  found  it  so,  and  Jezebel  found  it  so,  and  Haman 
found  it  so,  and  the  princes  of  Babylon  found  it  so,  and  the  Jews  find 
it  so  to  this  very  day.1 

And  oh  the  dreadful  judgments  and  curses  that  God  hath  poured  out 
upon  the  reproachers  of  his  name,  of  his  Son,  of  his  Spirit,  of  his  word, 
of  his  ordinances,  and  of  his  people,  in  these  days  wherein  we  live  !  I 
might  give  you  many  sad  instances  of  such  in  our  days,  whose  feet  jus- 
tice hath  taken  in  the  snare,  men  of  abstracted  conceits  and  sublime 
speculations  ;  and  indeed  such  usually  prove  the  great  wise  fools,  who, 
like  the  lark,  soareth  higher  and  higher,  peering  and  peering,  till  at 
length  they  fall  into  the  net  of  the  fowler ;  and  no  wonder,  for  such 
persons  usually  are  as  censorious  as  they  are  curious. 

6.  Sixthly,  I  answer,  Paul  rejoiceth  more  in  his  suffering  reproaches 
for  Christ's  sake,  than  he  did  in  his  being  rapt  up  in  the  third 
heaven  :  2  Cor.  xii.  10,  '  Therefore  I  take  pleasure  in  infirmities,  in  re- 
proaches, in  necessities,  in  persecutions,  in  distresses,  for  Christ's  sake ; 
for  when  I  am  weak,  then  am  I  strong.'  And  therefore  you  have  him 
often  a-singing  this  song,  '  I  Paul,  a  prisoner  of  Jesus  Christ ;'  not  I 
Paul,  rapt  up  in  the  third  heaven.  He  looked  upon  all  his  suffer- 
ings as  God's  love-tokens  ;  he  looked  upon  all  reproaches  as  pledges 
and  badges  of  his  sonship ;  and  therefore  joys  and  glories  under  all. 
Christ  shewed  his  glory 6,to  him  in  rapping  him  up  in  the  third  heaven, 
and  he  shewed  his  love  to  Christ,  in  his  joyful  bearing  of  reproaches  for 
his  sake.  Paul  rattles  his  chain,  which  he  bears  for  the  gospel,  and  was 
proud  of  it,  as  a  woman  of  her  ornaments,  saith  Chrysostom.2 

Now  why  should  that  be  matter  of  trouble  and  discouragement  to 
you,  that  was  matter  of  joy  and  rejoicing  to  him  ?  Shall  he  look  upon 
reproaches  as  a  crown  of  honour,  and  will  you  look  upon  reproaches  as 
a  crown  of  thorns  ? 

Oh  !  look  upon  reproach  as  a  royal  diadem,  look  upon  it  as  Christ's 
livery,  and  count  it  your  highest  ambition  in  this  world  to  wear  this 
livery  for  his  sake,  who  once  wore  a  crown  of  thorns  for  your  sakes. 
When  Babylas  was  to  die,  he  required  this  favour,  to  have  his  chains 
buried  with  him  as  the  ensigns  of  his  honour.3     But, 

7.  Seventhly,  I  answer,  That  by  a  wise  and  gracious  behaviour 
under  the  reproaches  thou  meetest  with  for  Christ's  sake,  thou  may  est 
be  instrumental  to  win  others  to  Christ.* 

It  was  a  noble  saying  of  Luther,  Ecclesia  totum  mundum  convertit 
sanguine  et  oratione,  the  church  converted  the  whole  world  by  blood 
and  prayer. 

1  Divine  justice  is  like  Vulcan's  iron  net  that  took  the  gods  ;  it  apprehends  and  con- 
demns all  that  are  reproachers  and  enemies  to  his  people.  [Vulcan,  or  rather  Hephses- 
tus:  Odyssey,  VIII.  266-358.— G.] 

2  Crudelitas  vestra  gloria  nostra,  your  cruelty  is  our  glory,  said  they  in  Tertullian  ;  fire, 
sword,  prison,  famine,  are  all  delightful  to  me,  saith  Basil. 

8  Sufferings  are  the  ensigns  of  heavenly  nobility,  saith  Calvin.  [On  Luke  iv.  1-10.— G.] 
4  It  was  an  observation  of  Mr  John  Lindsay,  that  the  very  smoke  of  Mr  Hamilton 

converted  as  many  as  it  blew  upon.     [That  is,  Patrick  Hamilton,  the  proto-martyr  of 

Scotland,  1527.— G.] 


268  APPLES  OF  GOLD.  [1  KlNGS  XIV.  13. 

Divers  have  been  won  to  Christ  by  beholding  the  gracious  carriages 
of  Christians  under  their  sufferings  and  reproaches  for  Christ. 

We  read  of  Cecilia,  a  poor  virgin,  who,  by  her  gracious  behaviour 
under  all  her  sufferings  and  reproaches  for  Christ,  was  the  means  of 
converting  four  hundred  to  Christ.1 

Adrianus,  beholding  the  gracious,  cheerful  carriages  of  the  martyrs 
under  all  their  sufferings  and  reproaches,  was  converted  to  Christ,  and 
afterwards  suffered  martyrdom  for  Christ. 

Justin  Martyr  was  also  converted  by  observing  the  holy  and  cheerful 
behaviour  of  the  saints  under  all  their  sufferings  and  reproaches  for 
Christ.2  During  the  cruel  persecutions  of  the  heathen  emperors,  the 
Christian  faith  was  spread  through  all  places  of  the  empire,3  because  the 
oftener  they  were  mown  down,  saith  Tertullian,  the  more  they  grew. 

And  Austin  observed,  that  though  there  were  many  thousands  put 
to  death  for  professing  Christ,  yet  they  were  never  the  fewer  for  being 
slain. 

Ah  !  young  men,  you  may,  by  a  wise  and  gracious  bearing  of  re- 
proaches for  Christ,  be  instrumental  to  win  others  to  Christ  ;  and 
therefore  never  plead  there  is  a  lion  in  the  way.  But  I  must  hasten  ; 
and  therefore, 

8.  In  the  eighth  and  last  place,  consider,  How  bravely  several  of  the 
very  heathens  have  bore  reproaches  ;  and  let  that  provoke  you,  in  the 
face  of  all  reproaches,  to  seek  and  serve  the  Lord  in  the  morning  of 
your  youth,  &c. 

When  Demosthenes  was  reproached  by  one,  I  will  not,  saith  he, 
strive  with  thee  in  this  kind  of  fight,  in  which  he  that  is  overcome  is 
the  better  man. 

When  one  came  and  reproached  Xenophon,  says  he,  You  have  learned 
how  to  reproach,  and  I  have  learned  how  to  bear  reproach. 

And  Aristippus,  the  philosopher,4  said,  You  are  fit  to  cast  reproaches, 
and  I  am  fit  to  bear  reproaches. 

Demochares.  an  Athenian  orator,5  was  sent  to  king  Philip  as  ambas- 
sador. Philip  asked  him  how  he  might  pleasure  the  Athenians  ? 
Forsooth,  said  he,  if  you  will  hang  yourself.  The  prince  patiently  sent 
him  home  again,  and  bid  him  ask,  Whether  were  more  noble,  the 
patient  hearer  or  venter  of  such  unseemly  language  ? 

When  one  wondered  at  the  patience  of  Socrates  towards  one  who 
reviled  and  reproached  him,  If  we  should  meet  one,  saith  he,  whose 
body  were  more  unsound  than  ours,  should  we  be  angry  with  him,  and 
not  rather  pity  him  ?  Why,  then,  should  we  not  do  the  like  to  him 
whose  soul  is  more  diseased  than  ours  ? 

Augustus  Caesar,  in  whose  time  Christ  was  born,  bid  Catullus  the 
railing  poet  to  supper,  to  shew  that  he  had  forgiven  him. 

It  is  a  notable  example  that  we  find  of  one  Pericles,6  who,  as  he  was 

1  Clarke's  '  Martyrologie,'  as  before,  pp.  35,  36  — G. 

s  His  words  are  worth  giving:  '  I  myself,  when  I  took  pleasure  in  the  doctrines  of 
Pluto,  and  heard  the  Christians  slandered,  seeing  them  to  be  fearless  of  death,  and  of 
everything  else  tliaf  was  thought  dreadful,  considered  that  it  was  impossible  that  they 
should  live  in  wickedness,'  &c,  &c.  (Apolog.  ii.  12). — G. 

*  See  also  the  History  of  the  Council  of  Trent,  418,  2d  edit. 

4  Founder  of  the  Cyrenaic  Philosophy. — G. 

6  The  pupil  of  DemoBthenes,  and  friend  of  Zeno. — Diog.  Lae'rtius,  iv  41,  vii.  14. — G. 

6  Plutarch  in  vita  Pericles. 


1  Kings  XIV.  13.]  apples  of  gold.  209 

sitting  with  others  in  a  great  meeting,  a  foul-mouthed  fellow  bitterly 
reproached  him,  and  railed  all  the  day  long  upon  him;  and  at  night, 
when  it  was  dark,  and  the  meeting  up,  the  fellow  followed  him,  and 
railed  at  him  even  to  his  door,  and  he  took  no  notice  of  him ;  but  when 
he  came  at  home,  this  is  all  he  said,  Friend,  it  is  dark,  I  pray  let  my 
man  light  you  home.1 

Josephus  reports  of  that  Herod  that  is  made  mention  of  in  Acts  xii. 
23,  that  when  one  Simon,  a  lawyer,  had  grievously  reproached  and 
scandalised  him  before  the  people,  he  sent  for  him,  and  caused  him  to 
sit  down  next  to  him,  and  in  a  kind  manner  he  spake  thus  to  him  : 
Tell  me,  I  pray  thee,  what  thing  thou  seest  fault-worthy  or  contrary  to 
the  law  in  me.  Simon  not  having  anything  to  answer,  besought  him 
to  pardon  him,  which  the  king  did,  and  was  friends  with  him,  and  dis- 
missed him,  bestowing1  gifts 'on  him. 

Ah  !  young  men,  young  men,  shall  the  very  heathen  make  nothing 
of  reproaches  ?  shall  they  bear  up  so  prudently  and  bravely  under  the 
greatest  loads  of  reproaches,  and  will  not  you  ?  Will  not  you,  who  in 
your  light,  in  your  mercies,  and  in  all  gospel  engagements,  are  so  highly 
advanced  above  them  ?  Oh  !  that  none  of  them  may  be  called  to  the 
bar  in  the  great  day  to  witness  against  any  of  you  into  whose  hands 
this  treatise  shall  fall.  And  so  much  by  way  of  answer  to  the  third 
objection.     But, 

Objection  4.  Fourthly,  The  young  man  objects,  and  says,  You  press 
us  to  be  good  betimes,  and  to  seek  and  serve  the  Lord  in  the  spring 
and  morning  of  our  days ;  but  we  observe  that  most  men  mind  not 
these  things,  but  rather  give  liberty  to  themselves  to  walk  in  ways  that 
are  most  pleasing  to  the  flesh;  and  why,  then,  should  we  be  singular 
and  nice  ?  We  were  better  do  as  the  'most  do,  &c.  Now  to  this  I 
answer, 

1.  That  though  bad  examples  are  dangerous  to  all,  yet  usually  they 
prove  most  dangerous  and  pernicious  to  young  persons,  who  are  more 
easily  drawn  to  follow  examples  than  precepts,  especially  those  ex- 
amples that  tend  most  to  undo  them :  2  Kings  xv.  9,  it  is  said  of 
Zachariah,  the  king  of  Israel,  that  '  he  did  evil  in  the  sight  of  the  Lord, 
as  his  fathers  had  done  ;  he  departed  not  from  the  sins  of  Jeroboam  ;' 
he  would  be  as  his  father  was,  and  do  as  his  father  did,  whatever  came 
OD  it.2 

So  the  Samaritans,  of  whom  it  is  said,  2  Kings  xvii.  41,  '  These  na- 
tions feared  the  Lord'  (that  is,  they  made  some  kind  of  profession  of 
the  true  religion,  as  the  ten  tribes  had  done),  '  and  served  their  graven 
images  (too) ;  both  their  children  and  their  children's  children  (did 
thus) ;  as  did  their  fathers,  so  do  they  unto  this  day.'  By  evil  examples 
they  were  both  drawn  to  idolatry,  and  rooted  and  confirmed  in  it  So 
the  main  reason  why  the  kingdom  and  church  of  Judah  were  so  settled 
in  their  idolatry,  that  there  was  no  hope  of  reclaiming  them,  was  this, 
that  their  children  remembered  their  altars  and  their  groves  by  the 
green  trees  upon  the  high  hills,  Jer.  xvii.  1,  2.     Tinder  is  not  apter  to 

1  Themistocles  professed  that  if  two  ways  were  shewed  him,  one  to  hell,  and  the  other 
to  the  Bar,  he  would  choose  that  which  went  to  hell,  and  forsake  the  other. 

2  Prcecepla  docent,  exempla  movent,  Precepts  may  instruct,  hut  examples  do  persuade. 
[As  before. — G.] 


270  APPLES  OF  GOLD.  [1  KlNGS  XIV.  13. 

take  fire,  nor  wax  the  impression  of  the  seal,  nor  paper  the  ink,  than 
youth  is  to  follow  ill  examples. 

You  may  see  in  Radbad,  king  of  Phrisia,1  who  coming  to  the  font  to 
be  bapt  used,  asked  what  was  become  of  his  ancestors  ?  answer  was  made, 
that  they  died  in  a  fearful  state  unbaptized ;  he  replied  that  he  would 
rather  perish  with  the  multitude  than  go  to  heaven  with  a  few. 

I  remember  the  heathen  brings  in  a  young  man  who,  hearing  of  the 
adulteries  and  wickednesses  of  the  gods,  said,  What !  do  they  so  ?  and 
shall  T  stick  at  it  ?  No,  I  will  not.  Sinful  examples  are  very  drawing 
and  very  encouraging  ;  many  have  found  it  so  to  their  eternal  undoing. 
Those  that  have  no  ears  to  hear  what  you  say,  have  many  eyes  to  see 
what  you  do.  Bad  princes  make  bad  subjects  ;  bad  masters  make  bad 
servants;  bad  parents  make  bad  children;  and  bad  husbands  make 
bad  wives.  It  is  easier  for  the  bad  to  corrupt  the  good,  than  for  the 
good  to  convert  the  bad  ;  it  is  easier  to  run  down  the  hill  with  com- 
pany, than  to  run  up  the  hill  alone.2 

I  would  desire  all  young  men  often  to  remember  that  saying  of  Lac- 
tantius,  Qui  malum  imitatur,  bonus  esse  non  potest,  he  who  imitates- 
the  bad  cannot  be  good.  Young  men,  in  these  professing  times,  stand 
between  good  and  bad  examples,  as  Hercules  in  his  dream  stood  be- 
tween virtue  and  vice.  Solicited  by  both,  choose  you  must  who  to  fol- 
low. Oh  that  you  were  all  so  wise  as  to  follow  the  best ;  as  a  woman 
that  hath  many  suitors  is  very  careful  to  take  the  best,  so  should  you. 
Life,  heaven,  happiness,  eternity,  hangs  upon  it. 

But  before  I  come  to  the  second  answer,  let  me  leave  this  note  or 
notion  with  those  who  make  no  conscience  of  undoing  others  by  their 
examples,3  viz., 

That  a  more  grievous  punishment  is  reserved  for  them  who  cause 
others  to  offend,  than  for  them  which  sin  by  their  occasion  or  ex- 
ample. 

Thus  the  serpent  was  punished  more  than  Eve,  and  Eve  more  than 

Adam. 

So  Jezebel  felt  a  greater  and  sorer  judgment  than  Ahab.  To  sin, 
saith  one,  hath  not  so  much  perdition  in  it  as  to  cause  others  to  sin. 
Friends,  you  have  sins  enough  of  your  own  to  make  you  for  ever  miser- 
able ;  why  should  you,  by  giving  bad  examples  to  others,  make  your- 
selves far  more  miserable  ?  The  lowest,  the  darkest,  the  hottest  place 
in  hell,  will  be  for  them  that  have  drawn  others  thither  by  their  ex- 
ample, Mat.  xxiii.  15.  Dives  knew  that  if  his  brethren  were  damned, 
he  should  be  double  damned,  because  he  had  largely  contributed  to  the 
bringing  of  them  to  hell  by  his  wicked  example  ;  and  therefore  he  de- 
sires that  they  might  be  kept  out  of  hell,  not  out  of  any  love  or  good 
will  to  them,  but  because  their  coming  thither  would  have  made  his 
hell  more  hot,  his  torments  more  insufferable,  Luke  xvi.  28.     But, 

2.  Secondly,  I  answer,  If  you  sin  with  others,  you  shall  suffer  with 
others  ;  if  you  will  partake  of  other  men's  sins,  you  shall  also  partake 

1  Query — Frisia,  i.e.  the  Frisii  of  North-western  Germany  ?— G. 

2  Ethiopians  lame  themselves  if  their  king  be  lame,  saith  Diodorus.  iElian  reports 
that  there  was  a  whore  that  did  boast  that  she  could  easily  get  scholars  away  from  So- 
crates, but  Socrates  could  get  away  no  scholars  from  her. 

3  Sin  is  bad  in  the  eye,  worse  in  the  tongue,  worser  in  the  heart,  but  worst  of  all  in 
the  life  ;  and  that  because  it  then  endangers  other  men's  souls,  as  well  as  a  man's  own. 


1  Kings  XIV.  13.]  apples  of  gold.  271 

of  other  men's  plagues,  Rev.  xviii.  4.  They  that  have  been,  like  Simeon 
and  Levi,  brethren  in  iniquity,  they  shall  be  brethren  in  misery  ;  they 
that  have  sinned  together  impenitently  shall  be  sent  to  hell  jointly, 
they  shall  perish  together  eternally.  If  you  will  needs  be  companions 
with  others  in  their  sins,  you  shall  be  sure  to  be  companions  with  them 
in  their  sorrows.1  The  old  world  sin  together  and  are  drowned  to- 
gether, Gen.  vi.  ;  the  Sodomites,  burning  in  lusts  together,  were  burnt 
with  fire  and  brimstone  together,  Gen.  xix.  Korah,  Dathan,  and  Abi- 
ram,  they  sin  together,  they  murmur  and  provoke  the  Lord  together, 
and  the  earth  opens  her  mouth  and  swallows  them  up  together,  Num. 
xvi.  26-34.  Pharaoh  and  his  hosts  pursue  Israel  together,  and  they  are 
drowned  in  the  sea  together,  Exod.  xiv.  Zimri  and  Cosbi  commit  folly, 
uncleanness  together,  and  Phinehas  stabs  them  both  together,  Num.  xxv. 
The  Hebrew  doctors  have  a  very  pretty  parable  to  this  purpose  : — A 
man  planted  an  orchard,  and,  going  from  home,  was  careful  to  leave 
such  watchmen  as  might  both  keep  it  from  strangers  and  not  deceive 
him  themselves  ;  therefore  he  appointed  one  blind,  but  strong  of  his 
limbs,  and  the  other  seeing,  but  a  cripple.  These  two,  in  their  master's 
absence,  conspired  together,  and  the  blind  took  the  lame  on  his  shoul- 
ders, and  so  gathered  the  fruit ;  their  master  returning  and  finding  out 
their  subtilty,  punished  them  both  together. 

So  will  justice  deal  with  you  at  last,  who  sin  with  others  ;  therefore 
take  heed,  young  men,  of  doing  as  others  do.     But, 

3.  Thirdly,  I  answer,  You  must  not  live  by  examples,  but  by  precepts.2 
You  are  not  to  look  so  much  at  what  others  do,  as  at  what  God  requires 
you  to  do  :  Exod.  xxiii.  2,  '  Thou  shalt  not  follow  a  multitude  to  do  evil, 
neither  shalt  thou  speak  in  a  cause  to  decline  after  many  to  wrest 
judgment ;'  Rom.  xii.  2,  'Fashion  not  yourselves  like  unto  this  world  ;' 
that  is,  do  not  fashion  and  conform  yourselves  to  the  corrupt  customs 
and  courses  of  wretched  worldlings,  who  have  made  gold  their  god,  and 
gain  their  glory.  The  running  cross  to  a  divine  command  cost  the  young- 
prophet  his  life,  though  he  did  it  under  pretence  of  revelation  from  God, 
as  you  may  see  in  that  sad  story,  ]  Kings  xiii.,  &c,  Non  parentum,  aut 
majorum  autkoritas,  sed  Dei  docentis  imperium,  the  command  of 
God  must  outweigh  all  authority  and  example  of  men  [Jerome].       » 

And  we  must  be  as  careful  in  the  keeping  of  a  light  commandment 
as  an  heavy  commandment.  Saith  a  Rabbi,  Divine  commands  must 
be  obeyed  against  all  contrary  reasonings,  wranglings,  and  examples. 
Austin  brings  in  some  excusing  their  compliance  with  the  sinful  cus- 
toms and  examples  of  those  times  in  drinking  healths  thus  :  Great 
personages  urged  it,  and  it  was  at  the  king's  banquet,  where  they  judged 
of  loyalty  by  luxury,  and  put  us  upon  this  election,  drink  or  die.  The 
not  drinking  of  a  health  had  been  our  death.  He  gives  this  answer, 
that  God  who  sees  that  for  love  to  him  and  his  commands  thou  wouldst 
not  conform  to  their  drunken  customs,  will  give  thee  favour  in  their 
eyes,  who  thus  threatened  thee  to  drink.3 

Ah  !  young  men,  you  that  doat  so  much  upon  examples  now,  will  find 

1  Non  minus  ardebit,  qui  cum  multis  ar debit. — Augustine,  He  burns  no  less  that  burns 
with  company. 

2  Obedientia  non  discutit  Dei  mandata,  sed  facit. — Prosper. 

8  Tbe  complaint  is  ancient  in  Seneca,  that  commonly  men  live,  not  ad  ralionem  but  ad 
similitudinem. — Seneca,  de  vita  beata,  c.  i. 


272  APPLES  OF  GOLD.  [1  KlNGS  XIV.  13. 

that  a  stinging  terrifying  question,  when  put  home  by  God  or  conscience, 
Who  hath  required  those  things  at  your  hands  ?  Isa.  i.  12.     But, 

4.  Fourthly,  I  answer,  Company  and  allurements  to  sin  will  be 
found  no  sufficient  excuse  for  sin. 

If  Eve  lay  her  fault  on  the  serpent,  and  Adam  lay  his  on  Eve,  Gen.iii., 
God  will  take  it  off,  and  lay  the  curse  on  both.  Saul's  provocation 
by  his  people,  and  by  Samuel's  long  stay  to  offer  sacrifice,  would  not 
bear  him  out ;  but  for  his  disobedience  he  must  lose  both  his  crown  and 
life,  1  Sam.  xv.  14,  15,  26,  27.  The  young  man  in  the  Proverbs,  though 
tempted  and  solicited  by  the  harlot,  yet  hath  a  dart  struck  through  his 
heart,  Prov.  vii.  14,  15,  21.  Though  Jonah  did  plead  God's  gracious 
inclinations  to  shew  mercy,  and  his  fear  of  being  disproved  ;  yea,  and 
though  lie  might  have  pleaded  his  fear  of  cruel  and  savage  usage  from 
the  Ninevites,  whose  hearts  were  desperately  set  upon  wickedness,  and 
his  despair  of  ever  doing  good  upon  a  people  so  blinded  and  hardened, 
and  that  they  were  Gentiles  and  he  a  Jew  ;  and  why  should  he  then 
be  sent  with  so  strange,  so  terrible  a  message  to  such  a  people,  nothing 
being  more  hateful  and  distasteful  to  a  Jewish  palate  ?  But  all  these 
pleas  and  excuses  will  not  bear  off  the  blow.  Jonah  must  into  the  sea 
for  all  this  ;  yea,  he  must  to  '  the  bottom  of  hell,'  as  himself  phrases  it. 
It  is  in  vain  for  the  bird  to  complain,  that  it  saw  the  corn  but  not  the 
pitfall ;  or  for  the  fish  to  plead,  it  saw  the  bait  but  not  the  hook.  So  it 
will  be  in  vain  for  sinners  at  last,  when  they  are  taken  in  an  infernal 
pitfall,  to  plead  company  and  allurements  by  which  they  have  been 
enticed  to  undo  their  soul  for  ever.1 

Dionysius,  the  Sicilian  king,  to  excuse  himself  from  the  present 
delivery  of  the  golden  garment  he  took  from  his  god  Apollo,  answered, 
that  such  a  robe  as  that  was  could  not  be  at  any  season  of  the  year 
useful  to  his  god,  for  it  would  not  keep  him  warm  in  the  winter,  and  it 
was  too  heavy  for  the  summer,  and  so  put  off  his  idol  god.  But  the 
God  of  spirits,  the  God  of  all  flesh,  will  not  be  put  off  with  any  excuses 
or  pretences,  when  he  shall  try  and  judge  the  children  of  men.     But, 

5.  Fifthly  and  lastly,  I  answer,  That  it  is  a  very  great  judgment  to 
be  given  up  to  follow  evil  examples,  Mat.  xviii.  7.  A  man  given  up  to 
evil  examples  is  a  man  sadly  left  of  God,  wofully  blinded  by  Satan,  and 
desperately  hardened  in  sin.  It  speaks  a  man  ripe  for  wrath,  for  ruin, 
for  hell :  Jer.  vi.  21,  '  Behold,2  I  will  lay  stumbling-blocks  before  this 
people,  and  the  fathers  and  the  sons  together  shall  fall  upon  them ;  the 
neighbour  and  his  friend  shall  perish/  Oh  !  it  is  a  dreadful  thing  when 
God  shall  make  the  sinful  examples  of  others  to  be  stumbling-blocks  to 
a  people,  at  which  they  shall  stumble,  and  fall,  and  perish  for  ever  ; 
good  had  it  been  for  such  persons  that  they  had  never  been  born,  as 
Christ  once  spake  concerning  Judas,  Mat.  xxvi.  24. 

The  Rhodians  and  Lydians  enacted  several  laws,  that  those  sons 
which  followed  not  their  fathers  in  their  virtues,  but  followed  vicious 
examples,  should  be  disinherited,  and  their  lands  given  to  the  most 

1  Oculos  quas  peccatum.  claudit,  poena  aperit. — Gregory,  The  eyes  that  sin  shuts,  afflic- 
tion opens  ;  and  Jonah  found  it  so. 

*  This  particle,  Behold,  is  sometimes,  (1.)  a  note  of  derision,  Gen.  iii.  22  ;  (2.)  a  note 
of  attention  often,  Isa.  xxviii.  2;  Mai.  i-  13;  Luke  i.  20 ;  (3 )  a  note  of  admiration 
often  ;  (4.)  a  note  of  asseveration  ;  (5.)  a  note  of  castigation  ;  in  all  these  senses  \vu  may 
take  it  here. —  Varro. 


1  Kings  XIV.  13.]  apples  of  gold.  273 

virtuous  of  that  race,  not  admitting  any  impious  heir  whatsoever  to  in- 
herit ;  and  do  you  think  that  God  will  not  disinherit  all  those  of  heaveu 
and  happiness  who  follow  vicious  examples  ?  Doubtless  he  will,  1  Cor. 
x.  5-12. 

Objection  (5).  The  fifth  and  last  objection  I  shall  mention  is  this, 
God  is  a  God  of  mercy;  in  him  are  bowels  of  mercy,  yea,  a  sea,  an 
ocean  of  mercy;  lie  loves  mercy,  he  delights  in  mercy,  and  he  is  ready 
to  shew  mercy  to  poor  sinners,  when  they  are  even  at  the  last  cast, 
when  there  is  but  a  short  stride  between  them  and  the  grave,  between 
them  and  eternity;  as  we  see  in  his  extending  mercy  to  the  thief,  and, 
in  his  giving  a  pardon  into  his  hand,  and  the  assurance  of  paradise 
into  his  bosom,  when  he  was  ready  to  be  turned  off  the  ladder  of  life  ; 
and  therefore  I  may  spend  the  primrose  of  my  days  in  following  sin, 
and  the  delights,  profits,  vanities,  and  contents  of  this  world,  and  at 
last  cast  I  may  have  mercy  as  well  as  the  thief.  God  is  a  God  made  up 
of  mercy,  and  surely  he  will  not  deny  some  crumbs  of  mercy  to  a  poor 
sinner  in  misery,  &c. 

Now  to  this  objection  I  shall  give  these  following  answers. 

1.  First,  God  is  as  just  as  he  is  merciful  y1  witness  his  casting  the 
angels  out  of  heaven,  and  Adam  out  of  paradise  ;  witness  all  the 
threatenings,  the  curses,  the  woes,  that  the  Bible  is  filled  with,  from 
one  end  to  the  other ;  witness  the  hell,  the  horror,  the  terror  and 
amazement  that  he  raises  in  the  consciences  of  sinners ;  witness  the 
devastations  that  he  hath  made  of  the  most  stately  and  flourishing  towns, 
cities,  countries,  and  kingdoms,  that  have  been  in  all  the  world;  witness 
the  variety  of  diseases,  calamities,  miseries,  dangers,  deaths,  and  hells, 
that  always  attend  the  inhabitants  of  the  world ;  but  above  all,  witness 
Christ's  treading  the  wine-press  of  his  Father's  wrath  ;  witness  his 
hiding  his  face  from  him,  and  the  pouring  out  of  all  his  displeasure  and 
vengeance  upon  him. 

Zeleucus,  the  Locrensian  lawgiver,  thrust  out  one  of  his  own  son's 
eyes,  for  his  transgressing  of  a  wholesome  law  which  he  had  enacted/ 
but  God  the  Father  thrust  out  both  Christ's  eyes  for  our  transgressing 
of  his  royal  law.     Oh  !  the  justice  and  severity  of  God.     But, 

2.  Secondly,  I  answer,  That  there  is  not  a  greater  evidence  of  blind- 
ness, profaneness,  hard-heartedness,  spiritual  madness,  and  hellish 
desperateness  in  all  the  world,  than  to  make  that  an  argument,  an 
encouragement  to  sin,  viz.  the  mercy  of  God,  which  should  be  the 
greatest  argument  under  heaven  to  keep  a  man  from  sin :  as  all  know 
that  have  but  read  the  Scripture ;  neither  are  there  any  sinners  in  the 
world  that  God  delights  to  rain  hell  out  of  heaven  upon,  as  upon  such, 
who  by  their  abuse  of  mercy,  turn  the  God  of  mercy  into  a  God  of 
clouts/3  and  go  on  out-daring  justice  itself:4  Deut.  xxix.  19,  20,  'And 
it  come  to  pass,  when  he  heareth  the  words  of  this  curse,  that  he  bless 
himself  in  his  heart,  saying,  I  shall  have  peace  (God  is  a  God  of  mercy), 
though  I  walk  in  the  imagination  of  my  heart,  to  add  drunkenness  to 
thirst.'     The  Lord  will  not  spare  him,  but  then  the  anger  of  the  Lord^ 

1  God  is  as  well  all  hand  to  puni  sh,  as  he  is  all  grace  to  pardon. 

2  Valerius  [Max.]  lib.  v.  cap.  5  [§  3].  [Rather  Zaleucus.  Besides  Val.  Max.,  see 
Aelian,  V.  H.  xiii.  24. — G.]         8  A  mere  scare-crow,  to  threaten  without  accomplishing. 

4  Read  Isa.  xxii.  12-15,  and  Ezek.  xxiv.  11-14. 
VOL.  I.  S 


274?  APPLES  OF  GOLD.  [1  KlNGS  XIV.  13. 

and  his  jealousy,  shall  smoke  against  that  man,  and  all  the  curses  that 
are  written  in  this  book  shall  lie  upon  him,  and  the  Lord  shall  blot  out 
his  name  from  under  heaven/  In  these  words  you  may  observe,  that 
God  is  absolute  in  his  threatening,  to  shew  that  he  will  be  resolute  in 
punishing:1  Ps.  xi.  5,  6,  'The  wicked,  and  him  that  loveth  iniquity, 
doth  his  soul  hate.  Upon  the  wicked  he  shall  rain  snares,  fire  and 
brimstone,  and  an  horrible  tempest :  this  shall  be  the  portion  of  their 
cup.' 

Ah  !  that  all  poor  sinners  would  make  these  two  scriptures  their  com- 
panions, their  constant  bed-fellows,  till  they  are  got  above  that  sad 
temptation  of  turning  the  mercy  of  God  into  an  encouragement  to  sin. 
Whilst  Milo  Crotoniates  was  tearing  asunder  the  stock  of  an  oak, 
his  strength  failing  him, — the  cleft  suddenly  closing, — was  held  so  fast 
by  the  hands,  that  he  became  a  prey  to  the  beasts  of  the  field.2  All  the 
abusers  of  mercy  will  certainly  and  suddenly  become  a  prey  to  the 
justice  of  God,  that  will  rend  and  tear  them  in  pieces,  as  the  Psalmist 
speaks :  Ps.  1.  22,  '  Woe,  woe,  to  that  soul  that  fights  against  God  with 
his  own  mercies ;'  that  will  be  bad,  because  he  is  good ;  that  will  be 
sinful,  because  he  is  merciful ;  that  will  turn  all  the  kindness  of  God, 
that  should  be  as  so  many  silver  cords,  to  tie  him  to  love  and  obedience, 
into  arrows,  and  to  shoot  them  back  into  the  heart  of  God.  Abused 
mercy  will  at'last  turn  into  a  lion,  a  fierce  lion ;  and  then  woe  to  the 
abusers  and  despisers  of  it !     But, 

3.  Thirdly,  In  answer  to  that  part  of  the  objection  concerning  the 
thief  on  the  cross,  I  offer  these  things  briefly  to  your  thoughts. 

(1.)  First,  That  as  one  was  saved  to  teach  sinners  not  to  despair,  so 
another  was  damned  to  teach  them  not  to  presume.3 

A  pardon  is  sometimes  given  to  one  upon  the  gallows,  but  whoso 
trusts  to  that,  the  rope  may  be  his  hire.  It  is  not  good,  saith  one,  to 
put  it  upon  the  psalm  of  miserere,  and  the  neck-verse,4  for  sometimes 
he  proves  no  clerk,  and  so  hangs  for  it. 

(2.)  Secondly,  It  is  an  example  tvithout  a  promise.  Here  is  an 
example  of  late  repentance,  but  where  is  there  a  promise  of  late  repent- 
ance ? 

Oh  !  let  not  his  late  and  sudden  conversion  be  to  thee  a  temptation, 
till  thou  hast  found  a  promise  for  late  and  sudden  conversion.  It  is 
not  examples,  but  promises,  that  are  foundations  for  faith  to  rest  on, 
He  that  walks  by  an  example  of  mercy  without  a  precept  to  guide  him, 
and  a  promise  to  support  him,  walks  but  by  a  dark  lanthora,  that  will 
deceive  him.  Well !  young  man,  remember  this,  examples  of  mercy 
increase  wrath,  when  the  heart  is  not  bettered  by  them.     But, 

(3).  Thirdly,  This  was  a  rare  miracle  of  mercy,  with  the  glory 
whereof  Christ  did  honour  the  ignominy  of  his  cross,  and  therefore 
we  may  as  well  look  for  another  crucifying  of  Christ  as  look  for  a 
sinner's  conversion,  when  he  hath  scarce  time  enough  to  reckon  up  all 
those  particular  duties  which  make  up  the  integrity  of  its  constitution. 
But, 

1  A  lover  of  iniquity  is  a  liver  in  iniquity  upon  choice. 

2  For  above  incident  see  Diod.  xii.  9  ;  Paus.  vi.  14,  §  5-8,  &c,  &c. — G. 
8  Exemplum  latronis  servati  est  admirandum,  7ion  imitandum. 

*  On  the  '  neck-verse  '  see  our  Noto  iu  Sibbes's  Works,  vol.  v.  page  408. — G. 


1  Kings  XIV.  13.]  apples  of  gold.  275 

(4).  Fourthly,  T  answer,  This  thief  knew  not  Christ  before;  he  had 
not  refused,  neglected,  nor  slighted  Christ  before.  The  sermon  on  the 
cross  was  the  first  sermon  that  ever  he  heard  Christ  preach,  and  Christ's 
prayer  on  the  cross  was  the  first  prayer  that  ever  he  heard  Christ  make. 
He  knew  not  Christ  till  he  met  him  on  the  cross,  which  proved  to  him  a 
happy  meeting.  His  case  was  as  if  a  Turk  or  a  heathen  should  now  be 
converted  to  the  faith  ;  and  therefore  thou  hast  little  reason,  O  young- 
man,  to  plead  this  example  to  keep  Christ  and  thy  soul  asunder,  who 
art  every  day  under  the  call,  the  entreaties,  and  wooings  of  Christ.    But, 

(5).  Fifthly,  and  lastly,  I  answer,  The  circumstances  of  time  and 
'place  are  rightly  to  be  considered.  Now  when  Christ  was  triumphing 
on  the  cross  over  sin,  Satan,  and  the  world ;  when  he  had  made  the  devils 
a  public  spectacle  of  scorn  and  derision  ;  when  he  was  taking  his  leave 
of  the  world  and  entering  into  his  glory ;  now  he  puts  a  pardon  into  the 
thief's  hand,  and  crowds  other  favours  and  kindnesses  upon  him. 

As  in  the  Roman  triumphs,  the  victor  being  ascended  up  to  the 
capitol  in  a  chariot  of  state,  used  to  cast  certain  pieces  of  coin  among 
the  people  for  them  to  pick  up,  which  he  used  not  to  do  at  other  times  ; 
so  our  Lord  Jesus  Christ,  in  the  day  of  his  triumph  and  solemn  in- 
auguration into  his  heavenly  kingdom,  scatters  some  heavenly  jewels 
that  this  thief  might  pick  up,  which  he  doth  not,  nor  will  not  do  every 
day.  Or,  as  in  these  days  it  is  usual  with  princes  to  save  some  notori- 
ous malefactors  at  their  coronations  when  they  enter  upon  their  king- 
doms in  triumph,  which  they  do  not  use  to  do  afterwards,  so  did  Jesus 
Christ  carry  it  toward  this  thief.  But  this  is  not  his  ordinary  way  of 
saving  and  bringing  souls  to  glory  ;  and  therefore  do  not,  O  young  man  ! 
let  not  the  thief's  late  conversion  prove  a  temptation  or  an  occasion  of 
thy  delaying  thy  repentance,  and  trifling  away  the  primrose  of  thy  days 
in  vanity  and  folly.  And  this  much  may  suffice  to  have  spoken  by  way 
of  answer  to  the  young  man's  objections.  I  shall  now  speak  a  few 
words  to  old  men,  and  so  close  up.     Now, 


CHAPTER  IX. 

Is  it  so  commendable,  so  desirable,  and  so  necessary  for  young  men 
to  be  good  betimes,  to  seek  and  serve  the  Lord  in  ••the  spring  and 
morning  of  their  youth,  as  has  been  sufficiently  demonstrated  in  this 
treatise  ?  Oh,  then,  that  I  could  so  woo  aged  persons  as  to  win  them 
who  yet  have  put  off  this  great  work  to  seek  and  serve  the  Lord  before 
their  glass  be  out,  their  sun  set,  and  their  souls  lost  for  ever ! 

Oh,  that  that  counsel  of  the  prophet  might  take  hold  upon  your 
hearts !  '  Give  glory  to  the  Lord  your  God  before  he  cause  darkness, 
and  before  your  feet  stumble,' Jer.  xiii.  16,  through  age  'upon  the 
dark  mountains,  and  while  ye  look  for  light,  he  turn  it  into  the  shadow 
of  death,  and  make  it  gross  darkness.' 

Ay,  but  aged  sinners  may  reply,  Is  there  any  hope,  any  help  for  us  ? 
Is  there  any  probability,  is  there  any  possibility,  that  ever  such  as  we 
are  should  return  and  find  mercy  and  favour  with  the  Lord  ?  We  who 
have  lived  so  long  without  him !  we  that  have  sinned  so  much  against 
him !  we  that  to  this  day  are  strangers  to  him,  yea,  in  arms  against  him ! 


276  APPLES  OF  GOLD.  [1  KlNGS  XIV.  13. 

Is  there  any  hope  that  we  white-headed  sinners,  who  have  withstood  so 
many  thousand  offers  of  grace,  and  so  many  thousand  motions  of  the 
the  Spirit,  and  so  many  thousand  checks  of  conscience,  and  so  many 
thousand  tenders  1  of  Christ  and  heaven,  that  ever  we  should  obtain 
mercy,  that  ever  we  should  have  our  old  hearts  turned,  our  millions  of 
sins  pardoned,  our  vile  natures  changed,  and  poor  souls  saved,  &c. 

1  answer,  That  there  is  hope  even  for  such  as  you  are.  All  the 
angels  in  heaven  and  all  the  men  on  earth  cannot  tell,  but  that  you, 
even  you,  may  obtain  mercy  and  favour,  that  your  souls  die  not.  With 
the  Lord  nothing  is  impossible,  and  for  the  grace  of  the  gospel  nothing 
is  too  hard.  Now  this  I  shall  make  evident  by  an  induction  of  parti- 
culars.    Thus, 

(1.)  Eirst,  All  were  not  called  nor  sent  to  work  in  the  vineyard  at 
the  first  hour  ;  some  were  called  at  the  third  hour,  others  at  the  sixth, 
others  at  the  ninth,  and  some  at  the  eleventh.  God  hath  his  several 
times  of  calling  souls  to  himself.  The  eleventh  hour  was  about  five  in 
the  afternoon,  an  hour  before  sunset ;  when  it  was  even  time  to  leave 
work  ;  and  yet  at  this  hour  some  were  called,  employed,  and  rewarded 
with  the  rest.2 

Some  of  the  fathers,  by  the  several  hours  mentioned  in  this  parable, 
do  understand  the  several  ages  of  man,  viz.,  childhood,  youth,  middle 
age,  and  old  age,  wherein  poor  souls  are  called  and  converted  to  Christ. 
The  scope  of  the  parable  is  to  signify  the  free  grace  of  God  in  the  call- 
ing of  some  in  the  spring  and  morning  of  their  days,  and  in  the  calling 
of  others  in  their  old  age,  in  the  evening  of  their  days.     But, 

(2.)  Secondly,  Abraham  in  the  Old  Testament,  and  Nicodemus  in 
the  New,  were  called  and  converted  in  their  old  age,  when  there  were 
but  a  few  steps  between  them  and  the  grave,  between  them  and  eternity.3 

I  have  read  of  one  Cains  Marius  Victorius,  who  was  an  old  man,  three 
hundred  years  after  the  apostles'  time,  and  had  been  a  pagan  all  his 
days,  and  in  his  old  age  he  inquired  and  hearkened  after  Christ,  and 
said  he  would  be  a  Christian.  Simplicianus  hearing  him  say  so,  would 
not  believe  him,  but  when  the  church  saw  a  work  of  grace  indeed  upon 
him,  there  was  shouting  and  dancing  for  gladness,  and  psalms  were 
sung  in  every  church,  Caius  Marius  Victorius  is  become  a  Christian. 
And  this  was  written  for  a  wonder,  that  he  in  his  old  age,  and  in  his 
grey  hairs,  should  become  a  gracious  Christian. 

Aretius  also  speaks  of  a  certain  man  in  his  time.  It  is  no  feigned 
story,  saith  he,  for  I  saw  the  man  with  my  own  e3Tcs:  he  was  one  that 
had  been  a  most  vile  and  desperate  sinner,  a  drunkard,  a  swearer,  a  wanton, 
a  gamester,  and  so  he  continued  to  his  grey  hairs  ;  but  at  last  it  pleased 
God  to  set  his  sins  in  order  before  him,  and  the  man  was  so  troubled 
in  conscience  that  he  threw  himself  down  upon  the  ground,  calling  unto 
Satan  to  take  him  away,  provoking  Satan  to  take  him  away:  Devil,  take 
thy  own ;  devil,  take  thy  own  ;  I  am  thy  own,  take  thy  own  :  where- 
upon, saith  Aretius,  prayer  was  made  for  him  ;  Christians  prayed,  they 
fasted  and  prayed,  they  prayed  night  and  day;  and  it  pleased  God  at 
last  that  this  poor  aged  sinner  revived,  converted  to  God,  lived  a  godly 
life  afterwards,  and  died  comfortably. 

1  'Offers.' — G.        2  Matt.  xx.  1-17.     The  Roman  penny  was  sevenpence  halfpenny. 
*  Gen.  xii.  4,  John  iii.  1-4,  vii.  60. 


1  Kings  XIV.  13.]  apples  of  gold.  277 

Therefore,  let  not  the  grey-headed  sinner  despair,  though  his  spring 
be  past,  his  summer  overpast,  and  he  arrived  at  the  fall  of  the  leaf 
But, 

(3.)  Thirdly,  Divine  promises  shall  be  made  good  to  returning  souls, 
to  repenting  souls,  to  believing  souls,  be  they  young  or  old.  2  Chron. 
xxx.  9,  '  The  Lord  your  God  is  gracious  and  merciful,  and  will  not  turn 
away  his  face  from  you,  if  you  return  unto  him.'  Joel  ii.  13,  '  And  re'nd 
your  heart,  and  not  your  garments,  and  turn  unto  the  Lord  your  God  ; 
for  he  is  gracious  and  merciful,  slow  to  anger,  and  of  great  kindness, 
and  repenteth  him  of  the  evil.'  Isa.  lv.  7,  '  Let  the  wicked  forsake  his 
way,  and  the  unrighteous  man  his  thoughts  :  and  let  him  return  unto 
the  Lord,  and  he  will  have  mercy  upon  him;  and  to  our  God,  for  he 
will  abundantly  pardon:'  or  he  will  multiply  to  pardon.  More  of  this 
you  may  see  by  reading  of  the  scriptures  in  the  margin.1  All  sorts  of 
sin  shall  be  pardoned  to  all  sorts  of  believing  and  repenting  sinners. 

The  New  Jerusalem  hath  twelve  gates,  to  shew  that  there  is  every 
way  access  for  all  sorts  and  ranks  of  sinners  to  come  to  Christ.  He  was 
born  in  an  inn,  to  shew  that  he  receives  all  comers,  young  and  old,  poor 
and  rich,  &c.     But, 

(4.)  Fourthly,  The  Lord  hath  declared  by  oath  a  greater  delight  in 
the  conversion  and  salvation  of  poor  sinners,  whether  they  are  young 
or  old,  than  in  the  destruction  and  damnation  of  such.  Ezek. 
xxxiii.  11,  'As  I  live,  saith  the  Lord  God,  I  have  no  pleasure  in  the  death 
of  the  wicked;  but  that  the  wicked  turn  from  his  way  and  live:  turn 
ye,  turn  ye  from  your  evil  ways  ;  for  why  will  ye  die,  O  ye  house  of 
Israel  ?'     Two  things  make  a  thing  more  credible. 

[1.]  The  quality  or  dignity  of  the  person  speaking. 

[2.]  The  manner  of  the  speech.  Now  here  you  have  the  great  God,  not 
only  speaking,  promising,  but  solemnly  swearing  that  he  had  rather  poor 
sinners  should  live  than  die,  be  happy  than  miserable ;  therefore,  despair 
not,  O  aged  sinner!  but  return  unto  the  Lord,  and  thou  shalt  be  happy 
for  ever.     But, 

(5.)  Fifthly,  There  is  virtue  enough  in  the  precious  blood  of  Jesus 
Christ,  to  wash  and  cleanse  away  all  sin;2  not  only  to  cleanse  away 
the  young  man's  sins,  but  also  to  cleanse  away  the  old  man's  sins ;  not 
only  to  cleanse  a  sinner  of  twenty  years,  but  to  cleanse  a  sinner  of  fifty, 
sixty,  yea,  a  hundred  years  old  :  1  John  i.  7,  'The  blood  of  Jesus  Christ 
his  Son  cleanseth  us  from  all  sin  ;'  not  simply  from  sin,  but  from  all  sin. 
There  is  such  a  power  and  efficacy  in  the  blood  of  Christ,  as  is  suffi- 
cient to  cleanse  all  sorts  of  sinners  from  all  sorts  of  sins.  There  is  a 
virtue  in  the  blood  of  the  Lamb  to  wash  out  all  the  spots  that  are  in 
the  oldest  sinners'  hearts  ;  and  therefore  let  not  old  sinners  despair,  let 
them  not  say  there  is  no  hope,  there  is  no  help,  as  long  as  this  fountain, 
the  blood  of  Jesus  Christ,  is  open  for  all  sorts  of  sinnei's  to  wash  in.  But, 

(6.)  Sixthly,  The  call  and  invitation  of  Christ  in  the  gospel  are 
general  and  indefinite,  excluding  no  sort  of  sinners.  Rev.  iii.  20, 
'  Behold,  I  stand  at  the  door  and  knock,  if  any  man'  (mark  the  inde- 

1  Isa.  i.  18;  Jer.  iii.  12;  Isa.  xliii.  22-25;  lvii.  17, 18;  Jer.li.  5;  John  iii.  16;  Mark 
xvi.  16. 

*  Una  guttida  phis  valet,  quam  ccelum  et  terra. — Luther,  One  little  drop  is  more  worth 
than  heaven  and  earth. 


278  APPLES  OF  GOLD.  [1  KlNGS  XIV.   13. 

finiteness  of  personal  admittance)  '  hear  my  voice,  and  open  the  door,  I 
will  come  in  to  him,  and  will  sup  with  him,  and  he  with  me.'  Let  the 
sinner  be  old  or  young,  a  green  head,  or  a  grey  head,  if  he  will  but  open 
the  door,  Christ  will  come  in  and  have  communion  and  fellowship  with 
him.  So  in  that  Mat.  xi.  28.  Turn  to  these  scriptures,  Isa.  lv.  1,  John 
vii.  37,  Rev.  xxii.  17,  and  dwell  upon  them  ;  they  all  clearly  evidence 
the  call  and  gracious  invitations  of  Christ  to  be  to  all  sinners,  to  every 
sinner  ;  he  excepts  not  a  man,  no,  though  never  so  old.  Nothing  shall 
hinder  the  sinner,  any  sinner,  the  worst  and  most  aged  sinner,  from  ob- 
taining mercy,  if  he  be  willing  to  open  to  Christ,  and  to  receive  him  as 
his  Lord  and  king,  John  vi.  37.     But, 

(7.)  Seventhly,  Christ's  pathetical  lamentation  over  all  sorts  and 
ranks  of  sinners,  declares  his  willingness  to  shew  mercy  to  them. 
'  O  Jerusalem,  Jerusalem/  saith  Christ,  weeping  over  it,  '  that  thou 
hadst  known  in  this  thy  day  the  things  that  belong  to  thy  peace,'  &c, 
Luke  xix.  41,  42.  'Oh  that  my  people  had  hearkened  unto  me  !'  Ps. 
lxxxi.  1 3.  Christ  weeps  over  Jerusalem ;  so  did  Titus,  and  so  did  Mar- 
cellus  over  Syracuse,  and  so  did  Scipio  over  Carthage  ;  but  they  shed 
tears  for  them  whose  blood  they  were  to  shed  ;  but  Christ  weeps  over 
the  necks  of  those  young  and  old  sinners  who  were  to  shed  his  blood. 
As  a  tender-hearted  father  weeps  over  his  rebellious  children,  when 
neither  smiles  nor  frowns,  neither  counsels  nor  entreaties,  will  win  them, 
or  turn  them  from  their  evil  ways,  so  doth  Jesus  Christ  over  these  re- 
bellious Jews,  upon  whom  nothing  would  work.     But, 

(8.)  Eighthly,  and  lastly,  Though  aged  sinners  have  given  Christ 
many  thousand  denials,  yet  he  hath  not  taken  them,  but  after  all,  and 
in  the  face  of  all  denials,  he  still  re-enforces  his  suit,  and  continues 
to  beseech  them  by  his  Spirit,  by  his  word,  by  his  wounds,  by  his  blood, 
by  his  messengers,  and  by  his  rebukes,  to  turn  home  to  him,  to  embrace 
him,  to  believe  in  him,  and  to  watch  witJo  him,  that  they  may  be  saved 
eternally  by  him.  AH  which  bespeaks  grey-headed  sinners  not  to 
despair,  nor  to  dispute,  but  to  repent,  return,  and  believe,  that  it  may 
go  well  with  them  for  ever.  Consider  seriously  what  hath  been  spoken, 
and  the  Lord  make  you  wise  for  eternity  I1 

1  Ps.  lxv.  1,  2  ;  Rom.  x.  21,  and  1  John  v.  2,  3. 


1  Kings  XIV.  13.]     apples  of  gold.  279 


APPENDIX. 


Agreeably  to  Note  prefixed  to  '  Apples  of  Gold,'  there  is  here  added, 

1.  The  title-page  of  the  original  edition. 

2.  The  original  'Epistle  Dedicatory.' — G. 

APPLES  OF  GOLD 

for  Young  Men, 

AND 

A  Crown  of  Honour 
for  Old  Men : 

OB, 

The  Young  Mans  Work,  and 
the  Old  Mans  Reward. 

DISCOVERED 

In  a  Sermon  (with  enlargements  since) 
Preached  at  Clapham  at  the  interment  of 
the  Corps  of  Mr.  John  Wood,  Mercer ;  and 
Citizen  of  London,  the  13.  oiNovemb.  1656. 

By  THOMAS  BROOKS,  Preacher  of  the 
Gospel  at  Margarets  Fishstreet-hitt. 

But  I  thy  Servant  fear  the  Lord  from  my 
Youth.    1  King.  18.  12. 

The  hoary  head  is  a  crown  of  Glory,  if  it  bee 
found  in  a  way  oj 'righteousness,  Prov.  16.  31. 

LOND02T, 

Printed  by  R.  I.  for  John  Hancock,  to  be  sold 

at  the  first  Shop  in  Popeshead- Alley  next 

to  Corn-hill  neer  the  Exchange.     1657. 


280  APPLES  OF  GOLD.        [I  KlNGS  XIV.  13. 


EPISTLE  DEDICATORY. 

To  his  honoured  and  worthily  esteemed  friends,  Mrs  Susan  Wood  (dis- 
consolate widow  to  the  late  pious  Mr  John  Wood,  deceased),  and 
Mr  John  Arthur  (minister  of  the  gospel  at  Clapham),  and  Mrs 
Dorothy,  his  wife  ;  and  to  Mr  John  Wood,  Esq.  and  Mrs  Mar- 
garet, his  wife  (parents  to  the  late  deceased  gentleman)  ;  and  to 
Mr  John  Humfreys,  Esq.,  and  Mrs  Elizabeth,  his  wife  :  all  grace 
and  peace,  all  consolation  and  supportation  from  God  the  Father, 
and  the  Lord  Jesus  Christ. 

Honoured  and  beloved  in  our  dearest  Lord, 

It  was  your  earnest  desires  and  serious  importunity  that  midwifed 
this  little  treatise  into  the  world.  If  it  do  not  in  all  things  answer  ex- 
pectation, you  know  who  to  thank.  I  look  upon  the  following  discourse 
as  a  comment  upon  his  life  and  death,  who  is  now  entered  upon  a 
blessed  state  of  eternity.  I  confess  your  loss  is  very  very  great ;  yet 
to  prevent  the  breaking  in  of  an  irresistible  torrent  of  sorrow  and  sad- 
ness upon  your  drooping  spirits,  be  pleased  to  consider  these  four 
things  : 

1.  Though  your  loss  be  great,  yet  there  are  six  greater  losses  than 
yours. 

(J.)  First,  The  loss  of  the  soul  is  a  greater  loss  than  the  loss  of  a  hus- 
band, a  child,  a  kinsman,  &c.  The  loss  of  the  soul  is  an  incomparable 
loss,  it  is  an  irreparable  loss,  it  is  an  eternal  loss.  Francis  Xaverius, 
counselled  John  the  Third,  King  of  Portugal,  to  meditate  every  day  a 
quarter  of  an  hour  upon  that  text,  What  shall  it  profit  a  man  to  gain 
the  world,  and  lose  his  soul  ?  Mat.  xvi.  26.  Of  the  sadness  and  great- 
ness of  this  loss,  you  may  read  more  in  the  following  discourse. 

(2.)  Secondly,  The  loss  of  Christ  is  a  loss  infinitely  beyond  the  loss 
of  the  nearest  and  dearest  relations.  This  made  Luther  say,  that  he 
had  rather  live  in  hell  with  Christ,  than  in  heaven  without  him.  He 
is  the  greatest  good,  and  therefore  the  loss  of  him  must  needs  be  the 
greatest  evil,  qui  te  now,  habet  Domive  Deus,  totum perdidit  [Bernard]. 
He  that  hath  not  thee,  and  thy  Christ,  he  hath  lost  all;  for  Christ  is 
all  in  all,  Col.  iii.  11.  John  Ai'dley  professed  to  Bonner,  when  he  told 
him  of  burning,  that  if  he  had  as  many  lives  as  he  had  hairs  on  his 
head,  he  would  lose  them  all  in  the  fire,  before  he  would  lose  his 
Christ.1 

(3.)  Thirdly,  The  loss  of  the  gospel  is  a  greater  loss  than  all  worldly 
comforts.  Eli  bore  up  sweetly  till  the  ark  was  taken,  and  that  news 
broke  both  his  heart  and  neck. 

Luther  would  not  take  all  the  world  for  one  leaf  of  the  Bible  ;  nay,  a 
gracious  heart  that  hath  experienced  the  sweetness  of  the  word,  will  not 
take  all  the  world  for  one  line  of  the  Bible.2  The  tabernacle  was 
covered  over  with  red, — and  the  purple-feathers  tell  us,  they  take  that 
habit  for  the  same  intent, — to  note  that  we  must  defend  the  truth  even 

1  Clarke's  '  Martyrologie,'  as  before,  pages  452,  453. — G. 

*  Si  Veritas  est  causa  discordice,  mori  possum,  tacere  non  possum,  said  Jerome  to  Hel- 
vetius. 


1  Kings  XIV.  13,]  apples  of  gold.  281 

to  the  effusion  of  blood,  and  rather  lose  our  lives  than  lose  the  truth. 
We  must  say,  as  the  Spartan  mother  said  to  her  son,  either  live  in  reli- 
gion, or  die  for  religion.  When  the  gospel  is  lost,  the  glory  of  a  nation 
is  lost ;  yea,  the  glory  of  souls  is  lost. 

(4.)  Fourthly,  The  loss  of  God's  favour  is  a  greater  loss  than  any 
worldly  loss.  If  his  loving-kindness  be  better  than  life,  yea,  than  lives, 
as  the  Hebrew  hath  it,1  then  the  loss  of  it  is  worse  than  death,  yea,  than 
deaths.  Augustine,  upon  that  answer  of  God  to  Moses,  Thou  canst  not 
see  my  face  and  live,  Exod.  xxxiii.  20,  makes  this  quick  and  sweet  reply, 
1  Then,  Lord  !  let  me  die,  that  I  may  see  thy  face.'  It  is  divine  favour 
that  makes  heaven  to  be  heaven,  and  it  is  the  want  of  that  which 
makes  hell  to  be  hell.  A  Christian  that  hath  been  under  the  shinings 
of  God's  face,  had  rather  suffer  death,  yea,  any  death,  yea,  all  deaths, 
than  to  have  the  face  of  God  clouded  and  covered. 

(5.)  Fifthly,  The  loss  of  peace  of  conscience  is  a  greater  loss  than 
any  worldly  loss.  If  you  ask  souls  that  have  experienced  the  sweetness 
of  peace  of  conscience,  but  are  now  under  terrors  and  horrors,  what  is 
the  greatest  loss?  they  will  answer,  loss  of  peace  of  conscience.  If  you 
ask  them  again  what  is  the  saddest  loss?  they  will  answer,  loss  of  peace 
of  conscience :  no  loss  to  this  loss.  Una  guttula  malm  conscientice 
totum  mare,  mundum  gaudii  absorbet  (Luther),  One  drop  of  an  evil 
conscience  swallows  up  the  whole  sea  of  worldly  joy.2 

(6.)  Sixthly,  and  lastly,  The  loss  of  eternity  is  a  greater  loss  than 
any,  than  all  worldly  losses.  No  worldly  loss  is  to  be  mentioned  in  the 
day  wherein  the  loss  of  eternity  is  named.  The  loss  of  eternity  com- 
priseth  all  varieties  of  privative  miseries,  the  loss  of  whatever  we  have 
enjoyed,  and  the  loss  of  whatever  we  might  have  enjoyed  ;  as  God, 
Christ,  the  Comforter,  the  society  of  saints,  angels,  the  treasures  and 
pleasures  that  be  at  his  right  hand.  It  was  a  notable  saying  of  Am- 
brose, Cur  ea  quo3  ad  usum  diulurna  esse  non  possunt,  ad  sujipli- 
cium  diuturna  deposces,  Whj  will  you  make  that  which  cannot  be 
eternal  for  use  be  eternal  for  punishment  ?3  The  loss  of  eternity  is  a 
comprehensive  loss,  a  loss  that  takes  in  all  losses;  and  therefore  no  loss 
to  the  loss  of  a  happy  eternity.  And  thus  you  see,  beloved,  that  though 
your  loss  be  very  great,  yet  there  be  far  greater  losses  than  yours ;  and 
this  should  bear  up  your  spirits  from  fainting  and  sinking  under  this 
sad  dispensation.  Though  I  have  a  will,  yet  I  have  not  skill  to  express 
your  loss  and  your  sorrows  to  the  life.  Sorrows  for  near  and  dear  rela- 
tions are  oftentimes  so  great,  that  they  cannot  be  expressed. 

Psammeticus,  king  of  Egypt,  being  prisoner  to  Cambyses,  king  of 
Persia,  seeing  his  own  daughter  passing  before  him  in  base  array,  being 
sent  to  draw  water,  at  which  sight  his  friends  about  him  wept,  but  him- 
self wept  not ;  presently  after  his  son  was  carried  to  execution  before 
his  face,  neither  did  this  move  him  to  shew  any  passion ;  but  afterwards, 
when  a  friend  of  his  was  to  suffer,  then  he  wept,  and  tare  his  hair,  and 
shewed  great  sorrow.  Being  demanded  the  reason  of  this  his  carriage, 
he  answered  that  the  loss  of  a  friend  might  be  expressed,  but  not  the 
grief  for  the  loss  of  a  child. 

I  have  read  of  a  certain  painter,  who  being  to  express  the  sorrow  of 

1  Ps.  lxiii.  3,  Mehhaiim. 

2  ToLle  conscientiam,  tolle  omnia,  said  the  heathen.  3  Ambrose  in  Luc.  iv.  5. 


2S2  APPLES  OF  GOLD.  [1  KlNGS  XIV.  13. 

a  weeping  father,  and  having  spent  his  skill  before  in  setting  forth  of 
the  passions  and  affections  of  his  children,  he  thought  it  best  to  present 
him  upon  his  table  to  the  beholders'  view  with  his  face  covered,  that  so 
he  might  have  that  grief  to  be  imagined  by  them  which  lie  found  him- 
self unable  to  set  out  to  the  full.1  1  know  I  am  not  able  to  paint  out 
your  grief  and  sorrow  for  your  sad  loss,  yet  having  proved  that  this  your 
loss  is  no  loss  compared  with  the  fore-mentioned  sad  losses,  I  cannot 
but  hope  that  you  will  labour  to  bear  up  like  those  whose  hopes,  whose 
hearts,  whose  treasures  are  in  heaven,  &c. 

2.  Consider  all  outward  losses  may  be  made  up ;  nay,  God  doth 
usually  one  way  or  another  make  up  to  his  people  all  their  outward 
losses.  He  did  so  to  David,  to  Job,  and  many  others  ;  nay,  they  were 
great  gainers  by  their  losses.  And  so  were  the  disciples,  who,  for  the 
loss  of  Christ's  personal  presence,  had  abundance  of  the  Spirit's  in- 
fluence. If  he  takes  away  a  husband,  and  lies  himself  in  his  room,  and 
fills  up  that  relation,  is  not  the  loss  made  up  ?  Will  not  the  light  and 
heat  of  the  sun  make  up  the  loss  of  the  light  and  heat  of  a  twinkling 
star  ?  If  he  take  away  a  son,  and  give  out  more  of  himself,  will  you  not 
say  he  is  better  than  ten  thousand  sons  ?  1  Sam.  i.  8.  If  he  take  away 
your  only  son,  and  give  out  to  you  more  of  his  only  Son,  will  you  not 
say,  that  though  your  loss  be  very  great,  yet  the  great  God  hath  made 
it  up,  by  giving  out  more  of  the  light,  life,  love,  and  glory  of  his  only 
Son  unto  you  ?  If,  in  the  room  of  an  only  son,  God  shall  give  you  a 
name  that  is  better  than  sons  and  daughters,  Isa.  lvi.  5,  will  you  not 
say,  your  loss  is  made  up  with  advantage  1  Hujusmodi  lucri  dulcis 
odor,  the  smell  of  this  gain  is  sweet  to  many.  It  was  an  apt  saying  of 
Tertullian,2  Negotiatio  est  aliquid  amittere  ut  majora  lucreris,  that  is 
right  and  good  merchandise,  when  something  is  parted  with  to  gain 
more.  He  applies  it  to  the  martyrs'  sufferings,  wherein  though  the  flesh 
lost  something,  yet  the  spirit  got  much  more.  Ah  !  dear  friends,  if  your 
fleshly  losses  shall  be  made  up  in  spiritual  advantages,  have  you  any 
cause  to  say,  No  loss  to  our  loss,  no  sorrow  to  our  sorrow  ?  Surely  no. 
When  that  noble  Zedislaus  had  lost  his  hand  in  the  wars  of  the  King  of 
Poland,  the  king  sent  him  a  golden  hand  for  it. 

Ah,  friends  !  if  God  give  you  silver  for  brass,  and  gold  for  iron ;  if  he 
give  you  spirituals  for  temporals,  have  you  not  more  cause  of  rejoicing 
than  of  mourning  ? 

When  Paulinus  Nolanus  his  city,  was  taken  by  the  barbarians,  he 
prayed  thus  to  God  :  Lord !  let  me  not  be  troubled  at  the  loss  of  my  gold, 
silver,  honour,  &c,  for  thou  art  all,  and  much  more  than  all,  these  unto 
me.  There  is  nothing  beyond  remedy  but  the  tears  of  the  damned.  Those 
that  are  in  the  way  to  paradise  should  not  place  themselves  in  the  con- 
dition of  a  little  hell ;  and  they  that  may  or  can  hope  for  that  great  all, 
ought  not  to  be  dejected  for  any  thing. 

3.  Thirdly,  Consider  that  though  your  loss  be  great,  yet  his  gain  is 
greater:  'for him  to  live  was  Christ, and  to  die  was  gain,'  Philip,  i.  21. 
He  hath  exchanged  mortality  for  immortality,  the  society  of  men  for  the 
society  of  angels,  the  sight  of  friends  for  the  sight  of  God,  a  house  made 


1  The  allusion  is  to  Agamemnon,  on  the  sacrifice  of  Iphigenia.— G. 

2  Tertullian,  in  his  hook  to  the  martyrs. 

3  The  sooner  1  die,  the  sooner  I  shall  be  happy,  said  one. 


1  Kings  XIV.  13.]  apples  of  gold.  283 

with  bands  for  one  eternal  in  the  heavens,  the  streams  for  the  fountain, 
an  earthly  father  for  a  heavenly  Father;  a  careful,  loving,  sweet,  suitable, 
tender-hearted,  wise,  yokefellow  for  to  lie  in  the  arms,  the  bosom,  of  a 
loving,  gracious,  tender-hearted  Saviour.  If  you  would  but  eye  more 
his  crown  than  your  own  cross,  his  gain  than  your  own  loss,  you  would 
divinely  quench  the  burning  flame  of  your  passionate  affections.  It  was 
a  good  saying  of  Francisco  Soyit  to  his  adversaries  :  You  deprive  me  of 
this  life,  said  he,  and  promote  me  to  a  better,  which  is  as  if  you  should 
rob  me  of  counters,  and  furnish  me  with  gold.  Your  deceased  relation 
hath  exchanged  his  counters  for  gold,  his  imperfection  for  perfection,  and 
his  earthly  possession  for  a  heavenly  possession. 

4.  Fourthly  and  lastly,  Consider  how  sweetly,  how  wisely,  how  bravely 
others  have  carried  it,  when  the  Lord  hath  passed  the  sentence  of  death 
upon  their  nearest  and  dearest  relations;  read  the  proofs  in  the  margin,1 
and  then  never  leave  pressing  those  golden  examples  upon  your  own 
hearts,  till  they  are  brought  over  sweetly  and  quietly  to  lie  down  in  the 
will  of  God,  and  to  say  amen  to  God's  amen.  When  it  was  told  Anax- 
agoras  that  both  his  sons,  which  was  all  he  had,  were  dead,  he  being 
nothing  terrified  therewith,  answered,  Sciebam  me  genuisse  mortales,  I 
knew  I  begat  mortal  creatures. 

Ah,  friends  !  shall  a  heathen  bear  it  out  thus  bravely,  and  shall  not 
you  much  more  ?  Pulvillus,  another  heathen  [Pet.  Mart.],  when  he  was 
about  to  consecrate  a  temple  to  Jupiter,  and  news  was  brought  to  him 
of  the  death  of  his  son,  desisted  not  from  his  enterprise ;  but  with  a  com- 
posed mind  gave  order  for  decent  burial.  Shall  nature  do  this,  and 
shall  not  grace  do  as  much,  nay,  more  ?  What  a  shame  is  it,  saith 
Jerome,  that  faith  should  not  be  able  to  do  that  which  infidelity  hath 
done !  What !  not  better  fruit  in  the  vineyard,  in  the  garden  of  the 
Lord,  than  in  the  wilderness  ?  What  !  not  better  fruit  grown  upon  the 
tree  of  life  than  upon  the  root  of  nature  ? 

Dear  friends !  since  I  yielded  to  your  desires,  and  set  about  this  work, 
I  begun  to  consider  that  I  had  never  heard  nor  read  of  any  that  had 
treated  on  this  subject ;  also  I  seriously  considered  of  the  usefulness  of 
it,  especially  in  these  times,  wherein  so  many  young  persons  have  their 
faces  towards  Sion;  which  considerations,  with  the  breaking  in  of  God 
upon  me  beyond  my  expectation,  has  occasioned  that  sermon  you  heard 
to  swell  into  a  little  treatise,  which  in  all  love  I  present  unto  you.  The 
very  same  things  that  sounded  in  your  ears  I  here  present  to  your  eyes, 
with  enlargements  and  additions  to  what  I  first  intended.  The  pains 
hath  been  mine  ;  the  profit  that  will  redound  to  you  and  others,  into 
whose  hands  it  may  fall,  I  hope  will  be  such  as  will  turn  to  all  our 
accounts  in  the  day  of  Christ. 

I  have  read  of  an  emperor's  son  who  used  to  say,  The  longer  the  cooks 
are  preparing  the  meat,  the  better  will  be  the  cheer  ;  his  meaning  was, 
the  longer  he  stayed  for  the  empire,  the  greater  it  would  be.  The  longer 
you  have  waited  for  this  discourse,  the  better  I  desire  it  may  prove.  It 
had  been  in  your  hands  long  before  this,  if  others  that  should  have  made 
more  haste  had  not  been  more  to  blame  than  myself ;  yet  I  know  it  is ' 
not  a  child  so  late  born  that  I  need  question  your  fathering  of  it.     And 

1  Lev.  x.  1-3  ;  1  Sata,  iii,  11-19  ;  2  Sam.  xii.  18-25  ;  Job  i.,  the  whole  chapter. 


284-  APPLES  OF  GOLD.        [1  KlNGS  XIV.  13 

now  I  commend  you  all  to  God,  and  to  the  word  of  his  grace,  which  is 
able  to  build  you  up,  and  to  give  you  an  inheritance  among  all  them 
which  are  sanctified,  Acts  xx.  32. 

Your  servant  in  the  work  of  Christ, 

Thomas  Brooks. 


THE  MUTE  CHKISTIAK 


NOTE. 

The  'Muto  Christian'  was  originally  published  in  1659.  A  '2d  '  edition — though  not 
so  designated — was  immediately  called  for,  and  appeared  in  1660.  Thereafter  few  books 
were  more  in  demand,  being  next  to  the  •  Precious  Remedies.'  The  earlier  portion  of 
the  title  (as  in  above  two  editions)  was  '  The  Silent  Soul  with  Sovereign  Antidotes,'  &c. 
Our  text  is  taken  from  '  the  eighth  edition,  corrected,'  collated  with  the  original  and  sub- 
sequent intervening  editions.     Its  title-page  is  given  below.*  G. 


*  THE 

MUTE   CHRISTIAN 

UNDER  THE 

SMARTING  ROD : 

WITH 

SOVEREIGN  ANTIDOTES 

Against  the 

fWost  {Miserable  ©xtgents:1 

OB, 

A  Christian  with  an  ®Hb  e  =  leaf  in 
his  mouth,  when  he  is  under  the  greatest  af- 
flictions, the  sharpest  and  sorest  tryals  and 
troubles,  the  saddest  and  darkest  Providen- 
ces and  Changes,  with  Answers  to  divers 
Questions  and  Objections  that  are  of  great- 
est importance  ;  all  tending  to  win  and  work 
Souls  to  be  still,  quiet,  calm  and  silent  un- 
der all  changes  that  have,  or  may  pass  up- 
on them  in  this  World,  <J-c. 

The  Eighth  Edition,  Corrected. 

By  THOMAS  BROOKS,  late  Preacher  of  the  Word 
at  St.  Margaret  New-Fish-Street,  London. 

The  Lord  is  in  his  Holy  Temple:  Let  all  the  Earth 
keep  silence  before  him,  Hab.  2.  20. 

LONDON,   Printed  for   John  Hancock,  and   are 

to  be  sold  at  the  Three  Bibles,  over  against  the 

Royal  Exchange  in  Cornhill.     1684. 


1  This  is  one  of  the  many  Shakespearian  words,  referred  to  in  our  Preface,  found  in 
Brooks  :  '  Why  do  you  cross  me  in  this  exigent  V — Juliu3  Cassar,  v.  1.  '  When  the 
exigent  should  come.' — Antony  and  Cleopatra,  iv.  12.  Cf.  also  Sibbes's  Works,  vol.  i. 
page  412.— G. 


THE  EPISTLE  DEDICATORY. 


To  all  afflicted  and  distressed,  dissatisfied,  disquieted,  and  discomposed 
Christians  throughout  the  world. 


'•n' 


Dear  Hearts, — The  choicest  saints  are  '  born  to  troubles  as  the  sparks 
fly  upwards/  Job  v.  7. 1  *  Many  are  the  troubles  of  the  righteous  ;'  if 
they  were  many,  and  not  troubles,  then,  as  it  is  in  the  proverb,  the 
more  the  merrier ;  or  if  they  were  troubles  and  not  many,  then  the 
fewer  the  better  cheer.  But  God,  who  is  infinite  in  wisdom  and  match- 
less in  goodness,  hath  ordered  troubles,  yea,  many  troubles  to  come 
trooping  in  upon  us  on  every  side.  As  our  mercies,  so  our  crosses  seldom 
come  single  ;  they  usually  come  treading  one  upon  the  heels  of  another  ; 
they  are  like  April  showers,  no  sooner  is  one  over  but  another  comes. 
And  yet,  Christians,  it  is  mercy,  it  is  rich  mercy,  that  every  affliction  is 
not  an  execution,  that  every  correction  is  not  a  damnation.  The  higher 
the  waters  rise,  the  nearer  Noah's  ark  was  lifted  up  to  heaven  ;  the 
more  thy  afflictions  are  increased,  the  more  thy  heart  shall  be  raised 
heavenward. 

Because  I  would  not  hold  you  too  long  in  the  porch,  I  shall  only  en- 
deavour two  things  :  first,  to  give  you  the  reasons  of  my  appearing  once 
more  in  print ;  and  secondly,  a  little  counsel  and  direction  that  the 
following  tract  may  turn  to  your  soul's  advantage,  which  is  the  white 2- 
that  I  have  in  my  eye.  The  true  reasons  of  my  sending  this  piece  into 
the  world,  such  as  it  is,  are  these  : 

I.  First,  The  afflicting  hand  of  God  hath  been  hard  upon  myself, 
and  upon  my  dearest  relations  in  this  world,  and  upon  many  of  my 
precious  Christian  friends,  whom  I  much  love  and  honour  in  the  Lord, 
which  put  me  upon  studying  of  the  mind  of  God  in  that  scripture  that 
I  have  made  the  subject-matter  of  this  following  discourse.  Luther 
could  not  understand  some  Psalms  till  he  was  afflicted  ;  the  Christ-cross 
is  no  letter  in  the  book,  and  yet,  saith  he,  it  hath  taught  me  more  than 
all  the  letters  in  the  book.  Afflictions  are  a  golden  key  by  which  the 
Lord  opens  the  rich  treasure  of  his  word  to  his  people's  souls  ;  and  this 
in  some  measure,  through  grace,  my  soul  hath  experienced.  When 
Samson  had  found  honey,  he  gave  some  to  his  father  and  mother  to 
eat,  Judges  xiv,  9,  10  ;  some  honey  I  have  found  in  my  following  text ; 

1  Ps.  xxxiv.  19  and  lxxxviii.  3,  4.     Qui  nan  est  Crucianus  non  est  Christianus. — Luther. 
*  The  '  mark. '— G. 


288  EPISTLE  DEDICATORY. 

aud  therefore  I  may  not,  I  cannot  be  such  a  churl  as  not  to  give  them 
some  of  my  honey  to  taste,  who  have  drunk  deep  of  my  gall  and  worm- 
wood.1 Austin  observes  on  that,  Ps.  lxvi.  16,  '  Come  and  hear,  all  ye 
that  fear  God,  and  I  will  declare  what  he  hath  done  for  my  soul.'  '  He 
doth  not  call  them,'  saith  he,  '  to  acquaint  them  with  speculations,  how 
wide  the  earth  is,  how  far  the  heavens  are  stretched  out,  what  the  num- 
ber of  the  stars  is,  or  what  is  the  course  of  the  sun  ;  but  come  and  I 
will  tell  you  the  wonders  of  his  grace,  the  faithfulness  of  his  promises, 
the  riches  of  his  mercy  to  my  soul.'  Gracious  experiences  are  to  be 
communicated.  Lilmod  lelammed,  we  therefore  learn  that  we  may 
teach,  is  a  proverb  among  the  Rabbins.  And  I  do  therefore  '  lay  in  and 
lay  up,'  saith  the  heathen,  that  I  may  draw  forth  again  and  layout  for 
the  good  of  many.  When  God  hath  dealt  bountifully  with  us,  others 
should  reap  some  noble  good  by  us.  The  family,  the  town,  the  city, 
the  country,  where  a  man  lives,  should  fare  the  better  for  his  faring 
well.  Our  mercies  and  experiences  should  be  as  a  running  spring  at 
our  doors,  which  is  not  only  for  our  own  use,  but  also  for  our  neigh- 
bours', yea,  and  for  strangers  too. 

Secondly,  What  is  written  is  permanent ;  litera  scvipta  manet,  and 
spreads  itself  further  by  far,  for  time,  place,  and  persons,  than  the  voice 
can  reach.  The  pen  is  an  artificial  tongue  ;  it  speaks  as  well  to  absent 
as  to  present  friends ;  it  speaks  to  them  afar  off  as  well  as  those  that 
are  near ;  it  speaks  to  many  thousands  at  once  ;  it  speaks  not  only  to 
the  present  age  but  also  to  succeeding  ages.  The  pen  is  a  kind  of 
image  of  eternity  ;  it  will  make  a  man  live  when  he  is  dead,  Heb.  xi.  4. 
Though  '  the  prophets  do  not  live  for  ever,'  yet  their  labours  may, 
Zech.  i.  6.  A  man's  writings  may  preach  when  he  cannot,  when  he 
may  not,  and  when,  by  reason  of  bodily  distempers,  he  dares  not ;  yea, 
and  that  which  is  more,  wheu  he  is  not.2 

Thirdly,  Few  men,  if  any,  have  iron  memories.  How  soon  is  a  ser- 
mon preached  forgotten,  when  a  sermon  written  remains  !  Augustine 
writing  to  Volusian,  saith,  '  That  which  is  written  is  always  at  hand  to 
be  read,  when  the  reader  is  at  leisure.'3  Men  do  not  easily  forget  their 
own  names,  nor  their  father's  house,  nor  the  wives  of  their  bosoms,  nor 
the  fruit  of  their  loins,  nor  to  eat  their  daily  bread  ;  and  yet,  ah  !  how 
easily  do  they  forget  that  word  of  grace,  that  should  be  dearer  to  them 
than  all !  Most  men's  memories,  especially  in  the  great  concernmeuts 
of  their  souls,  are  like  a  sieve  or  boulter,4  where  the  good  corn  and  fine 
flour  goes  through,  but  the  light  chaff  and  coarse  bran  remain  behind  ; 
or  like  a  strainer,  where  the  sweet  liquor  is  strained  out,  but  the  dregs 
left  behind ;  or  like  a  grate5  that  lets  the  pure  water  run  away,  but  if 
there  be  any  straws,  sticks,  mud,  or  filth,  that  it  holds,  as  it  were,  with 
iron  hands.  Most  men's  memories  are  very  treacherous,  especially  in 
good  things;  few  men's  memories  are  a  holy  ark,  a  heavenly  storehouse 
or  magazine  for  their  souls,  and  therefore  they  stand  in  the  more  need 
of  a  written  word.     But, 

Fourthly,  Its  marvellous  suitableness  and  usefulness  under  these 


1  Some  have  accounted  nothing  their  own  that  they  have  not  communicated  to  others. 

'  There  are  here,  as  elsewhere  in  Brooks,  reminiscences  of  Thomas  Adams,  who  was 

a  prime  favourito  of  our  like-minded  author.    See  Works,  vol.  i.  page,  xx — G. 

s  Aug.  Ep.  i.  ad.  Volus.  *  '  Sifter.'— G.  6  '  Grating.'— G. 


EPISTLE  DEDICATORY.  289 

great  turns  and  changes  that  have  passed  upon  us.  As  every  wise  hus- 
bandman observes  the  fittest  seasons  to  sow  his  seed — some  he  sows  in 
the  autumn  and  fall  of  the  leaf,  some  in  the  spring  of  the  year,  some  in 
a  dry  season  and  some  in  a  wet,  some  in  a  moist  clay  and  some  in  a 
sandy  dry  ground,  Isa.  xxviii.  25, — so  every  spiritual  husbandman  must 
observe  the  fittest  times  to  sow  his  spiritual  seed  in.  He  hath  heavenly 
seed  by  him  for  all  occasions  and  seasons,  for  spring  and  fall ;  for  all 
grounds,  heads,  and  hearts.  Now  whether  the  seed  sown  in  the  follow- 
ing treatise  be  not  suitable  to  the  times  and  seasons  wherein  we  are 
cast,  is.  left  to  the  judgment  of  the  prudent  reader  to  determine  ;  if  the 
author  had  thought  otherwise,  this  babe  had  been  stifled  in  the  womb. 

Fifthly,  The  good  acceptance  that  my  other  weak  labours  have 
found.  God  hath  blessed  them,  not  only  to  the  conviction,  the  edifica- 
tion, confirmation,  and  consolation  of  many,  but  also  to  the  conversion 
of  many,  Rom.  xv.  2 1.1  God  is  a  free  agent  to  work  by  what  hand  he 
pleases  ;  and  sometimes  he  takes  pleasure  to  do  great  things  by  weak 
means,  that  '  no  flesh  may  glory  in  his  presence.'  God  will  not  'despise 
the  day  of  small  things  ;'  and  who  or  what  art  thou,  that  darest  despise 
that  day  ?  The  Spirit  breathes  upon  whose  preaching  and  writing  he 
pleases,  and  all  prospers  according  as  that  wind  blows,  John  iii.  8. 

Sixthly,  That  all  afflicted  and  distressed  Christians  may  have  a  pro- 
per salve  for  every  sore,  a  proper  remedy  against  every  disease,  at  hand. 
As  every  good  man,  so  every  good  book  is  not  fit  to  be  the  afflicted 
man's  companion  ;  but  this  is.  Here  he  may  see  his  face,  his  head,  his 
hand,  his  heart,  his  ways,  his  works  ;  here  he  may  see  all  his  diseases 
discovered,  and  proper  remedies  proposed  and  applied  ;  here  he  may 
find  arguments  to  silence  him,  and  means  to  quiet  him,  when  it  is  at 
worst  with  him;  in  every  storm  here  he  may  find  a  tree  to  shelter  him; 
and  in  every  danger,  here  he  may  find  a  city  of  refuge  to  secure  him  ; 
and  in  every  difficulty,  here  he  may  have  a  light  to  guide  him  ;  and  in 
every  peril,  here  he  may  find  a  buckler  to  defend  him ;  a,ud  in  every 
distress,  here  he  may  find  a  cordial  to  strengthen  him  ;  and  in  every 
trouble,  here  he  may  find  a  staff  to  support  him.2 

Seventhly,  To  satisfy  some  bosom  friends,  some  faithful  friends.  Man 
is  made  to  be  a  friend,  and  apt  for  friendly  offices.  He  that  ib  not 
friendly  is  not  worthy  to  have  a  friend,  and  he  that  hath  a  friend,  and 
doth  not  shew  himself  friendly,  is  not  worthy  to  be  accounted  a  man. 
Friendship  is  a  kind  of  life,  without  which  there  is  no  comfort  of  a 
man's  life.  Christian  friendship  ties  such  a  knot  that  great  Alexander 
cannot  cut.3  Summer  friends  I  value  not,  but  winter  friends  are  worth 
their  weight  in  gold  ;  and  who  can  deny  such  anything,  especially  in 
these  days,  wherein  real,  faithful,  constant  friends  are  so  rare  to  be 
found  ?  1  Sam.  xxii.  1-3.  The  friendship  of  most  men  in  these  days  is 
like  Jonah's  gourd,  now  very  promising  and  flourishing,  and  anon  fading 
and  withering ;  it  is  like  some  plants  in  the  water,  which  have  broad 
leaves  on  the  surface  of  the  water,  but  scarce  any  root  at  all;  their 
friendship  is  like  melons,  cold  within,  hot  without;  their  expressions  are 

1  Philip,  i.  15,  xi. ;  1  Cor.  i.  17,  ii.  9. 

2  Prov.  xxv.  11.     That  remedy  is  no  remedy  that  is  not  proper  to  the  disease. 

3  The  '  Gordian  Kuot'  is  alluded  to. — (i. 

VOL.  I.  T 


290  EPISTLE  DEDICATORY. 

high,  but  their  affections  are  low  ;  they  speak  much,  but  do  little.1  As 
drums,  and  trumpets,  and  ensigns  in  a  battle  make  a  great  noise  and  a 
fine  show,  but  act  nothing,  so  these  counterfeit  friends  will  compliment 
highly,  bow  handsomely,  speak  plausibly,  and  promise  lustily,  and  yet 
have  neither  a  hand  nor  heart  to  act  anything  cordially  or  faithfully. 
From  such  friends  it  is  a  mercy  to  be  delivered,  and  therefore  king 
Antigonus  was  wont  to  pray  to  God  that  he  would  protect  him  from  his 
friends;  and  when  one  of  his  council  asked  him  why  he  prayed  so,  he 
returned  this  answer,  Every  man  will  shun  and  defend  himself  against 
his  professed  enemies,  but  from  our  professed  or  pretended  friends,  of 
whom  few  are  faithful,  none  can  safe-guard  himself,  but  hath  need  of 
protection  from  heaven.  But  for  all  this,  there  are  some  that  are  real 
friends,  faithful  friends,  active  friends,  winter  friends,  bosom  friends, 
fast  friends  ;  and  for  their  sakes,  especially  those  among  them  that  have 
been  long,  very  long,  under  the  smarting  rod,  and  in  the  fiery  furnace, 
and  that  have  been  often  poured  from  vessel  to  vessel,  have  I  once 
more  appeared  in  print  to  the  world. 

Eighthly  and  lastly,  There  hath  not  any  authors  or  author  come  to 
my  hand,  that  hath  handled  this  subject  as  I  have  done  ;  and  therefore  I 
do  not  know  but  it  may  be  the  more  grateful  and  acceptable  to  the  world  ; 
and  if  by  this  essay  others  that  are  more  able  shall  be  provoked  to  do 
more  worthily  upon  this  subject,  I  shall  therein  rejoice,  1  Thes.  i.  7,  8, 
1  Cor.  ix.  1,  2.  I  shall  only  add,  that  though  much  of  the  following 
matter  was  preached  upon  the  Lord's  visitation  of  my  dear  yoke-fellow, 
myself,  and  some  other  friends,  yet  there  are  many  things  of  special 
concernment  in  the  following  tract,  that  yet  I  have  not  upon  any 
accounts  communicated  to  the  world.  And  thus  I  have  given  you  a 
true  and  faithful  account  of  the  reasons  that  have  prevailed  with  me  to 
publish  this  treatise  to  the  world,  and  to  dedicate  it  to  yourselves. 

II.  Secondly,  The  second  thing  promised  was,  the  giving  of  you  a 
little  good  counsel,  that  you  may  so  read  the  following  discourse,  as  that 
it  may  turn  much  to  your  soul's  advantage  ;  for,  as  many  fish  ami  catch 
nothing,  Luke  v.  5,  so  many  read  good  books  and  get  nothing,  because 
they  read  them  over  cursorily,  slightly,  superficially  ;  but  he  that  would 
read  to  profit,  must  then, 

First,  Read  and  look  up  for  a  blessing  :  '  Paul  may  plant,  and 
A  polios  may  water,'  but  all  will  be  to  no  purpose,  except  '  the  Lord 
give  the  increase,'  1  Cor.  iii.  6,  7.  God  must  do  the  deed,  when  all  is 
done,  or  else  all  that  is  done  will  do  you  no  good.  If  you  would  have 
this  work  successful  and  effectual,  you  must  look  off  from  man  and  look 
up  to  God,  who  alone  can  make  it  a  blessing  to  you.  As  without  a 
blessing  from  heaven,  thy  clothes  cannot  warm  thee,  nor  thy  food 
nourish  thee,  nor  physic  cure  thee,  nor  friends  comfort  thee,  Micah 
vi.  14  ;  so  without  a  blessing  from  heaven,  without  the  precious  breath- 
ings and  influences  of  the  Spirit,  what  here  is  done  will  do  you  no  good, 
it  will  not  turn  to  your  account  in  the  day  of  Christ ;  and  therefore  cast 
an  eye  heavenwards,  Haggai  i.  6.  It  is  Seneca's  observation,  that  the 
husbandmen  in  Egypt  never  look  up  to  heaven  for  rain  in  the  time  of 
drought,  but  look  after  the  overflowing  of  the  banks  of  Nilus,  as  the 

1  0  my  friends.  I  have  never  a  friend,   said  Socrates.     A  friend  is  a  very  mutable 
creature,  suitli  l'luto. 


EPISTLE  DEDICATORY.  291 

only  cause  of  their  plenty.  Ah,  how  many  are  there  in  these  days,  who, 
when  they  go  to  read  a  book,  never  look  up,  never  look  after  the  rain 
of  God's  blessing,  but  only  look  to  the  river  Nilus ;  they  only  look  to 
the  wit,  the  learning,  the  arts,  the  parts,  the  eloquence,  &c,  of  the 
author,  they  never  look  so  high  as  heaven ;  and  hence  it  comes  to  pass, 
that  though  these  read  much,  yet  they  profit  little. 

Secondly,  He  that  would  read  to  profit  must  read  and  meditate. 
Meditation  is  the  food  of  your  souls,  it  is  the  very  stomach  and  natural 
heat  whereby  spiritual  truths  are  digested.  A  man  shall  as  soon  live 
without  his  heart,  as  he  shall  be  able  to  get  good  by  what  he  reads, 
without  meditation.  Prayer,  saith  Bernard,  without  meditation,  is  dry 
and  formal,  and  reading  without  meditation  is  useless  and  unprofitable.1 
He  that  would  be  a  wise,  a  prudent,  and  an  able  experienced  statesman, 
must  not  hastily  ramble  and  run  over  many  cities,  countries,  customs, 
laws,  and  manners  of  people,  without  serious  musing  and  pondering 
upon  such  things  as  may  make  him  an  expert  statesman  ;  so  he  that 
would  get  good  by  reading,  that  would  complete  his  knowledge,  and 
perfect  his  experience  in  spiritual  things,  must  not  slightly  and  hastily 
ramble  and  run  over  this  book  or  that,  but  ponder  upon  what  he  reads, 
as  Mary  pondered  the  saying  of  the  angel  in  her  heart.  Lord !  saith 
Austin,  the  more  I  meditate  on  thee,  the  sweeter  thou  art  to  me  ;  so 
the  more  you  shall  meditate  on  the  following  matter,  the  sweeter  it 
will  be  to  you.  They  usually  thrive  best  who  meditate  most.  Medi- 
tation is  a  soul-fattening  duty ;  it  is  a  grace-strengthening  duty,  it  is  a 
duty-crowning  duty.  Gerson  calls  meditation  the  nurse  of  prayer  ; 
Jerome  calls  it  his  paradise  ;  Basil  calls  it  the  treasury  where  all  the 
graces  are  locked  up  ;  Theophylact  calls  it  the  very  gate  and  portal  by 
which  we  enter  into  glory ;  and  Aristotle,  though  a  heathen,  placeth 
felicity  in  the  contemplation  of  the  mind.  You  may  read  much  and 
hear  much,  yet  without  meditation  you  will  never  be  excellent,  you  will 
never  be  eminent  Christians. 

Thirdly,  Read,  and  try  what  thou  readest ;  take  nothing  upon  trust, 
but  all  upon  trial,  as  those  'noble  Bereans'  did,  Acts  xvii.  10,  11. 
You  will  try  and  tell2  and  weigh  gold,  though  it  be  handed  to  you  by 
your  fathers  ;  and  so  should  you  all  those  heavenly  truths  that  are 
handed  to  you  by  your  spiritual  fathers.  I  hope  upon  trial  you  will 
find  nothing  but  what  will  hold  weight  in  the  balance  of  the  sanctuary  ; 
and  though  all  be  not  gold  that  glisters,  yet  I  judge  that  you  will  find 
nothing  here  to  glister,  that  will  not  be  found  upon  trial  to  be  true 
gold. 

Fourthly,  Read  and  do,  read  and  practise  what  you  read,  or  else  all 
your  reading  will  do  you  no  good.  He  that  hath  a  good  book  in  his 
hand,  but  not  a  lesson  of  it  in  his  heart  or  life,  is  like  that  ass  that 
carrieth  burdens,  and  feeds  upon  thistles.3  In  divine  account,  a  man 
knows  no  more  than  he  doth.  Profession  without  practice  will  but 
make  a  man  twice  told  a  child  of  darkness  ;  to  speak  well  is  to  sound 
like  a  cymbal,  but  to  do  well  is  to  act  like  an  angel  [Isidore].     He 

1  Animse  viaticum  est  meditatio. — Bernard.  Lectio  sine  meditatione  arida  est,  raedi- 
tatio  sine  lectione  erronea  est ;  oratio  sine  meditatione  livida  est. — Augustine. 

2  'Count.'— G. 

3  Augustine,  speaking  of  the  Scripture,  saith,  Verba  vivenda,  non  loquenda. 


202  EPISTLE  DEDICATORY. 

that  practiseth  what  he  reads  and  understands,  God  will  help  him  to 
understand  what  he  understands  not.  There  is  no  fear  of  knowing  too 
much,  though  there  is  much  fear  in  practising  too  little  ;  the  most 
doing  man  shall  be  the  most  knowing  man  ;  the  mightiest  man  in  prac- 
tice will  in  the  end  prove  the  mightiest  man  in  Scripture,  John  vii. 
16,  17,  Ps.  cxix.  98-100.  Theory  is  the  guide  of  practice,  and  practice 
is  the  life  of  theory.  Salvian  relates  how  the  heathen  did  reproach 
some  Christians,  who  by  their  lewd  lives  made  the  gospel  of  Christ  to 
be  a  reproach.  '  Where,'  said  they,  '  is  that  good  law  which  they  do 
believe?  Where  are  those  rules  of  godliness  which  they  do  learn  ? 
They  read  the  holy  gospel,  and  yet  are  unclean ;  they  read  the  apostles' 
writings,  and  yet  live  in  drunkenness  ;  they  follow  Christ,  and  yet  dis- 
obey Christ  ;  they  profess  a  holy  law,  and  yet  do  lead  impure  lives.'1 
Ah  !  how  may  many  preachers  take  up  sad  complaints  against  many 
readers  in  these  days !  They  read  our  works,  and  yet  in  their  lives 
they  deny  our  works  ;  they  praise  our  works,  and  yet  in  their  conver- 
sations they  reproach  our  works  ;  they  cry  up  our  labours  in  their  dis- 
courses, and  yet  they  cry  them  down  in  their  practices  :  yet  I  hope 
better  things  of  you  into  whose  hands  this  treatise  shall  fall.2  The 
Samaritan  woman  did  not  fill  her  pitcher  with  water,  that  she  might 
talk  of  it,  but  that  she  might  use  it,  John  iv.  7  ;  and  Rachel  did  not 
desire  the  mandrakes  to  hold  in  her  hand,  but  that  she  might  thereby 
be  the  more  apt  to  bring  forth,  Gen.  xxx.  15.  The  application  is  easy. 
But, 

Fifthly,  Read  and  apply.  Reading  is  but  the  drawing  of  the  bow, 
application  is  the  hitting  of  the  white.3  The  choicest  truths  will  no 
further  profit  you  than  they  are  applied  by  you  ;  you  were  as  good  not  to 
read,  as  not  to  apply  what  you  read.4  No  man  attains  to  health  by 
reading  of  Galen,  or  knowing  Hippocrates,  his  aphorisms,  but  by  the 
practical  application  of  them  ;  all  the  reading  in  the  world  will  never 
make  for  the  health  of  your  souls  except  you  apply  what  you  read. 
The  true  reason  why  many  read  so  much  and  profit  so  little  is,  because 
they  do  not  apply  and  bring  home  what  thev  read  to  their  own  souls. 
But, 

Sixthly,  and  lastly,  Read  and  pray.  He  that  makes  not  conscience 
of  praying  over  what  he  reads,  will  find  little  sweetness  or  profit  in  his 
reading.  No  man  makes  such  earnings  of  his  reading,  as  he  that  prays 
over  what  he  reads.  Luther  professeth  that  he  profited  more  in  the 
knowledge  of  the  Scriptures  by  prayer,  in  a  short  space,  than  by  study 
in  a  longer.  As  John  by  weeping  got  the  sealed  book  open,  so  cer- 
tainly men  would  gain  much  more  than  they  do  by  reading  good  men's 
works,  if  they  would  but  pray  more  over  what  they  read.5  Ah,  Chris- 
tians !  pray  before  you  read,  and  pray  after  you  read,  that  all  may  be 
blessed  and  sanctified  to  you  ;  when  you  have  done  reading,  usually 
close  up  thus  ; — 

So  let  me  live,  so  let  me  die, 
That  1  may  live  eternally. 

1  Salvianus  de  G.  D.  1.  iv. 

■  Seneca  had  rather  he  sick,  than  idle  and  do  nothing.     [Epist.  lvi. — G] 

1  The  '  centre-mark.' — G. 

4  The  plaster  will  not  heal  if  it  he  not  applied. 

'■J  Prayer  is  porta  cccli,  clavis paradisi. 


EPISTLE  DEDICATORY.  293 

And  when  you  are  in  the  mount  for  yourselves,  bear  him  upon  your 
hearts,  who  is  willing  to  'spend  and  be  spent '  for  your  sakes,  for  your 
souls,  2  Cor.  xii.  15.  Oh !  pray  for  me,  that  I  may  more  and  more  be 
under  the  rich  influences  and  glorious  pourings  out  of  the  Spirit ;  that  I 
may  '  be  an  able  minister  of  the  New  Testament,  not  of  the  letter,  but 
of  the  Spirit,'  2  Cor.  iii  6 ;  that  I  may  always  find  an  everlasting  spring 
and  an  overflowing  fountain  within  me,  which  may  alway  make  me 
faithful,  constant,  and  abundant  in  the  work  of  the  Lord ;  and  that  I 
may  live  daily  under  those  inward  teachings  of  the  Spirit,  that  may 
enable  me  to  speak  from  the  heart  to  the  heart,  from  the  conscience  to 
the  conscience,  and  from  experience  to  experience  ;  that  I  may  be  a 
'burning  and  a  shining  light,'  that  everlasting  arms  may  be  still  under 
me  ;  that  whilst  I  live,  I  may  be  serviceable  to  his  glory  and  his  people's 
good  ;  that  no  discouragements  may  discourage  me  in  my  work ;  and 
that  when  my  work  is  done,  I  may  give  up  my  account  with  joy  and 
not  with  grief.  I  shall  follow  these  poor  labours  with  my  weak  prayers, 
that  they  may  contribute  much  to  your  internal  and  eternal  welfare, 
and  so  rest, 

Your  soul's  servant  in  our  dearest  Lord, 

Thomas  Brooks. 


THE  MUTE  CHRISTIAN  UNDER  THE 
SMARTING  ROD. 


/  vjcls  dumb,  I  opened  not  my  mouth ;  because  thou  didst  it. — 
Ps.  XXXIX.  9. 

Not  to  trouble  you  with  a  tedious  preface,  wherein  usually  is  a  flood 
of  words,  and  but  a  drop  of  matter, 

This  psalm  consists  of  two  parts,  the  first  exegetical  or  narrative,  the 
second  eutical1  or  precative.2  1.  Narration  and  prayer  take  up  the 
whole.  In  the  former,  you  have  the  prophet's  disease  discovered  ;  and  in 
the  latter,  the  remedy  applied.  My  text  falls  in  the  latter  part,  where 
you  have  the  way  of  David's  cure,  or  the  means  by  which  his  soul  was 
reduced  to  a  still  and  quiet  temper.  I  shall  give  a  little  light  into  the 
words,  and  then  come  to  the  point  that  I  intend  to  stand  upon. 

'I  was  dumb.'  The  Hebrew  word  *fi»^>N3  from  cha  signifies  to  be  mute, 
tongue-tied,  or  dumb.  The  Hebrew  word  signifies  also  to  bind,  as  well 
as  to  be  mute  and  dumb,  because  they  that  are  dumb  are  as  it  were 
tongue-tied  ;  they  have  their  lips  stitched  and  bound  up.  Ah  !  the  sight 
of  God's  hand  in  the  afflictions  that  was  upon  him,  makes  him  lay  a  law 
of  silence  upon  his  heart  and  tongue.3 

'  I  opened  not  my  mouth,  because  thou  didst  it.'  He  looks  through 
all  secondary  causes  to  the  first  cause,  and  is  silent :  he  sees  a  hand  of 
God  in  all,  and  so  sits  mute  and  quiet.  The  sight  of  God  in  an  affliction 
is  of  an  irresistible  efficacy  to  silence  the  heart,  and  to  stop  the  mouth 
of  a  gracious  man.     In  the  words  you  may  observe  three  things  : 

1.  The  person  speaking,  and  that  is,  David  ;  David  a  king,  David  a 
saint,  David  'a  man  after  God's  own  heart,'  David  a  Christian  ;  ami 
here  we  are  to  look  upon  David,  not  as  a  king,  but  as  a  Christian,  as  a 
man  whose  heart  was  right  with  God. 

2.  The  action  and  carriage  of  David  under  the  hand  of  God,  in 
these  words,  '  I  was  dumb,  and  opened  not  my  mouth.' 

3.  The  reason  of  this  humble  and  sweet  carriage  of  his,  in  these 
words,  '  because  thou  didst  it.'     The  proposition  is  this  : 

1  Sic  :  and  have  collated  all  the  editions.  Qu. — from  the  old  theological  term  ethos 
irifos),  by  which  the  writer  reveals  his  own  disposition  ? — G.    [Or,  Qu.  '  Euchical'? — Ed.] 

■  Supplicatory. — G. 

3  Some  read  it  thus:  '  I  should  have  been  dumb,  and  not  have  opened  my  mouth,' 
according  to  my  first  resolution,  ver.  1,  2. 


PS.  XXXIX.  9.]  THE  MUTE  CHRISTIAN.  295 

JDoct.  That  it  is  the  great  duty  and  concernment  of  gracious  souls 
to  be  mute  and  silent  under  the  greatest  afflictions,  the  saddest  provi- 
dences, and  sharpest  trials  that  they  meet  with  in  this  world. 

For  the  opening  and  clearing  up  of  this  great  and  useful  truth,  1  shall 
inquire, 

First,  What  this  silence  is  that  is  here  pointed  at  in  the  proposition. 

Secondly,  What  a  gracious,  a  holy,  silence  doth  include. 

Thirdly,  What  this  holy  silence  doth  not  include. 

Fourthly,  The  reasons  of  the  point ;  and  then  bring  home  all  by  way 
of  application  to  our  own  souls. 

I.  For  the  first,  What  is  the  silence  here  meant  ?  I  answer,  There  is 
a  sevenfold  silence. 

First,  There  is  a  stoical  silence.  The  stoics  of  old  thought  it  alto- 
gether below  a  man  that  hath  reason  or  understanding  either  to  rejoice 
in  any  good,  or  to  mourn  for  any  evil ;  but  this  stoical  silence  is  such  a 
sinful  insensibleness  as  is  very  provoking  to  a  holy  God,  Isa.  xxvi.  10,  11. 
God  will  make  the  most  insensible  sinner  sensible  either  of  his  hand 
here,  or  of  his  wrath  in  hell.  It  is  a  heathenish  and  a  horrid  sin  to  be 
without  natural  affections,  Rom.  i.  31.  And  of  this  sin  Quintus  Fabius 
Maximus  seems  to  be  foully  guilty,  who,  when  he  heard  that  his  mother 
and  wife,  whom  he  dearly  loved,  were  slain  by  the  fall  of  an  house,  and 
that  his  younger  son,  a  brave,  hopeful  young  man,  died  at  the  same 
time  in  Umbria,  he  never  changed  his  countenance,  but  went  on  with 
the  affairs  of  the  commonwealth  as  if  no  such  calamity  had  befallen 
him.  This  carriage  of  his  spoke  out  more  stupidity  than  patience, 
Job  xxx  vi.  13. 

And  so  Harpalus  was  not  at  all  appalled  when  he  saw  two  of  his  sons 
laid  ready  dressed  in  a  charger,  when  Astyages  had  bid  him  to  supper. 
This  was  a  sottish  insensibleness.  Certainly  if  the  loss  of  a  child  in  the 
house  be  no  more  to  thee  than  the  loss  of  a  chick  in  jhe  yard,  thy  heart 
is  base  and  sordid,  and  thou  mayest  well  expect  some  sore  awakening 
judgment,1  This  age  is  full  of  such  monsters,  who  think  it  below  the 
greatness  and  magnanimity  of  their  spirits  to  be  moved,  affected,  or 
afflicted  with  any  afflictions  that  befall  them.  I  know  none  so  ripe  and 
ready  for  hell  as  these. 

Aristotle  speaks  of  fishes,  that  though  they  have  spears  thrust  into 
their  sides,  yet  they  awake  not.  God  thrusts  many  a  sharp  spear  through 
many  a  sinner's  heart,  and  yet  he  feels  nothing,  he  complains  of  nothing. 
These  men's  souls  will  bleed  to  death.  Seneca,  Epist.  x.,  reports  of 
Senecio  Cornelius,  who  minded  his  body  more  than  his  soul,  and  his 
money  more  than  heaven  ;  when  he  had  all  the  day  long  waited  on  his 
dying  friend,  and  his  friend  was  dead,  he  returns  to  his  house,  sups 
merrily,  comforts  himself  quickly,  goes  to  bed  cheerfully.  His  sorrows 
were  ended,  and  the  time  of  his  mourning  expired  before  his  deceased 
friend  was  interred.  Such  stupidity  is  a  curse  that  many  a  man  lies 
under.  But  this  stoical  silence,  which  is  but  a  sinful  sullenness,  is  not 
the  silence  here  meant. 

Secondly,  There  is  a  politic  silence.     Many  are  silent  out  of  policy. 
Should  they  not  be  silent,  they  should  lay  themselves  more  open  either 
1  Hosea  vii-  9.     Balaam's  ass  reproves  this  dumbness. 


296  THE  MUTE  CHRISTIAN  [Ps.  XXXIX.  9. 

to  tho  rage  and  fury  of  men,  or  else  to  the  plots  and  designs  of  men  ; 
to  prevent  which  they  are  silent,  and  will  lay  their  hands  upon  their 
mouths,  that  others  might  not  lay  their  hands  upon  their  estates,  lives, 
or  liberties  :  '  And  Saul  also  went  home  to  Gibea.li,  and  there  went  with 
him  a  hand  of  men,  whose  hearts  God  had  touched.  But  the  children 
of  Belial  said,  How  shall  this  man  save  us?  and  they  despised  him,  and 
brought  him  no  presents;  but  he  held  his  peace,'  or  was  as  though  he 
had  been  deaf,  1  Sam.  x.  26,  27.  This  new  king  being  but  newly 
entered  upon  his  kingly  government,  and  observing  his  condition  to  be- 
but  mean  and  low,  his  friends  but  few,  and  his  enemies  many  and 
potent,  sons  of  Belial,  i.e.  men  without  yoke,  as  the  word  signifies,  men 
that  were  desperately  wicked,  that  were  marked  out  for  hell,  that  were 
even  incarnate  devils,  who  would  neither  submit  to  reason  nor  religion, 
nor  be  governed  by  the  laws  of  nature  nor  of  nations,  nor  yet  by  the 
laws  of  God:  now  this  young  priuce,  to  prevent  sedition  and  rebellion, 
blood  and  destruction,  prudently  and  politicly  chooses  rather  to  lay  his 
hand  ujion  his  mouth  than  to  take  a  wolf  by  the  ear  or  a  lion  by  the 
beard  ;  wanted  neither  wit  nor  will  to  be  mute  ;  he  turns  a  deaf  ear  to 
all  they  say,  his  unsettled  condition  requiring  silence.1 

Henry  the  Sixth,  emperor  of  Germany,  used  to  say,  Qui  nescit 
tacere,  nescit  loqui,  He  that  knows  not  how  to  be  silent,  knows  not  how 
to  speak.  Saul  knew  this  was  a  time  for  silence  ;  he  knew  his  work 
was  rather  to  be  an  auditor  than  an  orator.  But  this  is  not  the  silence 
the  proposition  speaks  of. 

Thirdly,  There  is  a  foolish  silence.  Some  fools  there  be  that  can 
neither  do  well  nor  speak  well,  and  because  they  cannot  word  it  neither 
as  they  would  nor  as  they  should,  they  are  so  wise  as  to  be  mute  : 
Prov.  xvii.  28,  '  Even  a  fool,  when  he  holds  his  peace,  is  counted  wise, 
and  he  that  shutteth  his  lips  is  esteemed  a  man  of  understanding/  As 
he  cannot  be  wise  that  speaks  much,  so  he  cannot  be  known  for  a  fool 
that  says  nothing.  There  are  many  wise  fools  in  the  world  ;  there  are 
many  silly  fools,  who,  by  holding  their  tongues,  gain  the  credit  and 
honour  of  being  discreet  men.  He  that  doth  not  discover  his  want  of 
wisdom  by  foolish  babbling,  is  accounted  wise,  though  he  may  be  other- 
wise. Silence  is  so  rare  a  virtue,  where  wisdom  doth  regulate  it,  that 
it  is  accounted  a  virtue  where  folly  doth  impose  it.  Silence  was  so 
highly  honoured  among  the  old  Romans,  that  they  erected  altars  to  it. 
That  man  shall  pass  for  a  man  of  understanding,  who  so  far  understands 
himself  as  to  hold  his  tongue.  For  though  it  be  a  great  misery  to  be 
a  fool,  yet  it  is  a  greater  that  a  man  cannot  be  a  fool  but  he  must  needs 
shew  it.     But  this  foolish  silence  is  not  the  silence  here  meant. 

Fourthly,  There  is  a  sullen  silence.  Many,  to  gratify  an  humour,  a 
lust,  are  sullenly  silent;  these  are  troubled  with  a  dumb  devil,  which 
was  the  worst  devil  of  all  the  devils  you  read  of  in  the  Scripture,  Mark 
ix.  17-28.  Pliny,  in  his  Natural  History,  maketh  mention  of  a  certain 
people  in  the  Indies,  upon  the  river  Gauges,  called  Astomy,  that  have 
no  mouth,  but  do  only  feed  upon  the  smell  of  herbs  and  flowers.2     Cer- 

1  Hear,  see,  and  be  6ilent,  if  thou  wilt  live  in  ponce,  is  a  French  proverb. 

2  Lib.  vii.  c.  2.  The  '  Astomi '  are  referred  to,  and  the  chief  '  sni.il  '  supposed  to  be 
their  'food  '  is  that  of  'apples.'  Cf.  also  Lib.  \i.  c.  20.  Both  references  contain  the 
oddest  observations. — G. 


PS.  XXXIX.  9.]  UNDER  THE  SMARTING  ROD.  297 

tainly  there  is  a  generation  amongst  us,  who,  when  they  are  under  the 
afflicting  hand  of  God,  have  no  mouths  to  plead  with  God,  no  lips  to 
praise  God,  nor  no  tongues  to  justify  God.  These  are  possessed  with  a 
dumb  devil ;  and  this  dumb  devil  had  possessed  Ahab  for  a  time  : 
1  Kings  xxi.  4,  'And  Ahab  came  into  his  house,  heavy  and  displeased, 
and  laid  him  down  upon  his  bed,  and  turned  away  his  face,  and  would 
eat  no  bread.'  Ahab's  ambitious  humour,  his  covetous  humour,  being 
crossed,  he  is  resolved  to  starve  himself,  and  to  die  of  the  sullens.  A 
sullen  silence  is  both  a  sin  and  a  punishment.  No  devil  frets  and  vexes, 
wears  and  wastes  the  spirits  of  a  man,  like  this  dumb  devil,  like  this 
sullen  silence. 

Some  write  of  a  certain  devil,  whom  they  call  Hudgin,  who  will  not, 
they  say,  hurt  anybody,  except  he  be  wronged.  I  cannot  speak  so 
favourably  of  a  sullen  silence,  for  that  wrongs  many  at  once,  God  and 
Christ,  bodies  and  soul.     But  this  is  not  the  silence  here  meant. 

Fifthly,  There  is  a  forced  silence.  Many  are  silent  per  force.  He 
that  is  under  the  power  of  his  enemy,  though  he  suffer  many  hard 
things,  yet  he  is  silent  under  his  sufferings,  because  he  knows  he  is 
liable  to  worse  ;  he  that  hath  taken  away  his  liberty,  may  take  away 
his  life  ;  he  that  hath  taken  away  his  money,  may  take  off  his  head  ; 
he  that  hath  let  him  blood  in  the  foot,  may  let  him  blood  in  the  throat 
if  he  will  not  be  still  and  quiet  :  and  this  works  silence  per  force.  So, 
when  many  are  under  the  afflicting  hand  of  God,  conscience  tells  them 
that  now  they  are  under  the  hand  of  an  enemy,  and  the  power  of  that 
God  whom  they  have  dishonoured,  whose  Son  they  have  crucified,  whose 
Spirit  they  have  grieved,  whose  righteous  laws  they  have  transgressed, 
whose  ordinances  they  have  despised,  and  whose  people  they  have 
abused  and  opposed  ;  and  that  he  that  hath  taken  away  one  child,  may 
take  away  every  child  ;  and  he  that  hath  taken  away  the  wife,  might 
have  taken  away  the  husband  ;  and  he  that  hath  taken  away  some 
part  of  the  estate,  might  have  taken  away  all  the  estate  ;  and  that  he 
who  hath  inflicted  some  distempers  upon  the  body,  might  have  cast 
both  body  and  soul  into  hell-fire  for  ever  ;  and  he  that  hath  shut  him 
up  in  his  chamber,  may  shut  him  out  of  heaven  at  pleasure.  The 
thoughts  and  sense  of  these  things  makes  many  a  sinner  silent  under 
the  hand  of  God  ;  but  this  is  but  a  forced  silence.1  And  such  was  the 
silence  of  Philip  the  Second,  king  of  Spain,  who,  when  his  invincible 
Armada,  that  had  been  three  years  a-fitting,  was  lost,  he  gave  command 
that  all  over  Spain  they  should  give  thanks  to  God  and  the  saints  that 
it  was  no  more  grievous.  As  the  cudgel  forces  the  dog  to  be  quiet  and 
still,  and  the  rod  forces  the  child  to  be  silent  and  mute,  so  the  appre- 
hensions of  what  God  hath  done,  and  of  what  God  may  do,  forces  many 
a  soul  to  be  silent,  Jer.  iii.  10,  1  Kings  xiv.  5-18.  But  this  is  not  the 
silence  here  meant :  a  forced  silence  is  no  silence  in  the  eye  of  God. 

Sixthly,  There  is  a  despairing  silence.  A  despairing  soul  is  Magor- 
missabib,  a  terror  to  himself ;  he  hath  a  hell  in  his  heart,  and  horror  in 
his  conscience.  He  looks  upwards,  and  there  he  beholds  God  frowning, 
and  Christ  bleeding ;  he  looks  inwards,  and  there  he  finds  conscience 
accusing  and  condemning  of  him;2  he  looks  on  the  one  side  of  him,  and 

1  Ocnlos  quos  peccatttm  cluudit,  poena  aperit. — Gregory,  The  eye  that  sin  shuts,  afflic- 
tion opens.  s  Psalm  xciv.  7  ;  xxviii.  1. 


298  THE  MUTE  CHRISTIAN  [Ps.  XXXIX.  9. 

there  he  hears  all  his  sins  crying  out,  We  are  thine,  and  we  will  follow 
thee  ;  we  will  to  the  grave  with  thee,  we  will  to  judgment  with  thee, 
and  from  judgment  we  will  to  hell  with  thee  ;  he  looks  on  the  other 
side  of  him,  and  there  he  sees  infernal  fiends  in  fearful  shapes,  amazing 
and  terrifying  of  him,  and  waiting  to  receive  his  despairing  soul  as 
soon  as  she  shall  take  her  leave  of  his  wretched  body  ;  he  looks  above 
him,  and  there  he  sees  the  gates  of  heaven  shut  against  him  ;  he  looks 
beneath  him,  and  there  he  sees  hell  gaping  for  him  ;  and  under  these 
sad  sights,  he  is  full  of  secret  conclusions  against  his  own  soul.  There 
is  mercy  for  others,  saith  the  despairing  soul,  but  none  for  me  ;  grace 
and  favour  for  others,  but  none  for  me  ;  pardon  and  peace  for  others, 
but  none  for  me  ;  blessedness  and  happiness  for  others,  but  none  for  me: 
there  is  no  help,  there  is  no  help,  no,  Jer.  ii.  25,  xviii.  12.  This  seems 
to  be  his  case  who  died  with  this  desperate  saying  in  his  mouth,  Spes  et 
fortuna  valete,  farewell,  life  and  hope  together.1  Now,  under  these 
dismal  apprehensions  and  sad  conclusions  about  its  present  and  future 
condition,  the  despairing  soul  sits  silent,  being  filled  with  amazement 
and  astonishment :  Ps.  lxxvii.  4,  '  I  am  so  troubled  that  I  cannot 
speak.'     But  this  is  not  the  silence  here  meant.     But, 

Seventhly  and  lastly,  There  is  a  prudent  silence,  a  holy,  a  gracious 
silence;  a  silence  that  springs  from  prudent  principles,  from  holy  prin- 
ciples, and  from  gracious  causes  and  considerations  ;  and  this  is  the 
silence  here  meant.  And  this  I  shall  fully  discover  in  my  answers  to 
the  second  question,  which  is  this  : 

II.  Quest.  2.  What  doth  a  prudent,  a  gracious,  a  holy  silence  in- 
clude ? 

Ans.  2.  It  includes  and  takes  in  these  eight  things  : 
First,  It  includes  a  sight  of  God,  and  an  acknoivledgment  of  God 
as  the  author  of  all  the  afflictions  that  come  upon  us.  And  this  you 
have  plain  in  the  text :  '  1  was  dumb,  I  opened  not  my  mouth  ;  because 
thou  didst  it.'  The  psalmist  looks  through  secondary  causes  to  the  first 
cause,  and  so  sits  mute  before  the  Lord.  There  is  no  sickness  so  little. 
but  God  hath  a  finger  in  it,  though  it  be  but  the  aching  of  the  little 
finger.  As  the  scribe  is  more  eyed  and  properly  said  to  write,  than  the 
pen;  and  he  that  maketh  and  keepeth  the  clock,  is  more  properly  said 
to  make  it  go  and  strike,  than  the  wheels  and  weights  that  hang  upon 
it;  and  as  every  workman  is  more  eyed  and  properly  said  to  effect  his 
works,  rather  than  the  tools  which  he  useth  as  his  instruments.  So 
the  Lord,  who  is  the  chief  agent  and  mover  in  all  actions,  and  who  hath 
the  greatest  hand  in  all  our  afflictions,  is  more  to  be  eyed  and  owned 
than  any  inferior  or  subordinate  causes  whatsover;2  so  Job,  he  beheld 
God  in  all:  Job  i.  21,  '  The  Lord  gave,  and  the  Lord  hath  taken  away.' 
Had  he  not  seen  God  in  the  affliction,  he  would  have  cried  out:  Oh 
these  wretched  Chaldeans,  they  have  plundered  and  spoiled  me  ;  these 
wicked  Sabeans,  they  have  robbed  and  wronged  me  !  Job  discerns 
God's  commission  in  the  Chaldeans'  and  the  Sabeans'  hands,  and  then 

1  As  that  despairing  pope  said,  the  cross  could  do  him  no  good,  because  he  had  so 
often  sold  it. 

a  In  second  causes,  many  times  a  Christian  may  see  much  envy,  hatred,  malice,  pride, 
&e.  But  in  the  first  cause  he  can  see  nothing  but  grace  and  mercy,  sweetness  and  good- 
ness. 


PS.  XXXIX.  9.]  UNDER  THE  SMARTING  ROD.  299 

lays  his  own  hand  upon  his  mouth.  So  Aaron,  beholding  the  hand  of 
God  in  the  untimely  death  of  his  two  sons,  holds  his  peace,  Lev.  x.  3. 
The  sight  of  God  in  this  sad  stroke  is  a  bridle  both  to  his  mind  and 
mouth,  he  neither  mutters  nor  murmurs.  So  Joseph  saw  the  hand  of 
God  in  his  brethren's  selling  of  him  into  Egypt,  Gen.  xlv.  8,  and  that 
silences  him. 

Men  that  see  not  God  in  an  affliction,  are  easily  cast  into  a  feverish 
fit,  they  will  quickly  be  in  a  flame,  and  when  their  passions  are  up,  and 
their  hearts  on  fire,  they  will  begin  to  be  saucy,  and  make  no  bones  of 
telling  God  to  his  teeth,  that  they  do  well  to  be  angry,  Jonah  iv.  8,  9. 
Such  as  will  not  acknowledge  God  to  be  the  author  of  all  their  afflic- 
tions, will  be  ready  enough  to  fall  in  with  that  mad  principle  of  the 
Manichees,  who  maintained  the  devil  to  be  the  author  of  all  calamities ; 
as  if  there  could  be  any  evil  of  affliction  in  the  city,  and  the  Lord  have 
no  hand  in  it,  Amos  iii.  6.  Such  as  can  see  the  ordering  hand  of  God 
in  all  their  afflictions,  will,  with  David,  lay  their  hands  upon  their 
mouths,  when  the  rod  of  God  is  upon  their  backs,  2  Sam.  xvi.  11,  12. 
If  God's  hand  be  not  seen  in  the  affliction,  the  heart  will  do  nothing 
but  fret  and  rage  under  affliction. 

Secondly,  It  includes  and  takes  in  some  holy,  gracious  apprehen-^ 
sions  of  the  majesty,  sovereignty,  dignity,  authority,  and  presence  of 
that  God  under  whose  afflicting  hand  tve  are:  Hab.  ii.  20,  'But  the 
Lord  is  in  his  holy  temple  :  let  all  the  earth  be  silent/  or  as  the  Hebrew 
reads  it,  '  Be  silent,  all  the  earth,  before  his  face.'  When  God  would 
have  all  the  people  of  the  earth  to  be  hushed,  quiet,  and  silent  before 
him,  he  would  have  them  to  behold  him  in  his  temple,  where  he  sits  in 
state,  in  majesty,  and  glory  :  Zeph.  i.  '  Hold  thy  peace  at  the  presence 
of  the  Lord  God/  Chat  not,  murmur  not,  repine  not,  quarrel  not ; 
whist,  stand  mute,  be  silent,  lay  thy  hand  on  thy  mouth,  when  his  hand 
is  upon  thy  back,  who  is  totus  oculus,  all  eye  to  see,  as  well  as  all  hand 
to  punish.  As  the  eyes  of  a  well-drawn  picture  are  fastened  on  thee 
which  way  soever  thou  turnest,  so  are  the  eyes  of  the  Lord ;  and  there- 
fore thou  hast  cause  to  stand  mute  before  him. 

Thus  Aaron  had  an  eye  to  the  sovereignty  of  God,  and  that  silences 
him.  And  Job  had  an  eye  upon  the  majesty  of  God,  and  that  stills 
him.  And  Eli  had  an  eye  upon  the  authority  and  presence  of  God, 
and  that  quiets  him.1  A  man  never  comes  to  humble  himself,  nor  to 
be  silent  under  the  hand  of  God,  until  he  comes  to  see  the  hand  of  God 
to  be  a  mighty  hand  :  1  Pet.  v.  6,  '  Humble  yourselves  therefore  under 
the  mighty  hand  of  God.'  When  men  look  upon  the  hand  of  God  as  a 
weak  hand,  a  feeble  hand,  a  low  hand,  a  mean  hand,  their  hearts  rise 
against  his  hand.  '  Who  is  the  Lord,'  saith  Pharaoh,  '  that  I  should 
obey  his  voice?'  Exod.  v.  2.  And  until  Pharaoh  came  to  see  the  hand 
of  God,  as  a  mighty  hand,  and  to  feel  it  as  a  mighty  hand,  he  would 
not  let  Israel  go.  When  Tiribazus,  a  noble  Persian,1'  was  arrested,  at 
first  he  drew  out  his  sword  and  defended  himself ;  but  when  they  charged 
him  in  the  king's  name,  and  informed  him  that  they  came  from  the 
king,  and  were  commanded  to  bring  him  to  the  king,  he  yielded  will- 
ingly.    So  when  afflictions  arrest  us,  we  shall  murmur  and  grumble, 

1  Lev.  x.  3  ;  Job  xxxvii.  13,  14  ;  1  Sam.  iii.  11,  19. 
*  The  favourite  of  Artaxerxes  II. — G. 


300  TIIK  MUTE  CHRISTIAN  [Ps.  XXXIX.  9. 

and  struggle,  and  strive  even  to  the  death,  before  we  shall  yield  to  that 
God  that  strikes,  until  we  come  to  see  his  majesty  and  authority,  until 
we  come  to  see  him  as  the  King  of  kings,  and  Lord  of  lords,  Isa.  xxvi. 
11,  12.  It  is  such  a  sight  of  God  as  this,  that  makes  the  heart  to 
stoop  under  his  almighty  hand,  Rev.  i.  5.  The  Tliracians  being  igno- 
rant of  the  dignity  and  majesty  of  God  ;  when  it  thundered  and  light- 
ened, used  to  express  their  madness  and  folly  in  shooting  their  arrows 
against  heaven  threatening-wise.1  As  a  sight  of  his  grace  cheers  the 
soul,  so  a  sight  of  his  greatness  and  glory  silences  the  soul.2     But, 

Thirdly,  A  gracious,  a  prudent  silence,  takes  in  a  holy  quietness  and 
calmness  of  m/i/nd  and  spirit,  under  the  afflicting  hand  of  God.  A 
gracious  silence  shuts  out  all  inward  heats,  murmurings,  fret  tings,  quar- 
relings,  wranglings,  and  boilings  of  heart :  Ps.  lxii.  1,  'Truly  my  soul 
keepeth  silence  unto  God,  or  is  silent  or  still  ;'  that  is,  my  soul  is  quiet 
and  submissive  to  God  ;  all  murmurings  and  repinings,  passions  and 
turbulent  affections,  being  allayed,  tamed,  and  subdued.  This  also  is 
dear  in  the  text  ;  and  in  the  former  instances  of  Aaron,  Eli,  and  Job. 
They  saw  that  it  was  a  Father  that  put  those  bitter  cups  in  their  hands, 
and  love  that  laid  those  heavy  crosses  upon  their  shoulders,  and  grace 
that  put  those  yokes  about  their  necks  ;  and  this  caused  much  quietness 
and  calmness  in  their  spirits.  Marius  bit  in  his  pain  when  the  chirur- 
geon  cut  off  his  leg.3  Some  men,  when  God  cuts  off  this  mercy  and 
that  mercy  from  them,  they  bite  in  their  pain,  they  hide  and  conceal 
their  grief  and  trouble  ;  but  could  you  but  look  into  their  hearts,  you 
will  find  all  in  an  uproar,  all  out  of  order,  all  in  a  flame  ;  and  however 
they  may  seem  to  be  cold  without,  yet  they  are  all  in  a  hot  burning  fever 
within.  Such  a  feverish  fit  David  was  once  in,  Ps.  xxxix.  3.  But  cer- 
tainly a  holy  silence  allays  all  tumults  in  the  mind,  and  makes  a  man 
'  in  patience  to  possess  his  own  soul,'  which,  next  to  his  possession  of 
God,  is  the  choicest  and  sweetest  possession  in  all  the  world,  Luke 
xxi.  19.  The  law  of  silence  is  as  well  upon  that  man's  heart  and  mind, 
as  it  is  upon  his  tongue,  who  is  truly  and  divinely  silent  under  the 
rebuking  hand  of  God.  As  tongue-service  abstracted  from  heart-service 
is  no  service  in  the  account  of  God  ;  so  tongue-silence  abstracted  from 
heart-silence  is  no  silence  in  the  esteem  of  God.  A  man  is  then  gra- 
ciously silent  when  all  is  quiet  within  and  without,  Isa.  xxix.  13,  Mat. 
xv.  8,  9. 

Terpander,4  a  harper  and  a  poet,  was  one  that,  by  the  sweetness  of 
his  verse  and  music,  could  allay  the  tumultuous  motions  of  men's  minds, 
as  David  by  his  harp  did  Saul's.  When  God's  people  are  under  the 
rod,  he  makes  by  his  Spirit  and  word  such  sweet  music  in  their  souls, 
as  allays  all  tumultuous  motions,  passions,  and  perturbations,  Ps.  xciv. 
17-19,  Ps.  cxix.  49,  50,  so  that  they  sit,  Noah-like,  quiet  and  still;  and 
in  peace  possess  their  own  souls. 

Fourthly,  A  prudent,  a  holy  silence,  takes  in  an  humble,  justifying, 
clearing  and  acquitting  of  God  of  all  blame,  rigour  and  injustice,  in 
oil  the  afflictions  lie  brings  upon  us  ;  Ps.  li.  4,  '  That  thou  mayest  be 
justified  when  thou  speakest,  and  be  clear  when  thou  judgest,'  that  is, 

1  Herodotus.  2  Animus  cujusque  est  quisque,  the  raiud  is  the  man. 

3  Query,  M.  Marius,  the  friend  of  Cicero? — G. 
*  Of  Lesbos,  the  father  of  Greek  music. — G. 


PS.  XXXIX.  9.]  UNDER  THE  SMARTING  ROD.  301 

when  thou  correctest.1  God's  judging  his  people  is  God's  correcting  or 
chastening  of  his  people  :  1  Cor.  xi.  32,  '  When  we  are  judged,  we  are 
chastened  of  the  Lord/  David's  great  care,  when  he  was  under  the 
afflicting  hand  of  God,  was  to  clear  the  Lord  of  injustice.  Ah  !  Lord, 
saith  he,  there  is  not  the  least  show,  spot,  stain,  blemish,  or  mixture  of 
injustice,  in  all  the  afflictions  thou  hast  brought  upon  me  ;  I  desire  to 
take  shame  to  myself,  and  to  set  to  my  seal,  that  the  Lord  is  righteous, 
and  that  there  is  no  injustice,  no  cruelty,  nor  no  extremity  in  all  that 
the  Lord  hath  brought  upon  me.'  And  so  in  that  Psalm  cxix.  75,  137, 
he  sweetly  and  readily  subscribes  unto  the  righteousness  of  God  in  those 
sharp  and  smart  afflictions  that  God  exercised  him  with.  '  I  know,  O 
Lord,  that  thy  judgments  are  right,  and  that  thou  in  faithfulness  hast 
afflicted  me.  Righteous  art  thou,  O  Lord,  and  righteous  are  thy  judg- 
ments.' God's  judgments  are  always  just ;  he  never  afflicts  but  in  faith- 
fulness. His  will  is  the  rule  of  justice  ;  and  therefore  a  gracious  soul 
dares  not  cavil  nor  question  his  proceedings.  The  afflicted  soul  knows 
that  a  righteous  God  can  do  nothing  but  that  which  is  righteous  ;  it 
knows  that  God  is  incontrollable,  and  therefore  the  afflicted  man  puts 
his  mouth  in  the  dust,  and  keeps  silence  before  him.  Who  dare  say, 
'  Wherefore  hast  thou  done  so?'  2  Sam.  xvi.  10. 

The  Turks,  when  they  are  cruelly  lashed,  are  compelled  to  return  to 
the  judge  that  commanded  it,  to  kiss  his  hand,  give  him  thanks,  and 
pay  the  officer  that  whipped  them,  and  so  clear  the  judge  and  officer  of 
injustice.  Silently  to  kiss  the  rod,  and  the  hand  that  whips  with  it,  is 
the  noblest  way  of  clearing  the  Lord  of  all  injustice. 

The  Babylonish  captivity  was  the  sorest,  the  heaviest  affliction  that 
ever  God  inflicted  upon  any  people  under  heaven  ;  witness  that 
1  Sam.  xii.,  and  Dan.  ix.  12,  &c.  Yet  under  those  smart  afflictions, 
wisdom  is  justified  of  her  children  :  Neh.  ix.  33,  '  Thou  art  just  in  all 
that  is  brought  upon  us,  for  thou  hast  done  right,  but  we  have  done 
wickedly ;'  Lam.  i.  18,  '  The  Lord  is  righteous,  for  I  have  rebelled  against 
him.'  A  holy  silence  shines  in  nothing  more  than  in  an  humble  justi- 
fying and  clearing  of  God  from  all  that  which  a  corrupt  heart  is  apt 
enough  to  charge  God  with  in  the  day  of  affliction.  God,  in  that  he  is 
good,  can  give  nothing,  nor  do  nothing,  but  that  which  is  good  ;  others 
do  frequently,  he  cannot  possibly,  saith  Luther,  on  Ps.  120th. 

Fifthly,  A  holy  silence  takes  in  gracious,  blessed,  soul-quieting  con- 
clusions about  the  issue  and  event  of  those  afflictions  that  are  upon 
us,  Lam.  iii.  27-34.  In  this  choice  scripture  you  may  observe  these 
five  soul-stilling  conclusions. 

(1.)  First,  and  that  more  generally,  That  they  shall  tvork  for  their 
good  :  ver.  27,  '  It  is  good  for  a  man  that  he  bear  the  yoke  in  his  youth.' 
A  gracious  soul  secretly  concludes,  as  stars  shine  brightest  in  the  night, 
so  God  will  make  my  soul  shine  and  glister  like  gold,  whilst  I  am  in 
this  furnace,  and  when  I  come  out  of  the  furnace  of  affliction  :  Job 
xxiii.  1 0,  '  He  knoweth  the  way  that  I  take  ;  and  when  he  hath  tried 
me,  I  shall  come  forth  as  gold.' 

Surely,  as  the  tasting  of  honey  did  open  Jonathan's  eyes,  so  this 
cross,  this  affliction,  shall  open  mine  eyes  ;  by  this  stroke  I  shall  come 

1  Plato  calls  God  the  liorn  of  plenty,  the  ocean  of  beauty,  without  the  least  spot  of 
injustice. 


302  THE  MUTE  CHRISTIAN  [Ps.  XXXIX.  9. 

to  have  a  clearer  sight  of  my  sins  and  of  myself,  and  a  fuller  sight  of  my 
God,  Job  xxxiii.  27,  28  ;  xl.  4,  5  ;  xlii.  1-7. 

Surely  this  affliction  shall  issue  in  the  purging  away  of  my  dross, 
Isa.  i.  25. 

Surely  as  ploughing  of  the  ground  killeth  the  weeds,  and  harrowing 
breaketh  hard  clods,  so  these  afflictions  shall  kill  my  sins,  and  soften 
my  heart,  Hosea  v.  15,  vi.  1-3. 

Surely  as  the  plaster  draws  out  the  core,  so  the  afflictions  that  are 
ii] i.  m  me  shall  draw  out  the  core  of  pride,  the  core  of  self-love,  the  core 
of  envy,  the  core  of  earthliness,  the  core  of  formality,  the  core  of 
hypocrisy,  Ps.  cxix.  67,  71. 

Surely  by  these  the  Lord  will  crucify  my  heart  more  and  more  to 
the  world,  and  the  world  to  my  heart,  Gal.  vi.  14  ;  Ps.  cxxxi.  1-3. 

Surely  by  these  afflictions  the  Lord  will  hide  pride  from  my  soul, 
Job  xxxiii,  14-21. 

Surely  these  afflictions  are  but  the  Lord's  pruning-knives,  by  which 
he  will  bleed  my  sins,  and  prune  my  heart,  and  make  it  more  fertile 
and  fruitful;  they  are  but  the  Lord's  portion,  by  which  he  will  clear 
me,  and  rid  me  of  those  spiritual  diseases  and  maladies,  which  are  most 
deadly  and  dangerous  to  my  soul. 

Affliction  is  such  a  potion,  as  will  carry  away  all  ill  humours,  better 
than  all  the  benedicta  medicamenta,  as  physicians  call  them,  Zech. 
xiii.  8,  9. 

Surely  these  shall  increase  my  spiritual  experiences,  Rom.  v.  3,  4. 

Surely  by  these  I  shall  be  made  more  partaker  of  God's  holiness, 
Heb.  xii.  10.  As  black  soap  makes  white  clothes,  so  doth  sharp  afflic- 
tions make  holy  hearts. 

Surely  by  these  God  will  communicate  more  of  himself  unto  me, 
Hosea  ii.  14. 

Surely  by  these  afflictions  the  Lord  will  draw  out  my  heart  more  and 
more  to  seek  him,  Isa.  xxvi.  16.  Tatianus  told  the  heathen  Greeks, 
that  when  they  were  sick,  then  they  would  send  for  their  gods  to  be 
with  them  ,J  as  Agamemnon  did  at  the  siege  of  Troy,  send  for  his  ten 
councillors.  Hosea  v.  15,  '  In  their  afflictions  they  will  seek  me  early,' 
or  as  the  Hebrew  hath  it,  'they  will  morning  me  ;'  in  times  of  affliction, 
Christians  will  industriously,  speedily,  early  seek  unto  the  Lord. 

Surely  by  these  trials  and  troubles  the  Lord  will  fix  my  soul  more 
than  ever  upon  the  great  concernments  of  another  world,  John  xiv.  1-3 ; 
Rom.  viii.  17,  18  ;  2  Cor.  iv.  16-18. 

Surely  by  these  afflictions  the  Lord  will  work  in  me  more  tenderness 

and  compassion  towards  those  that  are  afflicted,  Heb.  x.  34,  xiii.  3. 

As  that  Tyrian  queen2  said, 

Evils  have  taught  me  to  hemoan, 
All  that  afflictions  make  to  groan. 

The  Romans  punished  one  that  was  seen  looking  out  at  his  window 
with  a  crown  of  roses  on  his  head,  in  a  time  of  public  calamity. 
Bishop  Bonner  was  full  of  guts,  but  empty  of  bowels  ;  I  am  afraid  this 
age  is  full  of  such  Bonners. 

Surely  these  are  but  God's  love-tokens  :  Rev.  iii.  19,  'As  many  as  I 

1  In  his  u^lt  "EAXrjva.-,  Oratio  adveraus  Grozcos. — Q. 

1  Lido  in  Virgil,  ATtc  ignara  mali,  miseris  luccurrere  disco.  —  Ld. 


PS.  XXXIX.  9.]  UNDER  THE  SMARTING  ROD.  303 

love,  I  rebuke  and  chasten.'  Seneca  persuaded  his  friend  Polybius  to 
bear  his  affliction  quietly,  because  he  was  the  emperor's  favourite,  telling 
him,  that  it  was  not  lawful  for  him  to  complain  whilst  Csesar  was  his 
friend.  So  saith  the  holy  Christian,  O  my  soul !  be  quiet,  be  still ;  all  is 
in  love,  all  is  a  fruit  of  divine  favour.  I  see  honey  upon  the  top  of 
every  twig,  I  see  the  rod  is  but  a  rosemary  branch,  I  have  sugar  with 
my  gall,  and  wine  with  my  wormwood  ;  therefore  be  silent,  O  my  soul! 
and  this  general  conclusion,  that  all  should  be  for  good,  had  this 
blessed  effect  upon  the  church  :  Lam.  iii.  28,  '  He  sitteth  alone,  and 
keepeth  silence,  because  he  hath  borne  it  upon  him.'1 

Afflictions  abase  the  loveliness  of  the  world  without,  that  might 
entice  us  ;  it  abates  the  lustiness  of  the  flesh  within,  which  might  else 
ensnare  us  !  and  it  abates2  the  spirit  in  its  quarrel  against  the  flesh  and 
the  world  ;  by  all  which  it  proves  a  mighty  advantage  unto  us. 

(2.)  Secondly,  TJtey  shall  keep  them  humble  and  low ;  Lam.  iii.  29, 
'  He  putteth  his  mouth  in  the  dust,  if  so  be  there  may  be  hope.'  Some 
say,  that  these  words  are  an  allusion  to  the  manner  of  those  that,  having 
been  conquered  and  subdued,  lay  their  necks  down  at  the  conqueror's 
feet  to  be  trampled  upon,  and  so  lick  up  the  dust  that  is  under  the 
conqueror's  feet.  Others  of  the  learned  looked  upon  the  words  as  an 
allusion  to  poor  petitioners,  who  cast  themselves  down  at  princes'  feet, 
that  they  may  draw  forth  their  pity  and  compassion  towards  them.  As 
I  have  read  of  Aristippus,  who  fell  on  the  ground  before  Dionysius,  and 
kissed  his  feet,  when  he  presented  a  petition  to  him  ;  and  being  asked 
the  reason,  answered,  Aures  habet  in  pedibus,  he  hath  his  ears  in  his 
feet.  Take  it  which  way  you  will,  it  holds  forth  this  to  us,  That  holy 
hearts  will  be  humble  under  the  afflicting  hand  of  God.  When  God's 
rod  is  upon  their  backs,  their  mouths  shall  be  in  the  dust.  A  good 
heart  will  lie  lowest,  when  the  hand  of  God  is  lifted  highest,  Job  xlii. 
1-7  ;  Acts  ix.  1-8. 

(3.)  Thirdly,  The  third  soul-quieting  conclusion  you  have  in  Lam. 
iii.  31,  'For  the  Lord  will  not  cast  off  for  ever  ;'  the  rod  shall  not  always 
lie  upon  the  back  of  the  righteous.  '  At  even-tide,  lo  there  is  trouble, 
but  afore  morning  it  is  gone,'  Isa.  xvii.  13.  As  Athanasius  said  to  his 
friends,  when  they  came  to  bewail  his  misery  and  banishment,  Nubecula 
est,  citb  transibit ;  it  is  but  a  little  cloud,  said  he,  and  it  will  quickly 
be  gone.  There  are  none  of  God's  afflicted  ones,  that  have  not  their 
lucida  intervalla,  their  intermissions,  respites,  breathing-whiles  ;  yea, 
so  small  a  while  doth  the  hand  of  the  Lord  rest  upon  his  people,  that 
Luther  cannot  get  diminutives  enough  to  extenuate  it ;  for  he  calls  it  a 
very  little  little  cross  that  we  bear:  Isa.  xxvi.  20,  'Come,  my  people,  enter 
thou  into  thy  chambers,  and  shut  thy  doors  about  thee :  hide  thyself 
as  it  were  for  a  little  moment  (or  for  a  little  space,  a  little  while),  until 
the  indignation  be  overpast.'  The  indignation  doth  not  transire,  but 
pertransire,  pass,  but  over-pass.  The  sharpness,  shortness,  and  sudden- 
ness of  the  saints'  afflictions,  is  set  forth  by  the  travail  of  a  woman, 
John  xvi.  21,  which  is  sharp,  short,  and  sudden.3 

1  Some  say,  if  a  knife  or  needle  be  touched  with  a  loadstone  of  an  iron  colour,  it  will 
cut  or  enter  into  a  man's  body,  without  any  sense  of  pain  at  all ;  so  will  afflictions  when 
touched  with  the  loadstone  of  divine  love.  2  Qu.  'abets'? — Ed. 

8  A  little  storm,  as  he  said  of  Julian's  persecution,  and  an  eternal  calm  follows. 


30+  Till:  MUTE  CHRISTIAN  [Ps.  XXXIX.  9. 

(4)  Fourthly,  The  fourth  soul-silencing  conclusion  you  have  in 
Lamentations  iii.  32.  '  But  though  he  cause  grief,  yet  will  he  have  com- 
passion, according  to  the  multitude  of  his  mercies/  '  In  wrath  God 
remembers  mercy,'  Hab.  iii.  2.  '  Weeping  may  endure  for  a  night,  but 
joy  conn  ill  in  the  morning/  Ps.  xxx.  5.  Their  mourning  shall  last  but 
till  morning.  God  will  turn  their  winter's  night  into  a  Bummer's  day, 
their  sighing  into  singing,  their  grief  into  gladness,  their  mourning  into 
music,  their  bitter  into  sweet,  their  wilderness  into  a  paradise.  The 
life  of  a  Christian  is  filled  up  with  interchanges  of  sickness  and  health, 
weakness  and  strength,  want  and  wealth,  disgrace  and  honour,  crosses 
and  comforts,  miseries  and  mercies,  joys  and  sorrows,  mirth  and  mourn- 
ing ;  all  honey  would  harm  us,  all  wormwood  would  undo  us  ;  a  com- 
position of  both  is  the  best  way  in  the  world  to  keep  our  souls  in  a 
healthy  constitution.  It  is  best  and  most  for  the  health  of  the  soul 
that  the  south  wind  of  mercy,  and  the  north  wind  of  adversity,  do  both 
blow  upon  it ;  and  though  every  wind  that  blows  shall  blow  good  to 
the  saints,  yet  certainly  their  sins  die  most,  and  their  graces  thrive  best, 
when  they  are  under  the  drying,  nipping  north  wind  of  calamity,  as  well 
as  under  the  warm,  cherishing  south  wind  of  mercy  and  prosperity. 

(5.)  Fifthly,  The  fifth  soul-quieting  conclusion  you  have  in  Lament, 
iii.  33,  '  For  he  doth  not  afflict  willingly  (or  as  the  Hebrew  hath  it, 
•  from  his  heart'),  '  nor  grieve  the  children  of  men.'  The  church  con- 
cludes, that  God's  heart  was  not  in  their  afflictions,  though  his  hand 
was.  He  takes  no  delight  to  afflict  his  children  ;  it  goes  against  the 
hair  and  the  heart;  it  is  a  grief  to  him  to  be  grievous  to  them,  a  pain 
to  him  to  be  punishing  of  them,  a  death  to  him  to  be  striking  of  them  ; 
he  hath  no  will,  no  motion,  no  inclination,  no  disposition,  to  that  work 
of  afflicting  of  his  people  ;  and  therefore  he  calls  it  his  'work,  his  strange 
work/  Isa.  xxviii.  21.  Mercy  and  punishment,  they  flow  from  God,  as 
the  honey  and  the  sting  from  the  bee.  The  bee  yieldeth  honey  of  her 
own  nature,  but  she  doth  not  sting  but  when  she  is  provoked.  He  takes 
delight  in  shewing  of  mercy,  Micah  vii.  18  ;  he  takes  no  pleasure  in 
living  his  people  up  to  adversity,  Hosea  xi.  8.  Mercy  and  kindness 
tloweth  from  him  freely,  naturally  ;  he  is  never  severe,  never  harsh  ;  he 
never  stings,  he  never  terrifies  us,  but  when  he  is  sadly  provoked  by 
us.  God's  hand  sometimes  may  lie  very  hard  upon  his  people,  when 
his  heart,  his  bowels,  at  those  very  times  may  be  yearning  towards  his 
people,  Jer.  xxxi.  18-20.  No  man  can  tell  how  the  heart  of  God 
stands  by  his  hand  ;  his  hand  of  mercy  may  be  open  to  those  against 
whom  his  heart  is  set,  as  you  see  in  the  rich  poor  fool,  and  Dives,  in  the 
Gospel ;  and  his  hand  of  severity  may  lie  hard  upon  those  on  whom  he 
hath  set  his  heart,  as  you  may  see  in  Job  and  Lazarus.  And  thus  you 
see  those  gracious,  blessed,  soul-quieting  conclusions  about  the  issue 
and  event  of  afflictions,  that  a  holy,  a  prudent  silence  doth  include. 

Sixthly,  A  holy,  a  prudent  silence  includes  and  takes  in  a  strict 
charge,  a  solemn  command,  that  conscience  lays  upon  the  soul  to  be 
quiet  and  still.1  Ps.  xxxvii.  7,  '  Rest  in  the  Lord'  (or  as  the  Hebrew 
hath  it,  '  be  silent  to  the  Lord'),  '  and  wait  patiently  for  him.'     I  charge 

1  The  heathen  could  say,  A  recta  c<mscientia  ne  latum  quidem  vnguem  discedendum,  Man 
may  not  depart  an  hair's-breadth  all  his  life;  long  from  the  dictates  of  a  good  conscience. 
[Seneca  in  Kpist.  and  De  Vita  Beita.  -G.] 


Ps.  XXXIX.  9.]  UNDER  THE  SMARTING  ROD.  305 

thee,  O  my  soul,  not  to  mutter,  nor  to  murmur  ;  I  command  thee,  O 
my  soul,  to  be  dumb  and  silent  under  the  afflicting  hand  of  God.  As 
Christ  laid  a  charge,  a  command,  upon  the  boisterous  winds  and  the 
roaring  raging  seas, — Mat.  viii.  26,  '  Be  still ;  and  there  was  a  great 
calm,' — so  conscience  lays  a  charge  upon  the  soul  to  be  quiet  and  still : 
Ps.  xxvii.  14,  '  Wait  on  the  Lord ;  be  of  good  courage,  and  he  shall 
strengthen  thy  heart  :  wait,  I  say,  on  the  Lord.'  Peace,  O  my  soul ! 
be  still,  leave  your  muttering,  leave  your  murmuring,  leave  your  com- 
plaining, leave  your  chafing  and  vexing,  and  lay  your  hand  upon  your 
mouth,  and  be  silent.  Conscience  allays  and  stills  all  the  tumults  and 
uproars  that  be  in  the  soul,  by  such  like  reasonings  as  the  clerk  of 
Ephesus  stilled  that  uproar  :  Acts  xix.  40,  '  For  we  are  in  danger  to  be 
called  in  question  for  this  day's  uproar,  there  being  no  cause  whereby 
we  may  give  an  account  of  this  concourse.'  O  my  soul !  be  quiet,  be 
silent,  else  thou  wilt  one  day  be  called  in  question  for  all  those  inward 
mutterings,  uproars,  and  passions  that  are  in  thee,  seeing  no  sufficient 
cause  can  be  produced  why  you  should  murmur,  quarrel,  or  wrangle, 
under  the  righteous  hand  of  God. 

Seventhly,  A  holy,  a  prudent  silence  includes  a  surrendering,  a 
resigning  up  of  ourselves  to  God,  whilst  we  are  under  his  afflicting 
hand.  The  silent  soul  gives  himself  up  to  God.1  The  secret  language 
of  the  soul  is  this  :  (  Lord,  here  am  I ;  do  with  me  what  thou  pleasest, 
write  upon  me  as  thou  pleasest :  I  give  up  myself  to  be  at  thy  dispose.' 

There  was  a  good  woman,  who,  when  she  was  sick,  being  asked 
whether  she  were  willing  to  live  or  die,  answered,  'Which  God  pleaseth.' 
But,  said  one  that  stood  by,  'If  God  should  refer  it  to  you,. which  should 
you  choose  ?'  '  Truly,'  said  she,  '  if  God  should  refer  it  to  me,  I  would 
even  refer  it  to  him  again.'  This  was  a  soul  worth  gold.  Well !  saith 
a  gracious  soul,  the  ambitious  man  giveth  himself  up  to  his  honours, 
but  I  give  up  myself  unto  thee  ;  the  voluptuous  man  gives  himself  up 
to  his  pleasures,  but  I  give  up  myself  to  thee  ;  the  covetous  man  gives 
himself  up  to  his  bags,  but  I  give  up  myself  to  thee  ;  the  wanton  gives 
himself  up  to  his  minion,  but  I  give  up  myself  to  thee  ;  the  drunkard 
gives  himself  up  to  his  cups,  but  I  give  up  myself  to  thee ;  the  papist 
gives  up  himself  to  his  idols,  but  I  give  myself  to  thee ;  the  Turk 
gives  up  himself  to  his  Mahomet,  but  I  give  up  myself  to  thee ;  the 
heretic  gives  up  himself  to  his  heretical  opinions,  but  I  give  up  myself 
to  thee.  Lord  \  lay  what  burden  thou  wilt  upon  me,  only  let  thy  ever- 
lasting arms  be  under  me  [Luther].  Strike,  Lord,  strike,  and  spare  not, 
for  I  am  lain  down  in  thy  will,  I  have  learned  to  say  amen  to  thy  amen ; 
thou  hast  a  greater  interest  in  me  than  I  have  in  myself,  and  therefore 
I  give  up  myself  unto  thee,  and  am  willing  to  be  at  thy  dispose,  and 
am  ready  to  receive  what  impression  thou  shalt  stamp  upon  me.  O 
blessed  Lord !  hast  thou  not  again  and  again  said  unto  me,  as  once  the 
king  of  Israel  said  to  the  king  of  Syria,  '  I  am  thine,  and  all  that  I 
have,'  1  Kings  xx.  4.  I  am  thine,  O  soul !  to  save  thee  ;  my  mercy  is 
thine  to  pardon  thee ;  my  blood  is  thine  to  cleanse  thee  ;  my  merits  are 
thine  to  justify  thee;  my  righteousness  is  thine  to  clothe  thee;  my  Spirit 
is  thine  to  lead  thee  ;  my  grace  is  thine  to  enrich  thee ;  and  my  glory  is 
thine  to  reward  thee  ;  and  therefore,  saith  a  gracious  soul,  I  cannot  but 
1  Ps.  xxvii.  8  ;  James  iv.  7  ;  1  Sam.  iii.  18,  xv.  25,  26  ;  Acts  xi.  1?.,  14,  &c. 

VOL.  I.  U 


306  THE  MUTE  CHRISTIAN  [Ps.  XXXIX.  9- 

make  a  resignation  of  myself  unto  thee.    'Lord  !  here  I  am,  do  with  me  as 
seem'eth  good  in  thine  own  eyes.'    I  know  the  best  way  to  have  my  own 

will,  is  to  resign  up  myself  to  thy  will,  and  to  say  amen  to  thy  amen. 

I  have  read  of  a  gentleman,  who,  meeting  with  a  shepherd  in  a  misty 
morning,  asked  him  what  weather  it  would  be?  It  will  be,  saith  the 
shepherd,  what  weather  pleaseth  me;  and  being  courteously  requested 
to  express  his  meaning,  Sir,  saith  he,  it  shall  be  what  weather  pleaseth 
< *<>i  1,  and  what  weather  pleaseth  God  pleaseth  me.  When  a  Christian's 
will  is  moulded  into  the  will  of  God,  he  is  sure  to  have  his  will.     But, 

Eighthly  and  lastly,  A  holy,  a  prudent  silence,  takes  in  a  patient 
waiting  upon  the  Lord  under  our  afflictions  until  deliverance  comes : 
Ps.  xl.  1-3  ;  Ps.  lxii.  5,  '  My  soul,  wait  thou  only  upon  God,  for  my  ex- 
pectation is  from  him;'  Lam.  iii.  26,  'It  is  good  that  a  man  should  both 
hope,  and  quietly  (or  as  the  Hebrew  hath  it,  silently)  wait  for  the  sal- 
vation of  the  Lord.'  The  husbandman  patiently  waiteth  for  the  pre- 
cious fruits  of  the  earth,  the  mariner  patiently  waiteth  for  wind  and 
tide,  and  so  doth  the  watchman  for  the  dawning  of  the  day  ;  and  so  doth 
the  silent  soul  in  the  night  of  adversity,  patiently  wait  for  the  dawning 
of  the  day  of  mercy,  J  araes  v.  7,  8.  The  mercies  of  God  are  not  styled 
the  swift,  but  the  sure  mercies  of  David,  and  therefore  a  gracious  soul 
waits  patiently  for  them.  And  thus  you  see  what  a  gracious,  a  prudent 
silence  doth  include. 

III.  The  third  thing  is,  to  discover  what  a  holy,  a  prudent  silence 
under  affliction  cloth  not  exclude.  Now  there  are  eight  things  that  a 
holy  patience  doth  not  exclude. 

1.  First,  A  holy,  a  prudent  silence  under  affliction  doth  not  exclude 
and  shut  out  a  sense  and  feeling  of  our  afflictions.  Ps.  xxxix.  9,  though 
he  'was  dumb,  and  laid  his  hand  upon  his  mouth,'  yet  he  was  very  sen- 
sible of  his  affliction  :  verses  10,  II,  'Remove  thy  stroke  away  from  me, 
I  am  consumed  by  the  blow  of  thine  hand.  When  thou  with  rebukes 
dost  correct  man  for  iniquity,  thou  makest  his  beauty  to  consume  away 
like  a  moth  :  surely  every  man  is  vanity/  He  is  sensible  of  his  pain 
as  well  as  of  his  sin  ;  and  having  prayed  off  his  sin  in  the  former  verses, 
he  labours  here  to  pray  off  his  pain.  Diseases,  aches,  sicknesses,  pains, 
they  are  all  the  daughters  of  sin,  and  he  that  is  not  sensible  of  them  as 
the  births  and  products  of  sin,  doth  but  add  to  his  sin  and  provoke  the 
Lord  to  add  to  his  sufferings,  Isa.  xxvi.  9-11.  No  man  shall  ever  be 
charged  by  God  for  feeling  his  burden,  if  he  neither  fret  nor  faint  under 
it.  Grace  doth  not  destroy  nature,  but  rather  perfect  it.  Grace  is  of 
a  noble  offspring  ;  it  neither  turneth  men  into  stocks  nor  to  stoics.  The 
more  grace,  the  more  sensible  of  the  tokens,  frowns,  blows,  and  lashes  of 
a  displeased  Father.  Though  Calvin,  under  his  greatest  pains,  was 
never  heard  to  mutter  nor  murmur,  yet  he  was  heard  often  to  say, 
'  How  long,  Lord,  how  long  ?'  A  religious  commander  being  shot  in 
battle,  when  the  wound  was  searched,  and  the  bullet  cut  out,  some 
standing  by,  pitying  his  pain,  he  replied,  Though  I  groan,  yet  I  bless 
God  I  do  not  grumble.1  God  allows  his  people  to  groan,  though  not  to 
grumble.  It  is  a  God-provoking  sin  to  be  stupid  and  senseless  under 
the  afflicting  hand  of  God.  God  will  heat  that  man's  furnace  of  afBic- 
1  Sir  Philip  Sydney?— G. 


PS.  XXXIX.  9.]  UNDER  THE  SMARTING  ROD.  307 

tion  sevenfold  hotter,  who  is  in  the  furnace  but  feels  it  not  :l  Isa.  xlii- 
24,  25,  '  Who  gave  Jacob  for  a  spoil,  and  Israel  to  the  robbers  ?  did  not 
the  Lord,  he  against  whom  we  have  sinned  ?  for  they  would  not  walk 
in  his  ways,  neither  were  they  obedient  unto  his  law.  Therefore  he 
hath  poured  upon  him  the  fury  of  his  anger,  and  the  strength  of  battle  : 
and  he  hath  set  him  on  fire  round  about,  yet  he  knew  not ;  and  it 
burned  him,  yet  he  laid  it  not  to  heart.'  Stupidity  lays  a  man  open  to 
the  greatest  fury  and  severity. 

The  physician,  when  he  hndeth  that  the  potion  which  he  hath  given 
his  patient  will  not  work,  he  seconds  it  with  one  more  violent ;  and  if 
that  will  not  work,  he  gives  another  yet  more  violent.  If  a  gentle 
plaster  will  not  serve,  then  the  chirurgeon  applies  that  which  is  more 
corroding  ;  and  if  that  will  not  do,  then  he  makes  use  of  his  cauterizing 
knife.  So  when  the  Lord  afflicts,  and  men  feel  it  not ;  when  he  strikes, 
and  they  grieve  not ;  when  he  wounds  them,  and  they  awake  not :  then 
the  furnace  is  made  hotter  than  ever  ;  then  his  fury  burns,  then  he 
lays  on  irons  upon  irons,  bolt  upon  bolt,  and  chain  upon  chain,  until  he 
hath  made  their  lives  a  hell.  Afflictions  are  the  saints'  diet-drink  ;  and 
where  do  you  read  in  all  the  Scripture  that  ever  any  of  the  saints  drunk 
of  this  diet-drink,  and  were  not  sensible  of  it. 

2.  Secondly,  A  holy,  a  prudent,  silence  doth  not  shut  out  prayer  for 
deliverance  out  of  our  afflictions.  Though  the  psalmist  lays  his  hand 
upon  his  mouth  in  the  text,  yet  he  prays  for  deliverance  :  ver.  10, 
'  Remove  thy  stroke  away  from  me  ;'  and  ver.  11, 12,  '  Hear  my  prayer, 
O  Lord  !  and  give  ear  unto  my  cry  ;  hold  not  thy  peace  at  my  tears  ; 
for  I  am  a  stranger  with  thee,  and  a  sojourner,  as  all  my  fathers  were. 
Oh  spare  me,  that  I  may  recover  strength,  before  I  go  hence  and  be  no 
more  ;'  James  v.  13,  '  Is  any  among  you  afflicted'?  let  him  pray  ;'  Ps.  1.  15, 
.'  Call  upon  me  in  the  day  of  trouble  :  I  will  deliver  thee,  and  thou  shalt 
glorify  me.'  Times  of  affliction,  by  God's  own  injunction,  are  special 
times  of  supplication.2  David's  heart  was  more  often  out  of  tune  than 
his  harp  ;  but  then  he  prays  and  presently  cries,  '  Return  to  thy  rest, 
O  my  soul.'  Jonah  prays  in  the  whale's  belly,  and  Daniel  prays  when 
among  the  lions,  and  Job  prays  when  on  the  dunghill,  and  Jeremiah 
prays  when  in  the  dungeon,  &c.  ;  yea,  the  heathen  mariners,  as  stout  as 
they  were,  when  in  a  storm,  they  cry  every  man  to  his  god,  Jonah  i. 
5,  6.  To  call  upon  God,  especially  in  times  of  distress  and  trouble,  is 
a  lesson  that  the  very  light  and  law  of  nature  teaches.  The  Persian 
messenger,  though  an  heathen,  as  iEschylus  observeth,  saith  thus  : 
'  When  the  Grecian  forces  hotly  pursued  our  host,  and  we  must  needs 
venture  over  the  great  water  Strymon,  frozen  then,  but  beginning  to 
thaw,  when  a  hundred  to  one  we  had  all  died  for  it,  with  mine  eyes  I 
saw,  saith  he,  many  of  those  gallants  whom  I  had  heard  before  so  boldly 
maintain  there  was  no  God,  every  one  upon  his  knees,  and  devoutly 
praying  that  the  ice  might  hold  till  they  got  over.'3  And  shall  blind 
nature  do  more  than  grace  ?  If  the  time  of  affliction  be  not  a  time  of 
supplication,  I  know  not  what  is. 

As  there  are  two  kinds  of  antidotes  against  poison,  viz.  hot  and  cold, 

1  No  judgment  to  a  stupid  spirit,  a  hardened  heart,  and  a  brazen  brow. 
*  It  is  an  old  saying,  Qui  nescit  orare,  discat  navigare,  he  that  would  learn  to  pray,  let 
him  go  to  sea.  3  Cf.  iEschylus,  Svppl.  258  ;  Agam.  192.— G. 


3()8  THE  MUTE  CHRISTIAN  [Ps.  XXXIX.  9. 

so  there  are  two  kinds  of  antidotes  against  all  the  troubles  and  afflictions 
of  this  life,  viz.  prayer  and  patience  :  the  one  hot,  the  other  cold  ;  the  one 
quenching,  the  other  quickening.  Chrysostom  understood  this  well 
enough  when  he  cried  out :  Oh  !  saith  he,  it  is  more  bitter  than  death  to 
be  spoiled  of  prayer;  and  thereupon  observes  that  Daniel  chose  rather 
to  run  the  hazard  of  his  life  than  to  lose  his  prayer.  Well!  this  is  the 
second  thing.     A  holy  silence  doth  not  exclude  prayer  ;  but, 

3.  Thirdly,  A  holy,  a  prudent  silence  doth  not  exclude  men's  being 
kmdly  affected  and  afflicted  ivith  their  sins  as  the  meritorious  cause 
of  all  their  sorrows  and  sufferings.1  Lam.  iii.  39,  40,  '  Wherefore  doth 
a  living  man  complain,  a  man  for  the  punishment  of  his  sin?  Let  us 
search  and  try  our  ways,  and  turn  again  to  the  Lord ;'  Job  xl.  4,  5, 
'  Behold,  I  am  vile,  what  shall  I  answer  thee  ?  I  will  lay  my  hand  upon 
my  mouth.  Once  have  I  spoken,  but  I  will  not  answer  ;  yea,  twice,  but 
1  proceed  no  further;'  Micah  vii.  9,  'I  will  bear  the  indignation  of  the 
Lord,  because  I  have  sinned.'  In  all  our  sorrows  we  should  read  our 
sins;  and  when  God's  hand  is  upon  our  backs, our  hands  should  be  upon 
our  sins. 

It  was  a  good  saying  of  one,  '  I  hide  not  my  sins,  but  I  shew  them  ; 
I  wipe  them  not  awray,  but  I  sprinkle  them  ;  I  do  not  excuse  them,  but 
accuse  them.  The  beginning  of  my  salvation  is  the  knowledge  of  my 
transgression.'2  When  some  told  Prince  Henry,3  that  delicios  generis 
humani,  that  darling  of  mankind,  that  the  sins  of  the  people  brought 
that  affliction  on  him,  Oh  no!  said  he,  I  have  sins  enough  of  my  own  to 
cause  that.  '  I  have  sinned,  saith  David,  but  what  have  these  poor 
sheep  done?'  2  Sam.  xxiv.  17.  When  a  Christian  is  under  the  afflict- 
ing hand  of  God,  he  may  well  say,  I  may  thank  this  proud  heart  of 
mine,  this  worldly  heart,  this  froward  heart,  this  formal  heart,  this  dull 
heart,  this  backsliding  heart,  this  self-seeking  heart  of  mine  ;  for  that 
this  cup  is  so  bitter,  this  pain  so  grievous,  this  loss  so  great,  this  dis- 
ease so  desperate,  this  wound  so  incurable  ;  it  is  mine  own  self,  mine 
own  sin,  that  hath  caused  these  floods  of  sorrows  to  break  in  upon  me. 
But, 

4.  Fourthly,  A  holy,  a  prudent  silence  doth  not  exclude  the  teaching 
and  instructing  of  others  when  we  are  afflicted.  The  words  of  the 
afflicted  stick  close ;  they  many  times  work  strongly,  powerfully, 
strangely,  savingly,  upon  the  souls  and  consciences  of  others.  Many  of 
Paul's  epistles  were  written  to  the  churches  when  he  was  in  bonds,  viz., 
Galatians,  Ephesians,  Philippians,  Colossians,  Philemon  ;  he  begot  One- 
simus  in  his  bonds,  Philem.  10.  And  many  of  the  brethren  in  the 
Lord  waxed  bold  and  confident  by  his  bonds,  and  were  confirmed,  and 
made  partakers  of  grace  by  his  ministry,  when  he  was  in  bonds,  Philip,  i. 
7,  13,  14.  As  the  words  of  dying  persons  do  many  times  stick  and 
work  gloriously,  so  many  times  do  the  words  of  afflicted  persons  work 
very  nobly  and  efficaciously.  I  have  read  of  one  Adrianus,  who,  see- 
ing the  martyrs  surfer  such  grievous  things  for  the  cause  of  Christ,  he 
asked  what  that  was  which  enabled  them  to  suffer  such  things  ?  and 
one  of  them  named  that  1  Cor.  ii.  9,  '  Eye  hath  not  seen,  nor  ear  heard, 

1  Road  Ezra  ix. ;  Neb   ix  ;  Dan.  ix.  6, 15,  with  Job  vii.  *  [Job.  Lud.]  Vivaldus. 

*  Son  of  James  I.,  whose  death  was  '  married  to  immortal  verso '  by  George  Chap- 
man.— G. 


PS.  XXXIX.  9.]  UNDER  THE  SMARTING  ROD.  309 

neither  have  entered  into  the  heart  of  man,  the  things  which  God  hath 
prepared  for  them  that  love  him.'  This  word  was  like  apples  of  gold 
in  pictures  of  silver,  Prov.  xxv.  11,  for  it  made  him  not  only  a  convert, 
but  a  martyr  too.  And  this  was  the  means  of  Justin  Martyr's  conver- 
sion, as  himself  confesseth.  Doubtless,  many  have  been  made  happy 
by  the  words  of  the  afflicted.  The  tongue  of  the  afflicted  hath  been  to 
many  as  choice  silver.  The  words  of  the  afflicted  many  times  are  both 
pleasing  and  profitable  ;  they  tickle  the  ear  and  they  win  upon  the 
heart ;  they  slide  insensibly  into  the  hearers'  souls,  and  work  effica- 
ciously upon  the  hearers'  hearts :  Eccles.  x.  12,  '  The  words  of  a  wise 
man's  mouth  are  gracious,'  or  grace,  as  the  Hebrew  hath  it ;  and  so 
Jerome  reads  it,  Verba  oris  sapientis  gratia,  the  words  of  the  mouth 
of  a  wise  man  are  grace.  They  minister  grace  to  others,  and  they  win 
grace  and  favour  from  others.  Gracious  lips  make  gracious  hearts  ; 
gracious  words  are  a  grace,  an  ornament  to  the  speaker,  and  they  are  a 
comfort,  a  delight,  and  an  advantage  to  the  hearer. 

Now,  the  words  of  a  wise  man's  mouth  are  never  more  gracious  tnan 
when  he  is  most  afflicted  and  distressed.  Now,  you  shall  find  most 
worth  arid  weight  in  his  words  ;  now  his  lips,  like  the  spouse's,  are  like 
a  thread  of  scarlet  ;they  are  red  with  talking  much  of  a  crucified  Christ, 
and  they  are  thin  like  a  thread,  not  swelled  with  vain  and  unprofitable 
discourses.  Now  his  mouth  speaketh  of  wisdom,  and  his  tongue  talketh 
judgment,  for  the  law  of  the  Lord  is  in  his  heart,  Ps.  xxxvii.  30 ;  now 
his  lips  drop  as  honey-combs,  Cant.  iv.  11  ;  now  his  tongue  is  a  tree  of 
life,  whose  leaves  are  medicinable,  Prov.  xii.  18.  As  the  silver  trumpets 
sounded  most  joy  to  the  Jews  in  the  day  of  their  gladness,  so  the  mouth 
of  a  wise  man,  like  a  silver  trumpet,  sounds  most  joy  and  advantage  to 
others  in  the  days  of  his  sadness,  Num.  x.  10. 

The  heathen  man  could  say,  Quando  sapiens  loquitur,  aulea  animi 
aperit,  when  a  wise  man  speaketh,  he  openeth  the  rich  treasure  and 
wardrobe  of  his  mind  ;  so  may  I  say,  when  an  afflicted  saint  speaks, 
Oh  the  pearl,  the  treasures  that  he  scatters  !     But, 

5.  Fifthly,  A  holy,  a  prudent  silence  doth  not  exclude  moderate 
mourning  or  tveeping  under  the  afflicting  hand  of  God.  Isa.  xxxviii.  3, 
'  And  Hezekiah  wept  sore,'  or,  as  the  Hebrew  hath  it,  '  wept  with  great 
weeping.1  But  was  not  the  Lord  displeased  with  him  for  his  great 
weeping  ?  No  ;  ver.  5,  '  I  have  heard  thy  prayers,  I  have  seen  thy 
tears  :  behold,  I  will  add  unto  thy  days  fifteen  years.'  God  had  as 
well  a  bottle  for  his  tears,  as  a  bag  for  his  sins,  Ps.  lvi.  8.  There  is  no 
water  so  sweet  as  the  saints'  tears,  when  they  do  not  overflow  the  banks 
of  moderation.  Tears  are  not  mutes  ;  they  have  a  voice,  and  their 
oratory  is  of  great  prevalency  with  the  almighty  God.  And  therefore 
the  weeping  prophet  calleth  out  for  tears:  Lam.  ii.  18,  '  Their  heart 
crieth  unto  the  Lord,  0  wall  of  the  daughter  of  Zion.let  tears  run  down 
like  a  river  day  and  night :  give  thyself  no  rest ;  let  not  the  apple  of 
thine  eye  cease;'  or,  as  the  Hebrew  hath  it,  'let  not  the  daughters  of 
thine  eye  be  silent.'2  That  which  we  call  the  ball  or  apple  of  the  eye, 
the  Hebrews  call  the  daughter  of  the  eye,  because  it  is  as  dear  and 

1  Ps.  vi.  6  ;  xxxix.  1  ;  Jer.  ix.  1,2;  Lam.  i. ;  ii.  11,  18. 

1  And  the  Greeks  call  the  apple  of  the  eye,  the  damsel  of  the  eye,  the  girl  of  the  eye  ; 
and  the  Latins  call  it  the  babe  of  the  eye. 


310  THE  MUTE  CHRISTIAN  [Ps.  XXXIX.  9. 

tender  to  a  man  as  an  only  daughter  ;  and  because  therein  appears  the 
likeness  of  a  little  daughter.  Upon  which  words,  saith  Bellarmine, 
C lames  asffidvZ  ad  Deum,  non  lingua,  sed  oculis,  non  verbis  sed 
lichrymis,  lata  enim  est  oratio,  qua;  pacare  solet :  cry  aloud,  not  with 
thy  tongue,  but  with  thine  eyes  ;  not  with  thy  words,  but  with  thy  tears  ; 
for  that  is  the  prayer  that  maketh  the  most  forcible  entry  into  the  ears 
of  the  great  God  of  heaven.  When  God  strikes,  he  looks  that  we 
should  tremble  ;  when  his  hand  is  lifted  high,  he  looks  that  our  hearts 
should  stoop  low  ;  when  he  hath  the  rod  in  his  hand,  he  looks  that 
we  should  have  tears  in  our  eyes,  as  you  may  see  by  comparing  of  these 
scriptures  together,  Ps.  lv.  2,  xxxviii.  6,  Job  xxx.  2G-32.  Good  men 
weep  easily,  saith  the  Greek  poet  ;l  and  the  better  any  are,  are  more 
inclining  to  weeping,  especially  under  affliction  :  as  yon  may  see  in 
David,  whose  tears,  instead  of  gems,  were  the  common  ornaments  of 
his  bed,  Jonathan,  Job,  Ezra,  Daniel,  &c.  How,  saith  one,  shall  God 
wipe  away  my  tears  in  heaven,  if  I  shed  none  on  earth  ?  And  how 
shall  I  reap  in  joy,  if  I  sow  not  in  tears  ?  I  was  born  with  tears,  and 
I  shall  die  with  tears  ;  and  why  then  should  I  live  without  them  in  this 
valley  of  tears  ? 

There  is  as  well  a  time  to  weep,  as  there  is  a  time  to  laugh ;  and  a 
time  to  mourn,  as  well  as  a  time  to  dance,  Eccles.  iii.  4.  The  mourning 
garment  among  the  Jews  was  the  black  garment,  and  the  black  gar- 
ment was  the  mourning  garment  :  Ps.  xliii.  2,  '  Why  go  ye  mourning  T 
The  Hebrew  word  Kedar  signifies  black.  Why  go  ye  in  black  ?  Some- 
times Christians  must  put  off  their  gay  ornaments,  and  put  on  their 
black,  their  mourning  garments,  Exod.  xxxiii.  3-6.     But, 

6.  Sixthly,  A  gracious,  a  prudent  silence  cloth  not  exclude  sighing, 
groaning,  or  roaring  under  afflictions.2  A  man  may  sigh,  and  groan, 
and  roar  under  the  hand  of  God,  and  yet  be  silent,  It  is  not  sighing, 
but  muttering ;  it  is  not  groaning,  but  grumbling ;  it  is  not  roaring, 
but  murmuring,  that  is  opposite  to  a  holy  silence  :  Exod.  ii.  23,  'And 
the  children  of  Israel  sighed  by  reason  of  the  bondage.'  Job  iii.  24. 
'  For  my  sighing  cometh  before  I  eat,'  (or,  as  the  Hebrew  hath  it) '  be- 
fore my  meat;'  his  sighing,  like  bad  weather,  came  unsent  for  and 
unsought :  so  Ps.  xxxviii.  9,  '  Lord,  all  my  desire  is  before  thee ;  and 
my  groaning  is  not  hid  from  thee.'  Ps.  cii.  5, '  By  reason  of  the  voice 
of  my  groaning,  my  bones  cleave  to  my  skin.'  Job  iii.  24,  'And  my 
roarings  are  poured  out  like  the  waters/  Ps.  xxxviii.  8,  '  I  am  feeble 
and  sore  broken  ;  I  have  roared  by  reason  of  the  disquietness  of  my 
heart.'  Ps.  xxii.  1,  'My  God  !  my  God  !  why  hast  thou  forsaken  me? 
why  art  thou  so  far  from  helping  me,  from  the  words  of  my  roaring?' 
Ps.  xxxii.  3,  '  When  I  kept  silence,  my  bones  waxed  old,  through  my 
roarings  all  the  day  long.'  He  roars,  but  doth  not  rage;  he  roars,  but 
doth  not  repine.  When  a  man  is  in  extremit}7,  nature  prompts  him  to 
roar,  and  the  law  of  grace  is  not  against  it ;  and  though  sighing,  roar- 
ing, groaning,  cannot  deliver  a  man  out  of  his  misery,  yet  they  do  give 
some  ease  to  a  man  under  his  misery.  When  Solon  wept  for  his  son's 
death,  one  said  to  him,  Weeping  will  not  help.    He  answered,  Alas  '. 

1  Of.  Seneca  de  Consolatione  ad  Polybium,  iv.  §  2,  and  Juvenal,  xv.  133. — G. 
*  You  may  see  much  of  this  by  comparing  the  following  scriptures:  Lam.  iv.  4,   11, 
2 1,  22;  Ps.  xxxi.  10  ;  Jer.  xlv.  3  ;  Exod.  ii.  24  ;  Job  xxiii.  3  ;  l's.  vi.  6. 


PS.  XXXIX.  9.]  UNDER  THE  SMARTING  ROD.  311 

therefore  do  I  weep,  because  weeping  will  not  help.  So  a  Christian 
many  times  sighs,  because  sighing  will  not  help ;  and  he  groans,  be- 
cause groaning  will  not  help ;  and  he  roars,  because  roaring  will  not 
help.  Sometimes  the  sorrows  of  the  saints  are  so  great,  that  all  tears 
are  dried  up,  and  they  can  get  no  ease  by  weeping  ;  and  therefore  for 
a  little  ease  they  fall  a-sighing  and  groaning  ;  and  this  may  be  done, 
and  yet  the  heart  may  be  quiet  and  silent  before  the  Lord.  Peter 
wept  and  sobbed,  and  yet  was  silent.  Sometimes  the  sighs  and  groans 
of  a  saint  do  in  some  sort  tell  that  which  his  tongue  can  in  no  sort 
utter.     But, 

7.  Seventhly,  A  holy,  a  prudent  silence,  doth  not  exclude  nor  shut  out 
the  use  of  any  just  or  lawful  means,  whereby  persons  may  be  delivered 
out  of  their  afflictions.1  God  would  not  have  his  people  so  in  love  with 
their  afflictions,  as  not  to  use  such  righteous  means  as  may  deliver  them 
out  of  their  afflictions  :  Mat.  x.  23,  '  But  when  they  persecute  you  in  this 
city,  flee  you  into  another  ;'  Acts  xii.  5,  When  Peter  was  in  prison,  the 
saints  thronged  together  to  pray,  as  the  original  hath  it,  ver.  12  ;  and 
they  were  so  instant  and  earnest  with  God  in  prayer,  they  did  so 
beseech  and  besiege  the  Lord,  they  did  so  beg  and  bounce  at  heaven- 
gate,  ver.  5,  that  God  could  have  no  rest,  till,  by  many  miracles  of  power 
and  mercy,  he  had  returned  Peter  as  a  bosom-favour  to  them :  Acts  ix. 
23-25,  '  And  after  that  many  days  were  fulfilled,  the  Jews  took  counsel 
to  kill  him  :  but  their  laying  await  was  known  of  Saul :  and  they 
watched  the  gates  day  and  night  to  kill  him.  Then  the  disciples  took 
him  by  night,  and  let  him  down  by  the  wall  in  a  basket'  The  blood 
of  the  saints  is  precious  in  God's  eye,  and  it  should  not  be  vile  in  their 
own  eyes.  When  providence  opens  a  door  of  escape  there  is  no  reason 
why  the  saints  should  set  themselves  as  marks  and  butts  for  their  ene- 
mies to  shoot  at :  2  Thes.  iii.  1,  2,  the  apostles  desire  the  brethren  '  to 
pray  for  them,  that  they  may  be  delivered  from  unreasonable  (dromi, 
absurd)  and  wicked  (toi^sg/,  villainous)  men  ;  for  all  men  have  not  faith.' 
It  is  a  mercy  worth  a  seeking,  to  be  delivered  out  of  the  hands  of  ab- 
surd, villainous,  and  troublesome  men. 

Afflictions  are  evil  in  themselves,  and  we  may  desire  and  endeavour 
to  be  delivered  from  them,  James  v.  14,  15,  Isa.  xxxviii.  18-21  ;  both 
inward  and  outward  means  are  to  be  used  for  our  own  preservation.  Had 
not  Noah  built  an  ark,  he  had  been  swept  away  with  the  flood,  though 
he  had  been  with  Nimrod  and  his  crew  on  the  tower  of  Babel,  which 
was  raised  to  the  height  of  one  thousand  five  hundred  forty-six  paces, 
as  Heylin  reports.2  Though  we  may  not  trust  in  means,  yet  we  may 
and  ought  to  use  the  means  ;  in  the  use  of  them,  eye  that  God  that  can 
only  bless  them,  and  you  do  your  work.  As  the  pilot  that  guides  the 
ship  hath  his  hand  upon  the  rudder,  and  his  eye  en  the  star  that  directs 
him  at  the  same  time  ;  so  when  your  hand  is  upon  the  means,  let  your 
eye  be  upon  your  God,  and  deliverance  will  come.  We  may  neglect  God 
as  well  by  neglecting  of  means  as  by  trustiug  in  means  ;  it  is  best  to  use 
them,  and  in  the  use  of  them,  to  live  above  them.  Augustine  tells  of 
a  man,  that  being  fallen  into  a  pit,  one  passing  by  falls  a-questioning 
of  him,  what  he  made  there,  and  how  he  came  in  ?     Oh  !  said  the  poor 

1  2  Kings  v.  14,  15  ;  Mat.  iv.  G,  7  ;  xxii.  4,  5,  8 ;  Luke  xiv.  16-24  ;  Acts  xxvii.  24, 
25,  31.  *  Heylin  Cosm.  1.  iii. 


312  THE  MUTE  CHRISTIAN  [P.S.  XXXIX.  9. 

man,  ask  me  not  how  I  came  in,  but  help  me  and  tell  me  how  I  may 
come  out.     The  application  is  easy.     But, 

8.  Eighthly,  and  lastly,  A  holy,  a  prudent  silence,  doth  not  exclude 
a  just  and  sober  complaining  against  the  authors,  contrivers,  abet- 
1  >rs,  or  i  iisf rn  mnitu  of  our  afflictions :  2  Tim.  iv.  14,  'Alexander  the 
coppersmith  did  me  much  evil ;  the  Lord  reward  him  according  to  his 
works.'  This  Alexander  is  conceived  by  some  to  be  that  Alexander  that 
is  mentioned,  Acts  xix.  33,  who  stood  so  close  to  Paul  at  Ephcsus,  that 
he  run  the  hazard  of  losing  his  life  by  appearing  on  his  side  ;l  yet  if 
glorious  professors  come  to  be  furious  persecutors,  Christians  may  com- 
plain :  2  Cor.  xi.  24,  '  Of  the  Jews  five  times  received  I  forty  stripes, 
save  one.'  They  inflict,  saith  Maimonides,  no  more  than  forty  stripes, 
though  he  be  as  strong  as  Samson,  but  if  he  be  weak,  they  abate  of  that 
number.  They  scourged  Paul  with  the  greatest  severity,  in  making 
him  suffer  so  oft  the  utmost  extremity  of  the  Jewish  law,  whenas  they 
that  were  weak  had  their  punishment  mitigated  :  ver.  25,  '  Thrice  was 
I  beaten  with  rods,'  that  is,  by  the  Romans,  whose  custom  it  was  to  beat 
the  guilty  with  rods. 

If  Pharaoh  make  Israel  groan,  Israel  may  make  his  complaint  against 
Pharaoh  to  the  Keeper  of  Israel,  Exod.  ii. ;  if  the  proud  and  blasphe- 
mous king  of  Assyria  shall  come  with  his  mighty  army  to  destroy  the 
people  of  the  Lord,  Hezekiah  may  spread  his  letter  of  blasphemy  before 
the  Lord,  Isa.  xxxvii.  14-21. 

It  was  the  saying  of  Socrates,  that  every  man  in  this  life  had  need 
of  a  faithful  friend  and  a  bitter  enemy  ;  the  one  to  advise  him,  and 
the  other  to  make  him  look  about  him  ;  and  this  Hezekiah  found  by 
experience. 

Though  Joseph's  bow  abode  in  strength,  and  the  arm  of  his  hands 
were  made  strong  by  the  hands  of  the  mighty  God  of  Jacob,  yet  Joseph 
may  say,  that  the  archers,  or  the  arrow-masters,  as  the  Hebrew  hath  it, 
have  sorely  grieved  him,  and  ehotat  him,  and  hated  him:  Gen.xlix.  23,24. 
And  so  David  sadly  complained  of  Doeg,  Ps.  cix.  1,  21  ;  yea,  Christ 
himself,  who  was  the  most  perfect  pattern  for  dumbness  and  silence 
under  sorest  trials,  complains  against  Judas,  Pilate,  and  the  rest  of  his 
persecutors,  Ps.  lxix.  20,  30,  &c. ;  yea,  though  God  will  make  his  people's 
enemies  to  be  the  workmen  that  shall  fit  them  and  square  them  for  his 
building,  to  be  goldsmiths  to  add  pearls  to  their  crown,  to  be  rods  to 
beat  off  their  dust,  scullions  to  scour  off  their  rust,  fire  to  purge  away 
their  dross,  and  water  to  cleanse  away  their  filthiness,  fleshliness,  and 
earthliness,  yet  may  they  point  at  them,  and  pour  out  their  complaints 
to  God  against  them,  Ps.  exxxii.  2-18.  This  truth  I  might  make  good 
by  above  a  hundred  texts  of  Scripture  ;  but  it  is  time  to  come  to  the 
reasons  of  the  point. 

IV.  Why  must  Christians  be  mute  and  silent  under  the  greatest 
afflictions,  the  saddest  providences,  and  sharpest  trials  that  they  meet 
"•/'///  in  this  world  ?  I  answer, 

Reason  1.  That  they  may  the  better  hear  and  understand  the  voice 
of  the  rod.     As  the  word  hath  a  voice,  the  Spirit  a  voice,  and  conscience 

1  Calvin  in  loc.  assumes  this,  designating  him  as  one  mnrtyris  propinquus  ;  and  Trapp 
adds,  Brooks-like,  'A  glorious  professor  may  become  a  furious  persecutor.' — G. 


PS.  XXXIX.  9.]  UNDER  THE  SMARTING  ROD.  313 

a  voice,  so  the  rod  hath  a  voice.1  Afflictions  are  the  rod  of  God's  anger, 
the  rod  of  his  displeasure,  and  his  rod  of  revenge  ;  he  gives  a  commis- 
sion to  his  rod,  to  awaken  his  people,  to  reform  his  people,  or  else  to 
revenge  the  quarrel  of  his  covenant  upon  them,  if  they  will  not  bear 
the  rod,  and  kiss  the  rod,  and  sit  mute  and  silent  under  the  rod  :  Micah 
vi.  9,  '  The  Lord's  voice  crieth  unto  the  city,  and  the  man  of  wisdom 
shall  see  thy  name  :  hear  ye  the  rod,  and  who  hath  appointed  it.'  God's 
rods  are  not  mutes,  they  are  all  vocal,  they  are  all  speaking  as  well  as 
smiting  ;  every  twig  hath  a  voice.  Ah !  soul,  saith  one  twig,  thou  sayest 
it  smarts  ;  well!  tell  me,  is  it  good  provoking  of  a  jealous  God  ?  Jer.  iv. 
18.  Ah!  soul,  saith  another  twig,  thou  sayest  it  is  bitter,  it  reacheth 
to  thy  heart,  but  hath  not  thine  own  doings  procured  these  things  ? 
Rom.  vi.  20,  21.  Ah!  soul,  saith  another  twig,  where  is  the  profit,  the 
pleasure,  the  sweet  that  you  have  found  in  wandering  from  God  ?  Hosea 
ii.  7.  Ah  !  soul,  saith  another  twig,  was  it  not  best  with  you,  when  you 
were  high  in  your  communion  with  God,  and  when  you  were  humble 
and  close  in  your  walking  with  God  ?  Micah  vi.  8.  Ah  !  Christian, 
saith  another  twig,  wilt  thou  search  thy  heart,  and  try  thy  ways,  and 
turn  to  the  Lord  thy  God  ?  Lam.  iii.  40.  Ah  !  soul,  saith  another  twig, 
wilt  thou  die  to  sin  more  than  ever,  and  to  the  world  more  than  ever, 
and  to  relations  more  than  ever,  and  to  thyself  more  than  ever  ?  Rom. 
xiv.  6-8;  Gal.  vi.  18.  Ah!  soul,  saith  another  twig,  wilt  thou  live 
more  to  Christ  than  ever,  and  cleave  closer  to  Christ  than  ever,  and 
prize  Christ  more  than  ever,  and  venture  further  for  Christ  than  ever  ? 
Ah !  soul,  saith  another  twig,  wilt  thou  love  Christ  with  a  more  inflamed 
love,  and  hope  in  Christ  with  a  more  raised  hope,  and  depend  upon 
Christ  with  a  greater  confidence,  and  wait  upon  Christ  with  more 
invincible  patience,  &c.  ?  Now,  if  the  soul  be  not  mute  and  silent  under 
the  rod,  how  is  it  possible  that  it  should  ever  hear  the  voice  of  the  rod, 
or  that  it  should  ever  hearken  to  the  voice  of  every  twig  of  the  rod  ? 
The  rod  hath  a  voice  that  is  in  the  hands  of  earthly  fathers,  but  children 
hear  it  not,  they  understand  it  not,  till  they  are  hushed  and  quiet,  and 
brought  to  kiss  it,  and  sit  silently  under  it ;  no  more  shall  we  hear  or 
understand  the  voice  of  the  rod  that  is  in  our  heavenly  Father's  hand, 
till  we  come  to  kiss  it,  and  sit  silently  under  it.     But, 

Reason  2.  Gracious  souls  should  be  mute  and  silent  under  their 
greatest  afflictions  and  sharpest  trials,  that  they  may  difference  and 
distinguish  themselves  from  the  men  of  the  world,  who  usually  fret 
and  fling,  mutter  or  murmur,  curse  and  swagger,  when  they  are 
under  the  afflicting  hand  of  God:  Isa.  viii.  21,  22,  'And  they  shall 
pass  through  it  hardly  bestead  and  hungry  :  and  it  shall  come  to  pass, 
that,  when  they  shall  be  hungry,  they  shall  fret  themselves,  and  curse 
their  king,  and  their  God,  and  look  upward.  And  they  shall  look  unto 
the  earth  ;  and  behold  trouble  and  darkness,  dimness  of  anguish ;  and 
they  shall  be  driven  to  darkness.'  Ah  !  how  fretful  and  froward,  how 
disturbed  and  distracted,  how  mad  and  forlorn,  are  these  poor  wretches 
under  the  rebukes  of  God  !  They  look  upward  and  downward,  this 
way  and  that  way,  on  this  side  and  on  that,  and  finding  no  help,  no 
succour,  no  support,  no  deliverance,  like  Bedlams,  yea,  like  incarnate 
devils,  they  fall  upon  cursing  of  God,  and  their  king  :  Isa.  lix.  11,  'We 
1  Schola  cruets  est  schola  lucis. 


$14  THE  MUTE  CHRISTIAN  [Ps.  XXXIX.  9. 

roar  all  like  hoars,  and  mourn  sore  like  doves :  we  look  for  judgment, 
but  there  is  none  ;  for  salvation,  but  it  is  far  from  us/1  They  express 
their  inward  vexation  and  indignation  by  roaring  like  bears.  When 
bears  are  robbed  of  their  whelps,  or  taken  in  a  pit,  oh  how  dreadfully 
will  they  roar,  rage,  tear,  and  tumble  !  So  when  wicked  persons  are 
fallen  into  the  pit  of  affliction,  oh  how  will  they  roar,  rage,  tear,  and  cry 
out  !  not  of  their  sins,  but  of  their  punishments  ;  as  Cain,  '  My 
punishment  is  greater  than  I  am  able  to  bear,'  Gen.  iv.  13  ;  Isa.  li.  20. 
'  Thy  sons  have  fainted,  they  lie  at  the  head  of  all  the  streets,  as  a  wild 
bull  in  a  net :  they  are  full  of  the  fury  of  the  Lord,  the  rebuke  of  thy 
God.'  When  the  huntsman  hath  taken  the  wild  bull  in  his  toil,  and  so 
entangled  him,  that  he  is  not  able  to  wind  himself  out,  oh,  how  fierce 
and  furious  will  he  be  !  how  will  he  spend  himself  in  struggling  to  get 
out !  Such  wild  bulls  are  wicked  men,  when  they  are  taken  in  the  net 
of  affliction. 

It  is  said  of  Marcellus  the  Roman  general,  that  he  could  not  be  quiet, 
nee  victor,  nee  victus,  neither  conquered  nor  conqueror  !  It  is  so  with 
wicked  men  ;  they  cannot  be  quiet,  neither  full  nor  fasting,  neither  sick 
nor  well,  neither  in  wealth  nor  want,  neither  in  bonds  nor  at  liberty, 
neither  in  prosperity  nor  in  adversity :  Jer.  li.  37,  38,  '  And  Babylon 
shall  become  heaps,  a  dwelling-place  for  dragons,  an  astonishment,  and 
an  hissing,  without  an^inhabitant.  They  shall  roar  together  like  lions  : 
and  they  shall  yell  as  lions'  whelps.'  When  the  lion  roars,  all  the  beasts 
of  the  field  tremble,  Amos  iii.  8.  When  the  lion  roars,  many  creatures 
that  could  outrun  him  are  so  amazed  and  astonished  at  the  terror  of 
his  roar,  that  they  are  not  able  to  stir  from  the  place.2  Such  roaring 
lions  are  wicked  men,  when  they  are  under  the  smarting  rod  :  Rev.  xvi. 
9-12,  '  They  gnaw  their  tongues  for  pain,  and  they  blaspheme  the  God 
of  heaven,  because  of  those  sores,  pains,  and  plagues  that  are  poured 
upon  them  ;  and  they  repented  not  of  their  deeds,  to  give  him  glory.' 
And  therefore  gracious  souls  have  cause  to  be  silent  under  their  sorest 
trials,  that  they  may  difference  and  distinguish  themselves  from  wicked 
men,  who  are  '  like  the  troubled  sea,  when  it  cannot  rest,  whose  waters 
cast  up  mire  and  dirt/  Isa.  lvii.  20.  The  verb  yjjn,  signifies  to  make  a 
stir,  to  be  exceeding  busy,  unquiet,  or  troublesome.  Ah  !  what  a  stir 
do  wicked  men  make,  when  they  are  under  the  afflicting  hand  of  God  ! 
Ah  !  the  sea  is  restless  and  unquiet  when  there  is  no  storm  ;  it  cannot 
stand  still,  but  hath  his  flux  and  reflux ;  so  it  is  much  more  restless,  when 
by  tempest  upon  tempest  it  is  made  to  roar  and  rage,  to  foam  and  cast 
up  mire  and  dirt.  The  raging  sea  is  a  fit  emblem  of  a  wicked  man 
that  is  under  God's  afflicting  hand. 

Reason  3.  A  third  reason  why  gracious  souls  should  be  silent  and 
mute  under  their  sharpest  trials  is,  that  they  may  be  conformable  to 
Christ  their  head,  who  was  dumb  and  silent  under  his  sorest  trials  : 
Isa.  liii.  7,  '  He  was  oppressed,  and  he  was  afflicted  ;  yet  he  opened  not 
his  mouth  :  he  is  brought  as  a  lamb  to  the  slaughter;  and  as  a  sheep 
before  his  shearers  is  dumb,  so  he  opened  not  his  mouth.'  Christ  was 
tongue-tied  under  all   his  sorrows   and  sufferings  :    1  Peter  li.  21—23, 

1  The  bear,  as  Aristotle  observeth,  licketb  her  whelps  into  form,  aud  lovoth  them  beyond 
measure,  and  is  most  lierce,  roaring  and  raging  when  she  is  robbed  of  them.  [Of.  Pliny, 
sab  voce. — ii."\  2  Ambrose  on  Amos  iii.  3. 


PS.  XXXIX.  9.]  UNDER  THE  SMARTING  ROD.  315 

'  Christ  also  suffered  for  us,  leaving  us  an  example,  that  }7e  should  follow 
his  steps  :  who  did  no  sin,  neither  was  guile  found  in  his  mouth  : 
who,  when  he  was  reviled,  reviled  not  again  ;  when  he  suffered,  he 
threatened  not;  but  committed  himself  to  him  thatjudgeth  righteously.'1 
Christ  upon  the  cross  did  not  only  read  us  a  lecture  of  patience  and 
6ilence,  but  he  hath  also  set  us  v^oy^a^fAv,  a  copy  or  pattern  of  both,  to 
be  transcribed  and  imitated  by  us  when  we  are  under  the  smarting  rod. 
It  will  be  our  sin  and  shame  if  we  do  not  bear  up  with  patience  and 
silence  under  all  our  sufferings,  considering  what  an  admirable  copy 
Christ  hath  set  before  us.  It  is  said  of  Antiochus,  that  being  to  fight 
with  Judas,  captain  of  the  host  of  the  Jews,  he  shewed  unto  his 
elephants  the  blood  of  the  grapes  and  mulberries,  to  provoke  them  the 
better  to  fight.2  So  the  Holy  Ghost  hath  set  before  us  the  injuries  and 
contumelies,  the  sorrows  and  sufferings,  the  pains  and  torments,  the 
sweat  and  blood  of  our  dearest  Lord,  and  his  invincible  patience,  and 
admirable  silence  under  all,  to  provoke  us  and  encourage  us  to  imitate 
the  Captain  of  our  salvation,  in  patience  and  silence  under  all  our 
sufferings. 

Jerome  having  read  the  life  and  death  of  Hilarion, — one  that  lived 
graciously  and  died  comfortably, — folded  up  the  book,  saying,  Well  ■ 
Hilarion  shall  be  the  champion  that  I  will  follow  ;  his  good  life  shall  be 
my  example,  and  his  good  death  my  precedent.  Oh  !  how  much  more 
should  we  all  say,  We  have  read  how  Christ  hath  been  afflicted, 
oppressed,  distressed,  despised,  persecuted,  &c. ;  and  we  have  read  how 
dumb,  how  tongue-tied,  how  patient,  and  how  silent  he  hath  been  under 
all ;  oh  !  he  shall  be  the  copy  which  we  shall  write  after,  the  pattern 
which  we  will  walk  by,  the  champion  which  we  will  follow.  But,  alas  ! 
alas  !  how  rare  is  it  to  find  a  man  that  may  be  applauded  with  the 
eulogy  of  Salvian,  Singularis  domini  preclarus  imitator,  an  excellent 
disciple  of  a  singular  master.  The  heathens  had  this  notion  amongst 
them,  as  Lactantius  reports,  that  the  way  to  honour  their  gods  was  to 
be  like  them  ;3  and  therefore  some  would  be  wicked,  counting  it  a  dis- 
honour to  their  gods  to  be  unlike  to  them.  I  am  sure  the  way  to 
honour  our  Christ,  is  in  patience  and  silence  to  be  like  to  Christ,  espe- 
cially when  a  smarting  rod  is  upon  our  backs,  and  a  bitter  cup  put  into 
our  hands. 

Reason  4.  The  fourth  reason  why  the  people  of  God  should  be  mute 
and  silent  under  their  afflictions,  is  this,  because  it  is  ten  thousand 
times  a  greater  judgment  and  affliction,  to  be  given  up  to  a  fretful 
spirit,  afroward  spirit,  a  muttering  or  murmuring  spirit  under  an 
affliction,  than  it  is  to  be  afflicted.  This  is  both  the  devil's  sin,  and  the 
devil's  punishment.  God  is  still  afflicting,  crossing  and  vexing  of  him, 
and  he  is  still  a-fretting,  repining,  vexing,  and  rising  up  against  God. 
No  sin  to  the  devil's  sin,  no  punishment  to  the  devil's  punishment. 
A  man  were  better  to  have  all  the  afflictions  of  all  the  afflicted 
throughout  the  world  at  once  upon  him,  than  to  be  given  up  to  a  fro- 
ward  spirit,  to  a  muttering,  murmuring  heart  under  the  least  affliction. 
1  Justin  Martyr  being  asked  which  was  the  greatest  miracle  that  our  Saviour  Christ 
wrought,  answered,  Patientia  ejus  tanta  in  laborious  tantis,  his  so  great  patience  in  so 
great  trouble. 

*  1  Mace.  vi.  34.    [Third  quotation  from  Apocrypha  thus  far. —  G.] 

3  The  Arabians,  if  their  king  be  sick  or  lame,  they  all  feign  themselves  so. 


316  THE  MUTE  CHRISTIAN  [Ps.  XXXIX.  9. 

When  thou  seest  a  soul  fretting,  vexing,  and  stamping  under  the  mighty 
hand  of  God,  thou  seest  one  of  Satan's  first-born,  one  that  resembles 
him  to  the  life.1  No  child  can  be  so  much  like  the  father,  as  this  fro- 
ward  soul  is  like  to  the  father  of  lies  ;  though  he  hath  been  in  chains 
almost  this  six  thousand  years,  yet  he  hath  never  lain  still  one  day, 
nor  one  night,  no  nor  one  hour  in  all  this  time,  but  is  still  a-fretting, 
vexing,  tossing  and  tumbling  in  his  chains,  like  a  princely  bedlam.  He 
is  a  lion,  not  a  lamb ;  a  roaring  lion,  not  a  sleepy  lion  ;  not  a  lion  standing 
still,  but  a  lion  going  up  and  down  ;  he  is  not  satisfied  with  the  prey 
he  hath  got,  but  is  restless  in  his  designs  to  fill  hell  with  souls,  1  Pet. 
v.  8.  He  never  wants  an  apple  for  an  Eve,  nor  a  grape  for  a  Noah, 
nor  a  change  of  raiment  for  a  Gehazi,  nor  a  wedge  of  gold  for  an  Achan, 
nor  a  crown  for  an  Absalom,  nor  a  bag  for  a  Judas,  nor  a  world  for  a 
Dumas.  If  you  look  into  one  company,  there  you  shall  find  Satan 
a-dishing  out  his  meat  to  every  palate  ;  if  you  look  into  another  com- 
pany, there  you  shall  find  him  fitting  a  last  to  every  shoe  ;  if  you  look 
into  a  third  company,  there  you  shall  find  him  suiting  a  garment  to 
every  back.  He  is  under  wrath,  and  cannot  but  be  restless.  Here, 
with  Jael,  he  allures  poor  souls  in  with  milk,  and  murders  them  with 
a  nail ;  there,  with  Joab,  he  embraces  with  one  hand,  and  stabs  with 
another.  Here  with  Judas,  he  kisses  and  betrays  ;  and  there,  with  the 
whore  of  Babylon,  he  presents  a  golden  cup  with  poison  in  it.  He  can- 
not be  quiet,  though  his  bolts  be  always  on  ;  and  the  more  unquiet  any 
are  under  the  rebukes  of  God,  the  more  such  resemble  Satan  to  the  life, 
whose  whole  life  is  filled  up  with  vexing  and  fretting  against  the  Lord. 
Let  not  any  think,  saith  Luther,  that  the  devil  is  now  dead,  nor  yet 
asleep,  for  as  he  that  keepeth  Israel,  so  he  that  hateth  Israel,  neither 
slumbereth  nor  sleepeth.     But  in  the  next  place, 

Reason  5.  A  fifth  reason  why  gracious  souls  should  be  mute  and 
silent  under  the  greatest  afflictions  and  sharpest  trials  that  do  befall 
them  is  this,  because  a  holy,  a  prudent  silence  under  afflictions,  under 
miseries,  doth  best  capacitate  and  Jit  the  afflicted  for  the  receipt  of 
miseries.2  When  the  rolling  bottle  lies  still,  you  may  pour  into  it  your 
sweetest  or  your  strongest  waters  ;  when  the  rolling,  tumbling  soul  lies 
still,  then  God  can  best  pour  into  it  the  sweet  waters  of  mercy,  and  the 
strong  waters  of  divine  consolation.  You  read  of  the  '  peaceable  fruits 
of  righteousness':  Heb.  xii.  11,  'Now  no  chastening  for  the  present 
seemeth  to  be  joyous,  but  grievous  ;  nevertheless,  afterwards  it  yieldeth 
the  peaceable  fruits  of  righteousness  unto  them  which  are  exercised 
thereby;'  James  hi.  18,  'And  the  fruit  of  righteousness  is  sown  in 
peace,  of  them  that  make  peace.'  The  still  and  quiet  soul  is  like  a 
ship  that  lies  still  and  quiet  in  the  harbour;  you  may  take  in  what 
goods,  what  commodities  you  please,  whilst  the  ship  lies  quiet  and  still 
so  when  the  soul  is  quiet  and  still  under  the  hand  of  God,  it  is  mos 
fitted  and  advantaged  to  take  in  much  of  God,  of  Christ,  of  heaven,  of 
the  promises,  of  ordinances,  and  of  the  love  of  God,  the  smiles  of  God, 
the  communications  of  God,  and  the  counsel  of  God  ;  but  when  souls  are 
unquiet,  they  are  like  a  ship  in  a  storm,  they  can  take  in  nothing.3 

Luther,  speaking  of  God,  saith,  God  doth  not  dwell  in  Babylon,  but 

>  IroiicTus  calleth  such  ora  diaboli,  the  devil's  mouth.  2  Qu.  '  mercies'? — Ed. 

3  The  angels  are  most  quiet  and  stiil,  and  the;  take  in  most  of  God,  of  Christ,  of  heayen. 


Ps.  XXXIX.  9.]  UNDER  THE  SMARTING  ROD.  317 

in  Salem.  Babylon  signifies  confusion,  and  Salem  signifies  peace. 
Now  God  dwells  not  in  spirits  that  are  unquiet  and  in  confusion,  but 
he  dwells  in  peaceable  and  quiet  spirits.  Unquiet  spirits  can  take  in 
neither  counsel  nor  comfort,  grace  nor  peace,  &c. :  Ps.  lxxvii.  2,  '  My 
soul  refused  to  be  comforted.'  The  impatient  patient  will  take  down 
no  cordials  ;  he  hath  no  eye  to  see,  nor  hand  to  take,  nor  palate  to 
relish,  nor  stomach  to  digest  anything  that  makes  for  his  health  and 
welfare.  When  the  man  is  sick  and  froward,  nothing  will  down  ;  the 
sweetest  music  will  make  no  melody  in  his  ears:  Exod.  vi.  6-9,  'Where- 
fore, say  unto  the  children  of  Israel,  I  am  the  Lord,  and  I  will  brino- 
you  out  from  under  the  burdens  of  the  Egyptians,  and  I  will  rid  you 
out  of  their  bondage,  and  I  will  redeem  you  with  a  stretched-out  arm, 
and  with  great  judgment.  And  I  will  take  you  to  me  for  a  people,  and 
I  will  be  to  you  a  God,  and  ye  shall  know  that  I  am  the  Lord  your  God, 
which  bringeth  you  out  from  under  the  burdens  of  the  Egyptians. 
And  I  will  bring  you  in  unto  the  land  concerning  the  which  I  did  sware 
to  give  it  to  Abraham,  to  Isaac,  and  to  Jacob,  and  I  will  give  it  to  you 
for  a  heritage  ;  I  am  the  Lord.'  The  choicest  cordials  and  comforts 
that  heaven  or  earth  could  afford  are  here  held  forth  to  them,  but  they 
have  no  hand  to  receive  them.  Here  Moses  his  lips  drops  honey- 
combs, but  they  can  taste  no  sweetness  in  them.  Here  the  best  of 
earth  and  the  best  of  heaven  is  set  before  them,  but  their  souls  are  shut 
up,  and  nothing  will  down.  Here  is  such  ravishing  music  of  paradise 
as  might  abundantly  delight  their  hearts  and  please  their  ears,  but  they 
cannot  hear.  Here  are  soul-enlivening,  soul-supporting,  soul-strength- 
ening, soul-comforting,  soul-raising,  and  soul-refreshing  words,  but  they 
cannot  hearken  to  them  :  ver.  9,  '  And  Moses  spake  so  unto  the  chil- 
dren of  Israel,  but  they  hearkened  not  unto  Moses,  for  anguish  of  spirit, 
and  for  cruel  bondage.'  They  were  under  their  anguish1  feverish  fits,  and 
so  could  neither  hear  nor  see,  taste  nor  take  in,  anything  that  mi^ht  be 
a  mercy  or  a  comfort  to  them.2  They  were  sick  of  impatiency  and  dis- 
content :  and  these  humours  being  grown  strong,  nothing  would  take 
with  them,  nothing  would  agree  with  them.  When  persons  are  under 
strong  pangs  of  passion,  they  have  no  ears  neither  for  reason  nor 
religion. 

Reason  6.  A  sixth  reason  why  gracious  souls  should  be  silent  under 
the  smarting  rod,  is  this,  viz.,  because  it  is  fruitless,  it  is  bootless  to 
strive,  to  contest  or  contend  with  God.  No  man  hath  ever  got  any- 
thing by  muttering  or  murmuring  under  the  hand  of  God,  except  it 
hath  been  more  frowns,  blows,  and  wounds.  Such  as  will  not  lie  quiet 
and  still,  when  mercy  hath  tied  them  with  silken  cords,  justice  will  put 
them  in  iron  chains  ;  if  golden  fetters  will  not  hold  you,  iron  shall.3 
If  Jonah  will  vex  and  fret  and  fling,  justice  will  fling  him  overboard,  to 
cool  him,  and  quell  him,  and  keep  him  prisoner  in  the  whale's  belly, 
till  his  stomach  be  brought  down,  and  his  spirit  be  made  quiet  before 
the  Lord.  What  you  get  by  struggling  and  grumbling,  you  may  put  in 
your  eye,  and  weep  it  out  when  you  have  done  :  Jer.  vii.  19,  '  Do  they 
provoke  me  to  anger,  saith  the  Lord  ?     Do  they  not  provoke  thern- 

1  Qu.  '  aguish  '? — Ed.  _  3  No  air  agrees  well  with  weak,  peevish,  sickly  bodies. 

8  If  bedlams  will  not  lie  quiet,  they  are  put  into  darker  rooms,  and  heavier  chains  are 
put  upon  them. 


318  T1IK  MUTE  CHRISTIAN  [Ps.  XXXIX.  9. 

selves  to  the  confusion  of  their  own  faces  ?'  By  provoking  of  me,  they 
do  but  provoke  themselves;  by  angering  of  me,  they  do  but  anger  them- 
selves ;  by  vexing  of  me,  they  do  but  fret  and  vex  themselves  :  1  Cor. 
x.  22,  '  Do  we  provoke  the  Lord  to  jealousy  ?  Are  we  stronger  than  he  ? 
Zanchy1  observes  these  two  things  from  these  words: 

1.  That  it  is  ill  provoking  God  to  wrath,  because  he  is  stronger  than 

we. 

2.  That  though  God  be  stronger  than  we,  yet  there  are  those  who 
provoke  him  to  wrath  ;  and  certainly  there  are  none  that  do  more  pro- 
voke him  than  those  who  fume  and  fret  when  his  hand  is  upon  them. 
Though  the  cup  be  bitter,  yet  it  is  put  into  your  hand  by  your  Father ; 
though  the  cross  be  heavy,  yet  he  that  hath  laid  it  on  your  shoulders 
will  bear  the  heaviest  end  of  it  himself ;  and  why,  then,  should  you 
mutter  1  Shall  bears  and  lions  take  blows  and  knocks  from  their 
keepers,  and  wilt  thou  not  take  a  few  blows  and  knocks  from  the  keeper 
of  Israel  %  Why  should  the  clay  contend  with  the  potter,  or  the  creature 
with  his  creator,  or  the  servant  with  his  lord,  or  weakness  with 
strength,  or  a  poor  nothing  creature  with  an  omnipotent  God  ?  Can 
stubble  stand  before  the  fire  ?  Can  chaff  abide  before  the  whirlwind  ? 
or  can  a  worm  ward  off  the  blow  of  the  Almighty  ?  A  froward  and 
impatient  spirit  under  the  hand  of  God  will  but  add  chain  to  chain, 
cross  to  cross,  yoke  to  yoke,  and  burden  to  burden.  The  more  men 
tumble  and  toss' in  their  feverish  fits,  the  more  they  strengthen  the  dis- 
temper, and  the  longer  it  will  be  before  the  cure  be  effected.  The 
easiest  and  the  surest  way  of  cure  is  to  lie  still  and  quiet  till  the  poison 
of  the  distemper  be  sweat  out.  Where  patience  hath  its  perfect  work, 
there  the  cure  will  be  certain  and  easy.  When  a  man  hath  his  broken 
lea-  set,  he  lies  still  and  quiet,  and  so  his  cure  is  easily  and  speedily 
wrought ;  but  when  a  horse's  leg  is  set,  he  frets  and  flings,  he  flounces 
and  flies  out,  unjointing  it  again  and  again,  and  so  his  cure  is  the  more 
difficult  and  tedious.  Such  Christians  that  under  the  hand  of  God  are 
like  the  horse  or  mule,  fretting  and  flinging,  will  but  add  to  their  own 
sorrows  and  sufferings,  and  put  the  day  of  their  deliverance  further  off. 

Reason  7.  A  seventh  reason  why  Christians  should  be  mute  and 
silent  under  their  afflictions  is,  because  hereby  they  shall  cross  and 
frustrate  Satan's  great  design  and  expectation.  In  all  the  afflictions 
he  brought  upon  Job,  his  design  was  not  so  much  to  make  Job  a  beggar 
as  it  was  to  make  him  a  blasphemer  ;  it  was  not  so  much  to  make  Job 
outwardly  miserable,  as  it  was  to  make  Job  inwardly  miserable,  by 
occasioning  him  to  mutter  and  murmur  against  the  righteous  hand  of 
God,  that  so  he  might  have  had  some  matter  of  accusation  against  him 
to  the  Lord.  He  is  the  unwearied  accuser  of  the  brethren  :  Rev.  xii. 
10.  'Tlir  accuser  of  the  brethren  is  cast  down,  which  accuseth  them 
before  our  God  day  and  night/  Satan  is  the  great  make-bait  between 
God  and  his  children.  He  hath  a  mint  constantly  going  in  hell,  where, 
as  an  untired  mint-master,  he  is  still  a-coining  and  hammering  out  of 
accusations  against  the  saints.  First,  he  tempts  and  allures  souls  tosiu, 
and  then  accuses  them  of  those  very  sins  he  hath  tempted  them  to, 
that  so  he  may  disgrace  them  before  God,  and  bring  them,  if  it  were 
possible,  out  of  favour  with  God  ;  and  though  he  knows  beforehand 
1  Jerome  Zauchiu-    not  to  bo  confounded  with  his  contemporary  Basil  Zanchius. — 0. 


PS.  XXXIX.  9.]  UNDER  THE  SMARTING  ROD.  319 

that  God  and  his  people  are,  by  the  bond  of  the  covenant,  and  by  the 
blood  of  the  Redeemer,  so  closely  united  that  they  can  never  be  severed, 
yet  such  is  his  rage  and  wrath,  envy  and  malice,  that  he  will  endeavour 
that  which  he  knows  he  shall  never  effect.  Could  he  but  have  made 
Job  fro  ward  or  fretful  under  the  rod,  he  would  have  quickly  carried 
the  tidings  to  heaven,  and  have  been  so  bold  as  to  have  asked  God 
whether  this  was  a  carriage  becoming  such  a  person,  of  whom  himself 
had  given  so  glorious  a  character.1  Satan  knows  that  there  is  more 
evil  in  the  least  sin,  than  there  is  in  all  the  afflictions  that  can  be  in- 
flicted upon  a  person  ;  and  if  he  could  but  have  made  a  breach  upon 
Job's  patience,  ah,  how  would  he  have  insulted  over  God  himself!  could 
he  but  have  made  Job  a  mutineer,  he  would  quickly  have  pleaded  for 
martial  law  to  have  been  executed  upon  him  ;  but  Job,  by  remaining 
mute  and  silent  under  all  his  trials,  puts  Satan  to  a  blush,  and  spoils 
all  his  projects  at  once.  The  best  way  to  outwit  the  devil,  is  to  be 
silent  under  the  hand  of  God  ;  he  that  mutters  is  foiled  by  him,  but  he 
that  is  mute  overcomes  him,  and  to  conquer  a  devil  is  more  than  to 
conquer  a  world. 

Reason  8.  The  eighth  and  last  reason  why  Christians  should  be 
silent  and  mute  under  their  sorest  trials,  is  this,  that  they  may  be  con- 
formable to  those  noble  patterns  that  are  set  before  them  by  other  saints, 
who  have  been  patient  and  silent  under  the  smarting  rod.2  As 
Aaron,  Lev.  x.  3 ;  so  Eli,  I  Sam.  iii.  18  ;  so  David,  2  Sam.  xvi.  7-13  ; 
so  Job,  chap.  i.  21,  22 ;  so  Eliakim,  Shebnah,  and  Joab,  Isa.  xxxvi.  1 1,  12. 
So  those  saints  in  that  Acts  xxi.  12-15  ;  and  that  cloud  of  witnesses, 
pointed  at  in  Heb.  xii.  1.  Gracious  examples  are  more  awakening, 
more  convincing,  more  quickening,  more  provoking,  and  more  en- 
couraging than  precepts,  because  in  them  we  see  that  the  exercise  of 
grace  and  godliness  is  possible,  though  it  be  difficult.  When  we  see 
Christians,  that  are  subject  to  like  infirmities  with  ourselves,  mute  and' 
silent  under  the  afflicting  hand  of  God,  we  see  that  it  is  possible  that 
we  may  attain  to  the  same  noble  temper  of  being  tongue-tied  under  a 
smarting  rod.  Certainly  it  is  our  greatest  honour  and  glory,  in  this 
world,  to  be  eyeing  and  imitating  the  highest  and  worthiest  examples. 
What  Plutarch  said  of  Demosthenes,  that  he  was  excellent  at  praising 
the  worthy  acts  of  his  ancestors,  but  not  so  at  imitating  them,  may  be 
said  of  many  in  these  clays.  Oh  !  they  are  very  forward  and  excellent 
at  praising  the  patience  of  Job,  but  not  at  imitating  it ;  at  praising  the 
silence  of  Aaron,  but  not  at  imitating  it ;  at  praising  David's  dumbness, 
but  not  at  imitating  it ;  at  praising  Eli's  muteness,  but  not  at  imitat- 
ing it.  It  was  the  height  of  Caesar's  glory  to  walk  in  the  steps  of 
Alexander,  and  of  Selymus,3  a  Turkish  emperor,  to  walk  in  Csesar's 
steps,  and  of  Themistocles  to  walk  in  Miltiades's  steps.  Oh !  how  much 
more  should  we  account  it  our  highest  glory  to  imitate  the  worthv 
examples  of  those  worthies,  of  whom  this  world  is  not  worthy !  ft 
speaks  out  much  of  God  within,  when  men  are  striving  to  write  after 
the  fairest  copies.  And  thus  much  for  the  reasons  of  the  point.  I  come 
now  to  the  application. 

1  That  devil  that  accused  God  to  man  (Gen.  iii.),  and  Christ  to  be  an  impostor,  will 
make  no  hones  to  accuse  the  saints,  when  they  miscarry  under  the  rod. 

3  Prcecepta  docent,  exempla  movent,  Precepts  may  instruct,  but  examples  do  persuade, 
before. — G.]  8  Solyman? — G. 


320  TIIK  MUTE  christian  [Ps.  XXXIX.  9. 

V.  You  see,  beloved,  by  what  hath  been  said,  that  it  is  the  greatest 
duty  and  concernment  of  Christians  to  be  mute  and  silent  under  the 
greatest  afflictions,  the  saddest  providences,  and  the  sharpest  trials  that 
they  meet  with  in  this  world.  If  this  be  so,  then  this  truth  looks  sourly 
and  wistly1  upon  several  sorts  of  persons.     As, 

1.  First,  This  looks  sourly  and  sadly  upon  murmurers,  upon  such 
as  do  nothing  but  mutter  and  niurmur  under  the  afflict  i  ag  IkukI  of 
God.  This  was  Israel's  sin  of  old,2  and  this  is  England's  sin  this  day. 
Ah  !  what  murmuring  is  there  against  God,  what  murmuring  against 
instruments,  and  what  murmuring  against  providences,  is  to  be  found 
amongst  us  !  Some  murmur  at  what  they  have  lost,  others  murmur  at 
what  they  fear  they  shall  lose  ;  some  murmur  that  they  are  no  higher, 
others  murmur  because  they  are  so  low  ;  some  murmur  because  such  a 
party  rules,  and  others  mutter  because  themselves  are  not  in  the  saddle; 
some  murmur  because  their  mercies  are  not  so  great  as  others'  are;  some 
murmur  because  their  mercies  are  not  so  many  as  others'  are  ;  some 
murmur  because  they  are  afflicted,  and  others  murmur  because  such 
and  such  are  not  afflicted  as  well  as  they.  Ah,  England,  England  ! 
hadst  thou  no  more  sins  upon  thee,  thy  murmuring  were  enough  to 
undo  thee,  did  not  God  exercise  much  pity  and  compassion  towards 
thee.  But  more  of  this  hereafter,  and  therefore  let  this  touch  for  the 
present  suffice. 

2.  Secondly,  This  truth  looks  sourly  upon  those  that/ref,  chafe,  and 
vex,  when  they  are  under  the  afflicting  hand  of  God.  Many  when 
they  feel  the  rod  to  smart,  ah,  how  they  do  fret  and  fume  !  Isa.  viii. 
21,  'When  they  were  hardly  bestead  and  hungry,  they  fret  themselves, 
and  curse  their  king  and  their  God  ;'  Prov.  xix.  3,  '  The  foolishness  of 
man  perverteth  his  way,  and  his  heart  fretteth  against  the  Lord.'  The 
heart  may  be  fretful  and  froward  when  the  tongue  doth  not  blaspheme. 
Foil}'  brings  man  into  misery,  and  misery  makes  man  to  fret  ;  man  in 
misery  is  more  apt  to  fret  and  chafe  against  the  Lord,  than  to  fret  and 
chafe  against  his  sin  that  hath  brought  him  into  sufferings,  2  Kings 
vi.  33,  Ps.  xxxvii.  1,  7,  8.  A  fretful  soul  dares  let  fly  at  God  himself. 
When  Pharaoh  is  troubled  with  the  frets,  he  dare  spit  in  the  very  face 
of  God  himself:  '  Who  is  the  Lord,  that  I  should  obey  him  ?'  Exod.  v.  2. 
And  when  Jonah  is  in  a  fretting  humour,  he  dares  tell  God  to  his  face, 
'  that  he  doth  well  to  be  angry,'  Jonah  iv.  8.  Jonah  had  done  well  if 
he  had  been  angry  with  his  sin,  but  he  did  very  ill  to  be  angry  with 
his  God.  God  will  vex  every  vein  in  that  man's  heart,  before  he  hath 
done  with  him,  who  fumes  and  frets,  because  he  cannot  snap  in  sunder 
the  cords  with  which  he  is  bound,  Ezek.  xvi.  43.  Sometimes  good  men 
are  sick  of  the  frets,  but  when  they  are,  it  costs  them  dear,  as  Job  and 
Jonah  found  by  experience.  No  man  hath  ever  got  anything  by  his 
fretting  and  flinging,  except  it  hath  been  harder  blows  or  heavier 
chains  ;  therefore  fret  not  when  God  strikes. 

3.  Thirdly,  This  truth  looks  sourly  upon  those  who  charge  God 
foolishly  in  the  day  of  their  adversity.     Lam.  iii.  39,  '  Why  doth  a 

living  man   complain  V     He  that  hath  deserved  a  hanging  hath  DQ 
reason  to  charge  the  judge  with  cruelty  if  he  escape  with  a  whipping  ; 

1  '  Wistfully,'  earnestly. — G. 

*  Exod.  xvi.  7-9  ;  Numb.  xii.  14,  xvii.  5,  10 ;  Exod.  xv.  24  ;  Deut.  i.  27  ;  Ps.  cvi.  25. 


PS.  XXXIX.  9.]  UNDER  THE  SMARTING  ROD.  321 

and  we  that  have  deserved  a  damning  have  no  reason  to  charge  God 
for  being  too  severe,  if  we  escape  with  a  fatherly  lashing.1  Rather  than 
a  man  will  take  the  blame,  and  quietly  bear  the  shame  of  his  own  folly, 
he  will  put  it  off  upon  God  himself,  Gen.  iii.  12.  It  is  a  very  evil 
thing,  when  we  shall  go  to  accuse  God,  that  we  may  excuse  ourselves, 
and  unblame  ourselves,  that  we  may  blame  our  God,  and  lay  the  fault 
anywhere  rather  than  upon  our  own  hearts  and  ways.  Job  was  a  man 
of  a  more  noble  spirit :  Job  i.  22,  '  In  all  this  Job  sinned  not,  nor 
charged  God  foolishly/  When  God  charges  many  men  home,  then  they 
presently  charge  God  foolishly  ;  they  put  him  to  bear  the  brunt  and 
blame  of  all  ;  but  this  will  be  bitterness  in  the  end.  When  thou  art 
under  affliction,  thou  rnayest  humbly  tell  God  that  thou  feelest  his 
hand  heavy  ;  but  thou  must  not  blame  him  because  his  hand  is  heavy. 
No  man  hath  ever  yet  been  able  to  make  good  a  charge  against  God  ; 
and  wilt  thou  be  able  ?  Surely  no.  By  charging  God  foolishly  in  the 
day  of  thy  calamity,  thou  dost  but  provoke  the  Lord  to  charge  thee 
through  and  through,  more  fiercely  and  furiously,  with  his  most  deadly 
darts  of  renewed  misery.  It  is  thy  greatest  wisdom  to  blame  thy  sins, 
and  lay  thy  hand  upon  thy  mouth  ;  for  why  should  folly  charge  inno- 
cency  ?  That  man  is  far  enough  off  from  being  mute  and  silent  under 
the  hand  of  God,  who  dares  charge  God  himself  for  laying  his  hand 
upon  him.     But, 

4  Fourthly,  This  truth  looks  sourly  and  sadly  upon  such  as  luill  not 
be  silent  nor  satisfied  under  the  afflicting  hand  of  God,2  eoccept  the 
Lord  will  give  them  the  particular  reasons  why  he  lays  his  hand  upon 
them,.  Good  men  sometimes  dash  their  feet  against  this  stumbling- 
stone  :  Jer.  xv.  18,  'Why  is  my  pain  perpetual,  and  my  wound  in- 
curable ?'  &c.  Though  God  hath  always  reason  for  what  he  doth,  yet 
he  is  not  bound  to  shew  us  the  reasons  of  his  doings.  Jeremiah's  pas- 
sion was  up,  his  blood  was  hot  ;  and  now  nothing  will  silence  nor  satisfy 
him  but  the  reasons  why  his  pain  was  perpetual,  and  his  wound  in- 
curable. So  Job,  chap.  vii.  20,  '  Why  hast  thou  set  me  as  a  mark 
against  thee,  so  that  I  am  a  burden  to  myself  ?'  It  is  an  evil  and  a 
dangerous  thing  to  cavil  at  or  to  question  his  proceedings,  who  is  the 
chief  Lord  of  all,  and  who  may  do  with  his  own  what  he  pleaseth,  Rom. 
ix.  20,  Dan.  iv.  3,  36.  He  is  unaccountable  and  uncontrollable  ;  and 
therefore  who  shall  say,  What  doest  thou  ?  As  no  man  may  question 
his  right  to  afflict  him,  nor  his  righteousness  in  afflicting  of  him,  so  no 
man  may  question  the  reasons  why  he  afflicts  him.  As  no  man  can 
compel  him  to  give  a  reason  of  his  doings,  so  no  man  may  dare  to  ask 
him  the  particular  reasons  of  his  doings.  Kings  think  themselves  are 
not  bound  to  give  their  subjects  a  reason  of  their  doings  ;  and  shall  we 
bind  God  to  give  us  a  reason  of  his  doings,  who  is  the  King  of  kings 
and  Lord  of  lords,  and  whose  will  is  the  true  reason  and  only  rule  of 
justice  ?  Eccles.  viii.  4,  Rev.  i.  5.  The  general  grounds  and  reasons  that 
God  hath  laid  down  in  his  word  why  he  afflicts  his  people,  as,  viz.,  for 
their  profit,  Heb.  xii.  10 ;  for  the  purging  away  of  their  sins,  Isa.  i.  25  ; 

1  Lam.  i.  12  ;  Ps.  lxxvii.  7,  i.  2  ;  Ezek.  xviii.  25  ;  xix.  38  ;  xvii.  20,  29.  Some  of  the 
heathens,  as  Homer  observes,  would  lay  the  evils  that  they  did  incur  by  their  own  folly 
upon  their  gods  :  so  do  many  upon  the  true  God. 

2  Exod.  xxxii.  1 ;  Ps.  xxii.  1,  2  ;  Job  iii.  11,  12  ;  xix.  11,  13,  14. 
VOL.  I.  «  X 


322  THE  Mi  TK  CHRISTIAN  [Ps.  XXXIX.  9. 

for  the  reforming  of  their  lives,  Ps.  cxix.  67,  71  ;  and  for  the  saving  of 
their  souls,  1  Cor.  xi.  32, — should  work  them  to  be  silent  and  satisfied 
under  all  their  afflictions,  though  God  should  never  satisfy  their  curiosity 
in  giving  them  an  account  of  some  more  hidden  causes  which  may  lie 
secret  in  the  abysses  of  his  eternal  knowledge  and  infallible  will. 
Curiosity  is  the  spiritual  drunkenness  of  the  soul;  and  Look,  as  the 
drunkard  will  never  be  satisfied,  be  the  cup  never  so  deep,  unless  he 
see  the  bottom  of  it,  so  some  curious  Christians,  whose  souls  are  over- 
spread with  the  leprosy  of  curiosity,  will  never  be  satisfied  till  they 
come  to  see  the  bottom  and  the  most  secret  reasons  of  all  God's  deal- 
ings towards  them  ;  but  they  are  fools  in  folio,  who  affect  to  know  more 
than  God  would  have  them.  Did  not  Adam's  curiosity  render  him  and 
his  posterity  fools  in  folio  ?  And  what  pleasure  can  we  take  to  see  our- 
selves every  day  fools  in  print  ?  As  a  man  by  gazing  and  prying  into 
the  body  of  the  sun  may  grow  dark  and  dim,  and  see  less  than  other- 
wise he  might,  so  many,  by  a  curious  prying  into  the  secret  reasons  of 
Cod's  dealings  with  them,  come  to  grow  so  dark  and  dim,  that  they 
cannot  see  those  plain  reasons  that  God  hath  laid  down  in  his  word 
why  he  afflicts  and  tries  the  children  of  men. 

1  have  read  of  one  Sir  William  Champney,  in  the  reign  of  King 
Henry  the  Third,  once  living  in  Tower  Street,  London,  who  was  the 
first  man  that  ever  built  a  turret  on  the  top  of  his  house,  that  he  might 
the  better  overlook  all  his  neighbours,  but  so  it  fell  out,  that  not  long 
after  he  was  struck  blind  ;  so  that  he  that  could  not  be  satisfied  to  see 
as  others  did  see,  but  would  needs  see  more  than  others,  saw  just 
nothing  at  all,  through  the  just  judgment  of  God  upon  him.1  And  so  it  is 
a  just  and  righteous  thing  with  God  to  strike  such  with  spiritual  blind- 
ness, who  will  not  be  satisfied  with  seeing  the  reasons  laid  down  in  the 
word  why  he  afflicts  them,  but  they  must  be  curiously  prying  and 
searching  into  the  hidden  and  more  secret  reasons  of  his  severity  towards 
them.  Ah,  Christian  !  it  is  your  wisdom  and  duty  to  sit  silent  and  mute 
under  the  afflicting  hand  of  God  upon  the  account  of  revealed  reasons, 
without  making  any  curious  inquiry  into  those  more  secret  reasons  that 
are  locked  up  in  the  golden  cabinet  of  God's  own  breast,  Deut.  xxix.  29. 

5.  Fifthly,  This  truth  looks  sourly  and  sadly  upon  those  who,  in- 
stead of  being  silent  and  mute  under  their  afflictions,  use  all  sinful 
■shifts  and  ways  to  slti ft  themselves  out  of  their  troubles  ;  ivho  care 
not  though  they  break  with  God,  and  break  with  men,  and  break  ivith 
tin-it' own  consciences,  so  they  may  but  break  off  the  chains  that  an 
upon  them  ;  who  care  not  by  what  means  the  prison  door  is  opened, 
80  /hey  may  but  escape  ;  nor  by  what  hands  their  bolts  are  knocked 
off,  so  they  may  be  at  liberty.  Job  xxxvi.  21,  'Take  heed,  regard  not 
iniquity,  for  this  hast  thou  chosen  rather  than  affliction.'  He  makes  but 
an  ill  choice,  who  chooses  sin  rather  than  suffering  ;  and  yet  such  an  ill 
choice  good  men  have  sometimes  made,  as  you  may  see  by  the  proofs  in 
the  margin,2  when  troubles  have  compassed  them  round  about.  Though 
no  lion  roars  like  that  in  a  man's  own  bosom, — conscience, — yet  some,  to 
deliver  themselves  from  troubles  without,  have  set  that  lion  a-roaring 

1  Jobn  Stow's  '  Survey  of  London.'     [Sab  nomint. — G.] 

-  1  Sam.  xxi.  12-15  ;  Gen.  xii.  12,  15  ;  xx.  13,  'JO  ;  xxvi.  7-9  ;  Jonah  i.  1.  seq. ;  1  Sam. 
xwiii.  throu'rliout. 


Ps.  XXXIX.  9.]  UNDER  THE  SMARTING  ROD.  323 

within.  Some,  to  deliver  themselves  from  outward  tortures,  have  put 
themselves  under  inward  torments.  He  purchases  his  freedom  from 
affliction  at  too  dear  a  rate,  who  buys  it  with  the  loss  of  a  good  name  or 
a  good  conscience. 

Now,  because  there  is  even  in  good  men  sometimes  too  great  an  apt- 
ness and  proneness  to  sin  and  shift  themselves  out  of  afflictions,  when 
they  should  rather  be  mute  and  silent  under  them,  give  me  leave  to 
lay  down  these  six  considerations  to  prevent  it. 

(1.)  First  Consider,  that  there  is  infinitely  more  evil  in  the  least  sin 
than  there  is  in  the  greatest  miseries  and  afflictions  that  can  'possibly 
come  upon  you;  yea,  there  is  more  evil  in  the  least  sin  than  there  is 
in  all  the  troubles  that  ever  come  upon  the  world,  yea,  than  there  is 
in  all  the  miseries  and  torments  of  hell.  The  least  sin  is  an  offence  to 
the  great  God,  it  is  a  wrong  to  the  immortal  soul,  it  is  a  breach  of  a 
righteous  law  ;  it  cannot  be  washed  away  but  by  the  blood  of  Jesus ; 
it  can  shut  the  soul  out  of  heaven,  and  shut  the  soul  up  a  close  prisoner 
in  hell  for  ever  and  ever.1  The  least  sin  is  rather  to  be  avoided  and 
prevented  than  the  greatest  sufferings  ;  if  this  cockatrice  be  not  crushed 
in  the  egg,  it  will  soon  become  a  serpent ;  the  very  thought  of  sin,  if  but 
thought  on,  will  break  out  into  action,  action  into  custom,  custom  into 
habit,  and  then  both  body  and  soul  are  lost  irrecoverably  to  all  eternity. 
The  least  sin  is  very  dangerous.  Cassar  was  stabbed  with  bodkins  ; 
Herod  was  eaten  up  of  lice  ;  Pope  Adrian  was  choked  with  a  gnat ;  a 
mouse  is  but  little,  yet  killeth  an  elephant  if  he  gets  up  into  his  trunk  ; 
a  scorpion  is  little,  yet  able  to  sting  a  lion  to  death  ;  though  the  leopard 
be  great,  yet  he  is  poisoned  with  a  head  of  garlic  ;  the  least  spark  may 
consume  the  greatest  house,  and  the  least  leak  sink  the  greatest  ship  ; 
a  whole  arm  hath  been  impostumated  with  the  prick  of  a  little  finger ; 
a  little  postern  opened  may  betray  the  greatest  city  ;  a  dram  of  poison 
diffuseth  itself  to  all  parts,  till  it  strangle  the  vital  spirits,  and  turn  out 
the  soul  from  the  body.  If  the  serpent  can  but  wriggle  in  his  tail  by 
an  evil  thought,  he  will  soon  make  a  surprisal  of  the  soul,  as  you  see  in 
that  great  instance  of  Adam  and  Eve.  The  trees  of  the  forest,  saith  one 
in  a  parable,  held  a  solemn  parliament,  wherein  they  consulted  of  the 
innumerable  wrongs  which  the  axe  had  done  them,  therefore  made  an 
act,  that  no  tree  should  hereafter  lend  the  axe  an  helve,  on  pain  of 
being  cut  down.  The  axe  travels  up  and  down  the  forest,  begs  wood 
of  the  cedar,  oak,  ash,  elm,  even  of  the  poplar ;  not  one  would  lend  him 
a  chip.  At  last  he  desired  so  much  as  would  serve  him  to  cut  down  the 
briars  and  bushes,  alleging,  that  such  shrubs  as  they  did  but  suck  away 
the  juice  of  the  ground,  and  hinder  the  growth,  and  obscure  the  glory 
of  the  fair  and  goodly  trees ;  hereupon  they  were  all  content  to  afford 
him  so  much  :  he  pretends  a  thorough  reformation,  but  behold  a  sad 
deformation,  for  when  he  had  got  his  helve,  down  went  both  cedar,  oak, 
ash,  elm,  and  all  that  stood  in  his  way.2  Such  are  the  subtle  reaches 
of  sin ;  it  will  promise  to  remove  the  briars,  and  business  of  afflictions 

1  James  iii.  5,  11 ;  Prov.  viii.  35 ;  1  John  iii.  4  ;  i.  7 ;  Rev.  xxi.  8.  If  you  consider 
sin  strictly,  there  cannot  be  any  little  sin,  no  more  than  there  can  be  a  little  God,  a  little 
hell,  or  a  little  damnation  ;  yet  comparatively  some  sins  may  be  said  to  be  little. 

2  Thomas  Adams.  See  Works,  vol.  ii.  page  359,  Sermon,  '  The  Bad  Leaven.'  Brooks 
amplifies  the  fable. — G. 


324  THE  MUTE  CHRISTIAN  [Ps.  XXXIX.  9. 

«iiid  troubles,  that  hinder  the  soul  of  that  juice,  sweetness,  comfort,  de- 
light, and  content  that  otherwise  it  might  enjoy.  Oh !  do  but  now  yield  a 
little  to  it,  and  instead  of  removing  your  troubles,  it  will  cut  down  your 
peace,  your  hopes,  your  comforts,  yea,  it  will  cut  down  your  precious 
soul.  What  is  the  breathing  of  a  vein  to  the  being  let  blood  in  the 
throat,  or  the  scratch  on  the  hand  to  a  stab  at  the  heart  ?  No 
more  are  the  greatest  afflictions  to  the  least  sins  ;  and  therefore,  Chris- 
tians, never  use  sinful  shifts  to  shift  yourselves  out  of  troubles,  but 
rather  be  mute  and  silent  under  them,  till  the  Lord  shall  work  out  your 
deliverance  from  them.     But, 

(2.)  Secondly,  Consider  it  is  an  impossible  thing  for  any  to  sin  them- 
selves out  of  their  troubles.  Abraham,  Job,  and  Jonah  attempted  it, 
but  could  not  effect  it.  The  devils  have  experienced  this  near  this  six 
thousand  years  ;  they  had  not  been  now  in  chains,  could  they  but  have 
sinned  themselves  out  of  their  chains.  Could  the  damned  sin  them- 
selves out  of  everlasting  burning,  there  would  have  been  none  now 
a-roaring  in  that  devouring  unquenchable  fire,  Isa.  xxxiii.  14.  Hell 
would  have  no  inhabitants,  could  they  but  sin  themselves  out  of  it.  Ah  ! 
Christians,  devils  and  damned  spirits  shall  as  soon  sin  themselves  out  of 
hell,  as  you  shall  be  able  to  sin  yourselves  out  of  your  afflictions. 
Christians !  you  shall  as  soon  stop  the  sun  from  running  her  course, 
contract  the  sea  in  a  nut-shell,  compass  the  earth  with  a  span,  and  raise 
the  dead  at  your  pleasure,  as  ever  you  shall  be  able  to  sin  yourselves 
out  of  your  sufferings  ;  and  therefore  it  is  better  to  be  silent  and  quiet 
under  them,  than  to  attempt  that  which  is  impossible  to  accomplish. 
This  second  consideration  will  receive  further  confirmation  by  the  next 
particular  ; — 

(3.)  Thirdly,  As  it  is  an  impossible  thing,  so  it  is  a  very  prejudicial, 
a  very  dangerous  thing,  to  attempt  to  sin  yourselves  out  of  your 
troubles  ;  for  by  attempting  to  sin  yourselves  out  of  your  trouble,  you 
will  sin  yourselves  into  many  troubles,  as  Jonah  and  Jacob  did  ;  and  by 
labouring  to  sin  yourselves  out  of  less  troubles,  you  will  sin  yourselves 
into  greater  troubles,  as  Saul  did  ;  and  by  endeavouring  to  sin  your- 
selves from  under  outward  troubles,  you  will  sin  yourselves  under  inward 
troubles  and  distresses,  which  are  the  sorest  and  saddest  of  all  troubles  ; 
thus  did  Spira,  Jerome  of  Prague,  Bilney,  and  others.  Some  there  have 
been,  who,  by  labouring  to  sin  themselves  out  of  their  present  sufferings, 
have  sinned  themselves  under  such  horrors  and  terrors  of  conscience, 
that  they  could  neither  eat,  nor  drink,  nor  sleep,  but  have  been  ready 
to  lay  violent  hands  upon  themselves. 

And  Cyprian,  in  his  sermon  de  lapsis,  speaks  of  divers  who,  forsak- 
ing the  faith  to  avoid  sufferings,  were  given  over  to  be  possessed  of  evil 
spirits,  and  died  fearfully.  0  man  !  thou  doest  not  know  what  deadly 
sin,  what  deadly  temptation,  what  deadly  judgment,  what  deadly  stroke, 
th  >u  ni.i vest  fall  under,  who  attempts  to  sin  thyself  out  of  troubles. 
What  is  it  to  take  Venice,  and  to  be  hanged  at  the  gates  thereof?  It 
is  better  to  be  silent  aud  mute  under  thy  afflictions,  than  by  using  sin- 
ful shifts  to  sin  thyself  under  greater  afflictions. 

(4.)  Fourthly,  Consider  it  is  a  very  ignoble  and  wnworthy  thing  to 
go  to  sin  you/wlves  out  of  your  troubles  and  straits.  It  argues  a  poor, 
a  low,  a  weak,  a  dastardly,  and  an  effeminate  spirit,  to  use  base  shifts 


PS.  XXXIX.  9.]  UNDER  THE  SMARTING  ROD.  325 

to  shuffle  yourselves  out  of  your  troubles.  Men  of  noble,  courageous, 
and  magnanimous  spirits  will  disdain  and  scorn  it,  Dan.  iii.  8,  vi.,  Heb. 
xi.  24  As  you  niay  see  in  the  three  children,  David,  and  those 
worthies,  in  that  11th  of  the  Hebrews,  of  whom  '  this  world  was  not 
worthy.'  Jerome  writes  of  a  brave  woman,  who,  being  upon  the  rack, 
bade  her  persecutors  do  their  worst,  for  she  was  resolved  to  die  rather 
than  lie.  And  the  prince  of  Conde,  being  taken  prisoner  by  Charles 
the  Ninth,  king  of  France,  and  put  to  his  choice  whether  he  would  go 
to  mass  or  be  put  to  death,  or  suffer  perpetual  imprisonment,  his  noble 
answer  was,  that  by  God's  he]p  he  would  never  choose  the  first,  and 
for  either  of  the  latter,  he  left  to  the  king's  pleasure  and  God's  provi- 
dence.1 

A  soul  truly  noble  will  sooner  part  with  all  than  the  peace  of  a  good 
conscience.  Thus  blessed  Hooper  desired  rather  to  be  discharged  of  his 
bishopric  than  yield  to  certain  ceremonies. 

I  have  read  of  Marcus  Arethusus,  an  eminent  servant  of  the  Lord  in 
gospel-work,  who,  in  the  time  of  Constantine,  had  been  the  cause  of 
overthrowing  an  idol  temple  ;2  but  Julian,  coming  to  be  emperor, 
commanded  the  people  of  that  place  to  build  it  up  again.  All  were 
ready  so  to  do,  only  he  refused  it ;  whereupon  his  own  people,  to  whom 
he  had  preached,  fell  upon  hiin,  stripped  off  all  his  clothes,  then  abused 
his  naked  body,  and  gave  it  up  to  children  and  school-boys  to  be  lanched3 
with  their  penknives  ;  but  when  all  this  would  not  do,  they  caused  him 
to  be  set  in  the  sun,  having  his  naked  body  anointed  all  over  with  honey, 
that  so  he  might  be  bitten  and  stung  to  death  by  flies  and  wasps  ;  and 
all  this  cruelty  they  exercised  upon  him,  because  he  would  not  do  any- 
thing towards  the  rebuilding  of  that  idol  temple ;  nay,  they  came  so  far, 
that  if  he  would  but  give  one  halfpenny  towards  the  charge,  they  would 
release  him,  but  he  refused  it  with  a  noble  Christian  disdain,  though 
the  advancing  of  an.  halfpenny  might  have  saved  his  life.  And  in  so 
doing,  he  did  but  live  up  to  that  noble  principle  that  most  commend, 
but  few  practise,  viz.,  that  Christians  must  choose  rather  to  suffer  the 
worst  of  torments,  than  commit  the  least  of  sins,  whereby  God  should 
be  dishonoured,  his  name  blasphemed,  religion  reproached,  profession 
scorned,  weak  saints  discouraged,  and  men's  consciences  wounded  and 
their  souls  endangered.  Now  tell  me,  Christians,  is  it  not  better  to  be 
silent  and  mute  under  your  sorest  trials  and  troubles,  than  to  labour  to 
sin,  and  shift  yourselves  out  of  them,  and  so  proclaim  to  all  the  world, 
that  you  are  persons  of  very  low,  poor,  and  ignoble  spirits  ?     But, 

(5.)  Fifthly,  Consider,  sinful  shifts  and  means  God  hath  ahuays  cursed 
and  blasted.4  Achan's  golden  wedge  was  but  a  wedge  to  cleave  him, 
and  his  garments  a  shroud  to  shroud  him.  Ahab  purchases  a  vineyard 
with  the  blood  of  the  owner,  but  presently  it  was  watered  with  his  own 
blood,  according  to  the  word  of  the  Lord.  Gehazi  must  needs  have  a 
talent  of  silver  and  two  changes  of  raiment,  and  that  with  a  lie,  I  say 
with  a  lie  ;  well !  he  hath  them,  and  he  hath  with  them  a  leprosy  that 
cleaved  to  him  and  his  seed  for  ever,  2  Kings  v.  22-27.     With  those 

1  Lactantius  speaks  of  many  such  brave  spirits.  I  might  produce  a  cloud  of  witnesses 
from  among  the  primitive  Christians,  who  have  been  noble  and  gallant  this  way. 

-  A  favourite  example  of  Brooks.     See  Index,  sub  nomine. — G.         3  '  Lanced.' — G. 

4  Jer.  v.  5,  6,  11  ;  Ezek.  vii.  13 ;  1  Sam.  xxviii.5-8,  &c.  ;  1  Kings  xxi.  18,  19,  compared 
with  chap.  xxii.  23. 


326  THE  MUTE  CHRISTIAN  [Ps.  XXXIX.  H. 

very  hands  that  Judas  took  money  to  betray  liis  master,  with  those 
very  hands  he  fitted  a  halter  to  hang  himself.     The  rich  and  wretched 

glutton  fared  delicately,  and  went  bravely  every  day,  but  the  next  news 
you  hear  of  him,  is  of  his  being  in  hell,  crying  out  for  a  drop,  who,  when 
he  was  on  earth,  would  not  give  a  crumb.  The  coal  that  the  eagle 
carried  from  the  altar  to  her  nest,  set  all  on  fire. 

(  rassus  did  not  long  enjoy  the  fruit  of  his  covetousness,  for  the  Par- 
tisans taking  of  him,  poured  melted  gold  down  his  throat.1 

Dionysius2  did  not  long  enjoy  the  fruit  of  his  sacrilege  and  tyrauny, 
for  he  was  glad  to  change  his  sceptre  into  a  ferule,  and  turn  school- 
master for  his  maintenance.  Ah!  Christians,  Christians,  is  it  not  far 
better  to  sit  quiet  and  silent  under  your  afflictions,  than  to  use  such 
sinful  shifts  and  means  which  God  will  certainly  blast  and  curse  ?     But 

(6.)  Sixthly  and  lastly,  Consider  this,  that  your  very  attempting  to  sin 
and  shift  yourselves  out  of  troubles  and  afflictions,  will  cost  you  dear. 
It  will  cost  you  many  prayers  and  tears,  many  sighs,  many  groans, 
many  gripes,  many  terrors,  and  many  horrors.  Peter,  by  attempting  to 
sin  himself  out  of  trouble,  sins  himself  into  a  sea  of  sorrows  :  Mat.  xxvi. 
75,  '  He  went  forth  and  wept  bitterly.'3 

Clement  observes,  That  every  night  when  he  heard  the  cock  crow, 
he  would  fall  upon  his  knees  and  weep  bitterly  ;  others  say,  that  his 
face  was  furrowed  with  continual  tears.  Were  Abraham,  David,  Jacob, 
and  Jonah  now  alive,  they  would  tell  you,  that  they  have  found  this  to 
be  a  truth  in  their  own  experience.  Ah  !  Christians,  it  is  far  better  to 
be  quiet  and  silent  under  your  sufferings,  than  to  pay  so  dear  for 
attempting  to  sin  and  shift  yourselves  out  of  your  sufferings.  A  man 
will  not  buy  gold  too  dear,  and  why  then  should  he  buy  himself  out  of 
troubles  at  too  dear  a  rate  ? 

But  now  I  shall  come  to  that  use  that  T  intend  to  stand  most  upon, 
and  that  is,  an  use  of  exhortation.  Seeing  it  is  the  great  duty  and  con- 
cernment of  Christians  to  be  mute  and  silent  under  the  greatest  afflic- 
tions, the  saddest  providences,  and  sharpest  trials  that  they  meet  with 
in  this  world  :  oh  that  I  could  prevail  with  you,  Christians,  to  mind 
this  great  duty,  and  to  live  up  and  live  out  this  necessary  truth;  which 
that  I  may,  give  me  leave  to  propound  some  considerations,  to  engage 
your  souls  to  be  mute  and  silent  under  your  greatest  troubles  and  your 
saddest  trials.     To  that  purpose, 

].  Consider  first,  the  greatness,  sovereignty,  majesty,  and  dignify  of 
God,  and  let  that  move  thee  to  silence,  Jer.  x.  7 ;  v.  22:  Ps.  xlvi.  8-10, 
1  Come,  behold  the  works  of  the  Lord,  what  desolations  he  hath  made 
in  the  enrth.  He  maketh  wars  to  cease  unto  the  end  of  the  earth  ;  he 
breaketh  the  bow,  and  cutteth  the  spear  in  sunder ;  he  burnetii  the 
chariot  in  the  fire.  Be  still,  and  know  that  I  am  God  :  I  will  be 
exalted  among  the  heathens,  I  will  be  exalted  in  the  earth/  Who  can 
cast  his  eye  upon  the  greatness  of  God,  the  majesty  of  God,  and  not 
sit  still  before  him  ?  Zeph.  i.  7,  'Hold  thy  peace  at  the  presence  of  the 
Lord  God.'  Oh,  chat  not,  murmur  not,  fret  not,  but  stand  mute  before 
him  !     Shall  the  child  be  hushed  before  his  father,  the  servant  before 

1  Sec  Iudex,  sub  nomine,  for  a  former  annotated  mention  of  this  in  'Precious  Remedies.' 
— Q.  *  The  '  Tyrant'  of  Sicily.— G. 

a  A  man  may  buy  anything  too  dear  but  Christ,  grace,  his  own  soul,  and  the  gospel. 


PS.  XXXIX.  9.]  UNDER  THE  SMARTING  ROD.  327 

the  master,  the  subject  before  his  prince,  and  the  guilty  person  before 
the  judge,  when  he  majestically  rises  off  his  judgment  seat,  and  com- 
poses his  countenance  into  an  aspect  of  terror  and  severity,  that  his 
sentence  may  fall  upon  the  offender  with  the  greater  dread  ?  and  shall 
not  a  Christian  be  quiet  before  that  God  that  can  bathe  his  sword  in 
heaven,  and  burn  the  chariots  on  earth?  Nay,  shall  the  sheep  be 
hushed  before  the  wolf,  birds  before  the  hawk,  and  all  the  beasts  of  the 
field  before  the  lion  ?  and  shall  not  we  be  hushed  and  quiet  before  him, 
who  is  the  Lion  of  the  tribe  of  Judah  ?  Rev.  v.  5.  God  is  mighty  in 
power,  and  mighty  in  counsel,  and  mighty  in  working,  and  mighty  in 
punishing  ;  and  therefore  be  silent  before  him.  It  appears  that  God  is 
a  mighty  God,  by  the  epithet  that  is  added  unto  El,  which  is  Gibbon, 
importing  that  he  is  a  God  of  prevailing  might ;  in  Daniel  he  is  called 
El  Elim.  the  mighty  of  mighties.  Moses  magnifying  of  his  might, 
saith,  '  Who  is  like  unto  thee  among  the  gods  V  Now  certainly  this 
epithet  should  be  a  mighty  motive  to  work  souls  to  that  which 
Habakkuk  persuaded  to  :  Hab.  ii.  20,  'The  Lord  is  in  his  holy  temple: 
let  all  the  earth  keep  silence  before  him.'  Upon  this  very  considera- 
tion Moses  commands  Israel  to  hold  their  peace,  Exod.  xiv.  13,  14 

It  is  reported  of  Augustus  the  emperor,  and  likewise  of  Tamerlane 
that  warlike  Scythian,  that  in  their  eyes  sat  such  a  rare  majesty,  that 
many  in  talking  with  them,  and  often  beholding  of  them,  have  become 
dumb.1  O  my  brethren,  shall  not  the  brightness  and  splendour  of  the 
majesty  of  the  great  God,  whose  sparkling  glory  and  majesty  dazzles  the 
eyes  of  angels,  and  makes  those  princes  of  glory  stand  mute  before  him, 
move  you  much  more  to  silence,  to  hold  your  peace,  and  lay  your  hands 
upon  your  mouths.     Surely  yes.     But, 

2.  Secondly,  Consider,  That  all  your  afflictions,  troubles,  and  trials 
shall  work  for  your  good:  Rom.  viii.  28,  'And  we  know  that  all  things 
shall  work  together  for  good  to  them  that  love  God/  Why  then  should 
you  fret,  fling,  fume,  seeing  God  designs  you  good  in  all  ?  The  bee 
sucks  sweet  honey  out  of  the  bitterest  herbs  ;  so  God  will  by  afflictions 
teach  his  children  to  suck  sweet  knowledge,  sweet  obedience,  and  sweet 
experiences,  &a,  out  of  all  the  bitter  afflictions  and  trials  he  exercises 
them  with.2  That  scouring  and  rubbing,  which  frets  others,  shall  make 
them  shine  the  brighter ;  and  that  weight  which  crushes  and  keeps 
others  under,  shall  but  make  them,  like  the  palm  tree,  grow  better  and 
higher  ;  and  that  hammer  which  knocks  others  all  in  pieces,  shall  but 
knock  them  the  nearer  to  Christ,  the  corner  stone.  Stars  shine 
brightest  in  the  darkest  night ;  torches  give  the  best  light  when  beaten ; 
grapes  yield  most  wine  when  most  pressed  ;  spices  smell  sweetest  when 
pounded  ;  vines  are  the  better  for  bleeding ;  gold  looks  the  brighter 
for  scouring  ;  juniper  smells  sweetest  in  the  fire  ;  chamomile,  the  more 
you  tread  it  the  more  you  spread  it ;  the  salamander  lives  best  in  the 
fire  ;  the  Jews  were  best,  when  most  afflicted  ;  the  Athenians  would 
never  mend,  till  they  were  in  mourning  ;  the  Christ's  cross,  saith  Luther, 
is  no  letter  in  the  book,  and  yet,  saith  he,  it  hath  taught  me  more  than 

1  Turk.  Hist,,  236,  415. 

2  Afflictiones  benedict tones,  afflictions  are  blessings. — Bernard.  Doubtless  Manasseh 
would  not  exchange  the  good  he  got  by  his  iron  chaius,  for  all  the  gold  chains  that  be  in 
the  world. 


328  THE  MUTE  CHRISTIAN  [Ps.  XXXIX.  9. 

all  the  letters  in  the  book.  Afflictions  are  the  saints'  best  benefactors 
to  heavenly  affections ;  where  afflictions  hang  heaviest,  corruptions 
hang  loosest.  And  grace  that  is  hid  in  nature,  as  sweet  water  in  rose 
leaves,  is  then  most  fragrant  when  the  fire  of  affliction  is  put  under  to 
distil  it  out.  Grace  shines  the  brighter  for  scouring,  and  is  most 
glorious  when  it  is  most  clouded. 

Pliny  in  his  Natural  History1  writeth  of  certain  trees  growing  in  the 
Red  Sea,  which  being  beat  upon  by  the  waves,  stand  like  a  rock, 
immoveable,  and  that  they  are  battered  by  the  roughness  of  the  waters. 
In  the  sea  of  afflictions,  God  will  make  his  people  stand  like  a  rock  ; 
they  shall  be  immoveable  and  invincible,  and  the  more  the  waves  of 
afflictions  beat  upon  them,  the  better  they  shall  be,  the  more  they  shall 
thrive  in  grace  and  godliness.  Now  how  should  this  engage  Christians 
to  be  mute  and  silent  under  all  their  troubles  and  trials  in  this  world, 
considering  that  they  shall  all  work  for  their  good  !  God  chastises  our 
carcases  to  heal  our  consciences  ;  he  afflicts  our  bodies  to  save  our  souls; 
he  gives  us  gall  and  wormwood  here,  that  the  pleasures  that  be  at  his 
right  hand  may  be  more  sweet  hereafter ;  here  he  lays  us  upon  abed  of 
thorns,  that  we  may  look  and  long  more  for  that  easy  bed  of  down, — his 
bosom  in  heaven. 

As  there  is  a  curse  wrapped  up  in  the  best  things  he  gives  the  wicked, 
so  there  is  a  blessing  wrapped  up  in  the  worst  things  he  brings  upon  his 
own,  Ps.  xxv.  10,  Deut.  xxvi.  16.  As  there  is  a  curse  wrapped  up  in  a 
wicked  man's  health,  so  there  is  a  blessing  wrapped  up  in  a  godly  man's 
sickness  ;  as  there  is  a  curse  wrapped  up  in  a  wicked  man's  strength,  so 
there  is  a  blessing  wrapped  up  in  a  godly  man's  weakness  ;  as  there  is  a 
curse  wrapped  up  in  a  wicked  man's  wealth,  so  there  is  a  blessing  wrapped 
up  in  a  godly  man's  wants  ;  as  there  is  a  curse  wrapped  up  in  a  wicked 
man's  honour,  so  there  is  a  blessing  wrapped  up  in  a  godly  man's  reproach  ; 
as  there  is  a  curse  wrapped  up  in  all  a  wicked  man's  mercies,  so  there  is 
a  blessing  wrapped  up  in  all  a  godly  man's  crosses,  losses,  and  changes  : 
and  why  then  should  he  not  sit  mute  and  silent  before  the  Lord  ?     But, 

3.  Thirdly,  Consider,  That  a  holy  silence  is  that  excellent  precious 
grace,  that  lends  a  hand  of  support  to  every  grace,  Rom.  xv.  4.  Silence 
is  citstos,  the  keeper,  of  all  other  virtues ;  it  lends  a  hand  to  faith,  a 
hand  to  hope,  a  hand  to  love,  a  hand  to  humility,  a  hand  to  self-denial, 
&c.  A  holy  silence  hath  its  influences  upon  all  other  graces  that  be  in 
the  soul ;  it  causes  the  rosebuds  of  grace  to  blossom  and  bud  forth. 
Silence  is  virtus  versata  circa  adversa,  a  grace  that  keeps  a  man 
gracious  in  all  conditions.  In  every  condition  silence  is  a  Christian's 
right  hand  ;  in  prosperity,  it  bears  the  soul  up  under  all  the  envy,  ha- 
tred, malice,  and  censures  of  the  world ;  in  adversity,  it  bears  the  soul 
up  under  all  the  neglect,  scorn,  and  contempt  that  a  Christian  meets 
with  in  the  world.  It  makes  every  bitter  sweet,  every  burden  light, 
and  every  yoke  easy.  And  this  the  very  heathen  seemed  to  intimate 
in  placing  the  image  of  Angeronia2  with  the  mouth  bound,  upon  the 
altar  of  Volupia,6  to  shew  that  silence  under  sufferings  was  the  ready 
way  to  attain  true  comfort,  and  make  every  bitter  sweet.  No  man  ho- 
nours God,  nor  no  man  justifies  God  at  so  high  a  rate,  as  he  who  lays 

1   Lib.  xii.  1,  9.  s  Volupia,  goddess  of  pleasure. — G. 

*  More  accurately  Angerona,  goddess  of  silence. — G. 


PS    XXXIX.  9.]  UNDER  THE  SMARTING  ROD.  329 

his  hand  upon  his  mouth,  when  the  rod  of  God  is  upon  his  back. 
But, 

4.  Fourthly,  To  move  you  to  silence  under  your  sorest  and  your 
sharpest  trials,  consider,  That  you  have,  deserved  greater  and  heavier 
afflictions  than  those  you  are  under,  Lam.  iii.  39  ;  Micah  vii.  7-9. 
Hath  God  taken  away  one  mercy?  Thou  hast  deserved  to  be  stripped  of 
all.  Hath  he  taken  away  the  delight  of  thine  eyes?  He  might  have  taken 
away  the  delight  of  thy  soul.  Art  thou  under  outward  wants  ?  Thou  hast 
deserved  to  be  under  outward  and  inward  together.  Art  thou  cast  upon 
a  sick  bed  ?  Thou  hast  deserved  a  bed  in  hell.  Art  thou  under  that  ache 
and  that  pain  ?  Thou  hast  deserved  to  be  under  all  aches  and  pains  at 
once.  Hath  God  chastised  thee  with  whips  ?  Thou  hast  deserved  to  be 
chastised  with  scorpions,  1  Kings  xii.  14.  Art  thou  fallen  from  the 
highest  pinnacle  of  honour  to  be  the  scorn  and  contempt  of  men  ?  Thou 
hast  deserved  to  be  scorned  and  contemned  by  God  and  angels.  Art 
thou  under  a  severe  whipping  ?  Thou  hast  deserved  an  utter  damning. 
Ah  Christian  !  let  but  your  eyes  be  fixed  upon  your  demerits,  and  your 
hands  will  be  quickly  upon  your  mouths  ;  whatever  is  less  than  a  final 
separation  from  God,  whatever  is  less  than  hell,  is  mercy ;  and  therefore  you 
have  cause  to  be  silent  under  the  smartest  dealings  of  God  with  you.    But, 

5.  Fifthly,  Consider,  a  quiet  silent  spirit  is  of  great  esteem  ivith  God. 
God  sets  the  greatest  value  upon  persons  of  a  quiet  spirit :  1  Peter  iii.  4. 
'  But  let  it  be  the  hidden  man  of  the  heart,  in  that  which  is  not 
corruptible,  even  the  ornament  of  a  meek  and  quiet  spirit,  which  is  in 
the  sight  of  God  of  great  price.'  A  quiet  spirit  is  a  spark  of  the  divine 
nature,  it  is  a  ray,  a  beam  of  glory  ;  it  is  a  heaven-born  spirit.  No  man 
is  born  with  a  holy  silence  in  his  heart,  as  he  is  born  with  a  tongue  in 
his  mouth.  This  is  a  flower  of  paradise  ;  it  is  a  precious  gem  that  God 
makes  very  great  reckoning  of.  A  quiet  spirit  speaks  a  man  most  like 
to  God ;  it  capacitates  a  man  for  communion  with  God  ;  it  renders  a  man 
most  serviceable  to  God  ;  and  it  obliges  a  man  to  most  accurate  walking 
with  God.  A  meek  and  quiet  spirit  is  an  incorruptible  ornament,  much 
more  valuable  than  gold. 

(1.)  First,  There  is  a  mutual1  quietness,  which  proceeds  from  a  good 
temper  and  constitution  of  body. 

(2.)  Secondly,  There  is  a  moral  quietness,  which  proceeds  from  good 
education  and  breeding,  which  flows  from  good  injunctions,  instructions, 
and  examples. 

(3.)  Thirdly,  There  is  an  artificial  quietness  ;  some  have  an  art  to  im- 
prison their  passions,  and  to  lay  a  law  of  restraint  upon  their  anger  and 
wrath,  when  they  are  all  in  a  flame  within  :  as  you  may  see  in  Cain, 
Esau,  Absalom,  and  Joab,  who  for  a  time  cast  a  close  cloak  over  their 
malice,  when  their  hearts  were  set  on  fire  of  hell.  So  Domitian  would 
seem  to  love  them  best,  whom  he  willed  least  should  live. 

(4.)  Fourthly,  There  is  a  gracious  quietness,  which  is  of  the  Spirit's 
infusion,  Gal.  v.  22-25.  Now  this  quietness  of  spirit,  this  spiritual  frame 
of  heart,  is  of  great  price  in  the  sight  of  God.  God  values  it  above  the 
world,  and  therefore  who  would  not  covet  it  more  than  the  world,  yea, 
more  than  life  itself?  Certainly  the  great  God  sets  a  great  price  upon 
nothing   but    that    which    is  of  an  invaluable  price  ;  what  stretching, 

1  Qu.  'natural'?— Ed. 


•      I  THE  MUTE  CHRISTIAN  [Ps.  XXXIX.  0. 

struggling,  and  striving  is  there  for  those  things  that  the  great  ones  of 
the  earth  do  highly  prize  !  Ah  !  what  stretching  of  wits,  interests,  and 
consciences  is  there  this  day,  to  gain  and  hold  up  that  which  justice 
will  cast  down  !  how  much  better  would  it  be,  if  all  persons  would  in 
good  earnest  struggle  and  strive,  even  as  for  life,  after  a  quiet  and  silent 
spirit,  which  the  great  and  glorious  God  sets  so  great  a  price  upon  ! 
This  is  a  pearl  of  greatest  price,  and  happy  is  he  that  purchases  it, 
though  it  were  with  the  loss  of  all.     But, 

b\  Sixthly,  Consider,  That  if  you  sit  not  silent  and  quiet  under 
your  greatest  troubles  and  your  sorest  trials,  you  will  be  found  lighters 
against  your  own  prayers.  How  often  have  you  prayed  that  the  will 
of  God  may  be  done,  yea,  that  it  may  be  done  on  the  earth,  as  the 
angels,  those  glistering  courtiers,  those  princes  of  glory,  do  it  now  in 
heaven  !  Mat.  vi.  10.  When  troubles  and  afflictions  come  upon  you, 
the  will  of  God  is  done,  his  will  is  accomplished  ;  why  then  should  you 
fret,  fling,  and  fume,  and  not  rather  quietly  lie  down  in  his  will,  whose 
will  is  a  perfect  will,  a  just  and  righteous  will,  a  wise  will,  an  overruling 
will,  an  infinite  will,  a  sovereign  will,  a  holy  will,  an  immutable  will, 
an  uncontrollable  will,  an  omnipotent  will,  and  an  eternal  will  ?  Cer- 
tainly you  will  but  add  affliction  to  affliction,  by  fighting  against  your 
own  prayers,  and  by  vexing  and  fretting  yourselves  when  the  will  of 
God  is  done.  It  is  sad  to  see  a  man  to  fight  against  his  friends,  it  is 
sadder  to  see  him  fight  against  his  relations,  it  is  saddest  of  all  to  see 
him  fight  against  his  prayers  ;  and  yet  this  every  Christian  doth,  who 
murmurs  and  mutters  when  the  rod  of  God  is  upon  him.1  Some  there 
be  that  pray  against  their  prayers,  as  Augustine,  who  prayed  for  con- 
tinency  with  a  proviso,  Lord  !  give  me  continency,  but  not  yet ;  and  some 
there  be  who  fight  against  their  prayers,  as  those  who  pray  that  the 
will  of  God  may  be  done,  and  yet  when  his  will  is  done  upon  them,  they 
are  like  the  troubled  sea  when  it  cannot  rest,  they  are  still  fretting 
against  the  Lord.  Ah,  Christians!  have  you  not  sins  to  fight  against, 
and  temptations  to  fight  against,  and  a  devil  to  fight  against,  yea,  a 
whole  world  to  fight  against?  Why  then  should  you  be  found  fighting 
against  your  owu  prayers  ?     But, 

7.  Seventhly,  Consider,  A  holy  silence  under  the  heaviest  burdens,  the 
greatest  afflicti<ms,  the  saddest  providences  and changes^will  make  all 
tolerable  and  easy  to  a  Christian.  The  silent  soul  can  bear  a  burden 
without  a  burden.  Those  burdens  and  troubles  that  will  break  a  fro- 
wan  I  man's  back,  will  not  so  much  as  break  a  silent  man's  sleep  ;  those 
afflictions  that  lie  as  heavy  weights  upon  a  murmurer,  will  lie  as  light 
as  a  feather  upon  a  mute  Christian,  Micah  vii.  7-10,  Ps.  xcii.  1,6;  that 
bed  of  sorrow,  which  is  as  a  bed  of  thorns  to  a  fretful  soul,  will  be  as  a 
bed  of  down  to  a  silent  soul.  A  holy  silence  unstiugs  every  afflic- 
tion, it  takes  off  the  weight  of  every  burden,  it  adds  sweet  to  every 
bitter,  it  changes  dark  nights  into  sunshiny  days,  and  terrible  storms 
into  desirable  calms.  The  smallest  sufferings  will  easily  vanquish  an 
unquiet  spirit,  but  a  quiet  spirit  will  as  easily  triumph  over  the  greatest 
sufferings.  As  little  mercies  are  great  mercies,  so  great  sufferings  are 
but  little  sufferings,  in  the  eye  of  a  silent  soul.     The  silent  soul  oev<  r 

'  Voluntas  Dei  necessilas  rei.  Every  gracious  soul  should  say  Amen  to  God's  Amen  ; 
be  should  put  \nsjiat,  his  placet  to  God's,  go  it  never  so  much  against  the  hair  with  him. 


Ps.  XXXIX.  9.]  UNDER  THE  SMARTING  ROD.  331 

complains  that  his  affliction  is  too  great,  his  burden  too  heavy,  his  cross 
too  weighty,  his  sufferings  too  many  ;  silence  makes  him  victorious  over 
all.  And  therefore,  as  ever  you  would  have  heavy  afflictions  light,  and 
be  able  to  bear  a  burden  without  a  burden,  labour  as  for  life  after  this 
holy  silence. 

8.  Eighthly,  Consider  that  a  holy  silence  under  afflictions  will  be 
your  best  armour  of  proof  against  those  temptations  that  afflictions 
may  expose  you  to.  Times  of  afflictions  often  prove  times  of  great 
temptations,  and  therefore  afflictions  are  called  temptations  •}  James 
i.  12,  'Blessed  is  the  man  which  endureth  temptations,  for  when  he  is 
tried  he  shall  receive  the  crown  of  life,'  &c.  The  Greek  word  'Kngaaiih, 
is  to  be  understood  of  temptations  of  probation,  of  afflicting  tempta- 
tions, and  not  of  temptations  of  suggestion,  of  seduction  ;  for  they  are 
not  to  be  endured,  but  resisted  and  abhorred,  James  iv.  7, 1  Peter  v.  9. 
Now,  affliction  is  called  temptation, 

(1.)  Because,  as  temptation  tries  what  metal  a  Christian  is  made  of, 
so  do  afflictions. 

(2.)  Because,  as  Satan  usually  hath  a  great  hand  in  all  the  tempta- 
tions that  come  upon  us,  so  he  hath  a  great  hand  in  all  the  afflictions 
that  befall  us  ;  as  you  see  in  that  great  instance  of  Job. 

(3.)  Because,  as  temptations  drive  men  to  God,  2  Cor.  xii.  7,  8,  so  do 
afflictions,  Isa.  xxvi.  16,  Hosea  v.  15  ;  but  mainly  because  Satan  chooses 
times  of  afflictions  as  the  fittest  seasons  for  his  temptations.  When  Job 
was  sorely  afflicted  in  his  estate,  children,  wife,  life,  then  Satan  lets  fly, 
and  makes  his  fiercest  assaults  upon  him.  Now,  Satan  tempts  him  to 
entertain  hard  thoughts  of  God  ;  to  distrust,  to  impatiency,  to  mur- 
muring and  muttering.  As  when  Israel  was  feeble,  faint,  and  weary, 
Amalek  assaulted  them,  and  smote  the  hindmost  of  them,  Dent.  xxv. 
J  7,  18;  so  when  Christians  are  most  afflicted,  then  usually  they  are 
most  tempted.2 

Luther  found  this  by  experience  when  he  said,  I  am  without  set  upon 
by  all  the  world,  and  within  by  the  devil  and  all  his  angels.  Satan  is 
a  coward,  and  loves  to  strike  us  and  trample  upon  us  when  afflictions 
have  cast  us  down.  When  besieged  towns,  cities,  and  castles  are  in 
greatest  straits  and  troubles,  then  the  besiegers  make  their  fiercest 
assaults  ;  so  when  Christians  are  under  the  greatest  straits  and  trials, 
then  Satan  assaults  them  most,  like  a  roaring  lion.  Now,  silence  un- 
der afflictions  is  the  best  antidote  and  preservative  against  all  those 
temptations  that  afflictions  lay  us  open  to.  Silence  in  afflictions  is  a 
Christian's  armour  of  proof ;  it  is  that  shield  that  no  spear  or  dart  of 
temptation  can  pierce.  Whilst  a  Christian  lies  under  the  rod,  he  is  safe. 
Satan  may  tempt  him,  but  he  will  not  conquer  him  ;  he  may  assault 
him,  but  he  cannot  vanquish  him.  Satan  may  entice  him  to  use  sinful 
shifts  to  shift  himself  out  of  trouble  ;  but  he  will  choose  rather  to  lie, 
yea,  die,  in  trouble,  than  get  out  upon  Satan's  terms.     But, 

9.  Ninthly,  Consider,  That  holy  silence  under  afflictions  and  trials 
will  give  a  man  a  quiet  and  peaceable  possession  of  his  own  soul : 
'  In  patience  possess  your  souls/  Luke  xxi.  19.3     Now,  next  to  the  pos- 

1  Luke  xxii.  31-34,  Mat.  iv.  1,  13. 

2  Many  saints  have  experienced  this  truth,  when  they  have  been  upon  their  sick  and 
dying  beds.  3  Vide  Greg,  in  Evang.  Horn.  35. 


332  THE  MUTE  CHRISTIAN  [Ps.  XXXIX.  9. 

session  of  God,  the  possession  of  a  man's  own  soul  is  the  greatest  mercy 
in  this  world.  A  man  may  possess  honours,  and  riches,  and  dear  rela- 
tions, and  the  favour  and  assistance  of  friends  under  his  trials,  but  he 
will  never  come  to  a  possession  of  his  own  soul  under  his  troubles  till 
he  comes  to  be  mute,  and  to  lay  his  hand  upon  his  mouth.  Now  what 
are  all  earthly  possessions  to  the  possession  of  a  man's  own  soul  ?  He 
thai  possesseth  himself  possesseth  all;  he  that  possesseth  not  himself 
possesses  nothing  at  all.  He  possesses  not  the  use,  the  sweet,  the  com- 
fort, the  good,  the  blessing  of  anything  he  enjoys,  who  enjoys  not  him- 
self. That  man  that  is  not  master  of  himself,  he  is  a  master  of  nothing. 
Holy  silence  gives  a  man  the  greatest  mastery  over  his  own  spirit ;  and 
mastery  over  a  man's  own  spirit  is  the  greatest  mastery  in  the  world, 
Prov.  xvi.  32.  The  Egyptian  goddess  they  paint  upon  a  rock  standing 
in  the  sea,  where  the  waves  come  roaring  and  dashing  upon  her,  with 
this  motto,  Semper  eadem,  Storms  shall  not  move  me.  A  holy  silence 
will  give  a  man  such  a  quiet  possession  of  his  own  soul,  that  all  the 
storms  of  afflictions  shall  not  move  him  ;  it  will  make  him  stand  like  a 
rock  in  a  sea  of  troubles.  Let  a  man  but  quietly  possess  himself,  and 
troubles  will  never  trouble  him.     But, 

10.  Tenthly,  Consider  the  commands  and  instructions  that  God  in 
his  /ford  hath  laid  upon  you  to  be  silent,  to  be  mute  and  quiet,  under 
all  the  troubles,  trials,  and  changes  that  have  or  may  pass  upon  you:1 
Zech.  ii.  13,  'Be  silent,  O  all  flesh,  before  the  Lord,  for  he  is  raised  up 
out  of  his  holy  habitation  ;'  Isa.  xli  1 ,  '  Keep  silence  before  me,  O 
islands  ;'  Hab.  ii.  20,  '  The  Lord  is  in  his  holy  temple ;  let  all  the  earth 
keep  silence  before  him;'  Amos  v.  13,  'Therefore  the  prudent  shall 
keep  silence  in  that  time,  for  it  is  an  evil  time  ;'  Ps.  xlvi.  10,  '  Be  still, 
and  know  that  I  am  God  ;'  Ps.  iv.  4,  '  Commune  with  your  heart,  and 
be  still ;'  Exod.  xiv.  13,  '  Stand  still,  and  see  the  salvation  of  God  ;' 
2  Chron.  xx.  17,  '  Stand  ye  still,  and  see  the  salvation  of  the  Lord,  with 
you,  0  Judah,  and  Jerusalem  ;'  Job  xxxvii.  14,  '  Hearken  unto  this,  O 
Job  ;  stand  still,  and  consider  the  wondrous  works  of  God.'  It  is  a 
dangerous  thing  for  us  to  neglect  one  of  his  commands,  who  by  another 
is  able  to  command  us  into  nothing,  or  into  hell  at  pleasure.  To  act  or 
run  cross  to  God's  express  command,  though  under  pretence  of  revela- 
tion from  God,  is  as  much  as  a  man's  life  is  worth,  as  you  may  see  in 
that  sad  story,  1  Kings  xiii.  24,  &c.  Divine  commands  must  be  put  in 
speedy  execution,  without  denying  or  delaying,  without  debating  or 
disputing  the  difficulties  that  may  attend  our  subjection  to  them.2  God's 
commands  are  spiritual,  holy,  just,  and  good  ;  and  therefore  to  be  obeyed 
without  mutterino-  or  murmurings.  Divine  commands  are  backed  with 
the  strongest  reason,  and  attended  with  the  highest  encouragements. 
Shall  the  servant  readily  obey  the  commands  of  his  master,  the  subject 
the  commands  of  his  prince,  the  soldier  the  commands  of  his  general, 
the  child  the  commands  of  his  father,  the  wife  the  commands  of  her 
husband,  and  shall  not  a  Christian  as  readily  obey  the  commands  of  his 
Christ?  Nay,  shall  vain  men  readily  and  willingly  obey  the  sinful  ami 
senseless  commands  of  men,  and  shall  not  we  be  willing  to  obey  the 
commands  of  God  ?  2  Sam.  xiii.  28,  29,  '  Now  Absalom  had  commanded 

1  find's  commands  are  like  those  of  the  Modes,  that  cannot  he  changed. 

2  Obedienlia  non  discutit  Dei  mandata,  sedfacit. — Prosper.  Horn.  vii. 12-14. 


PS.  XXXIX.  9.]  UNDER  THE  SMARTING  ROD.  333 

his  servant,  saying,  Mark  ye  now  when  Amnon's  heart  is  merry  with 
wine,  and  when  I  say  unto  you,  Smite  Amnon  :  then  kill  him,  fear  not: 
have  not  I  commanded  you  ?  be  courageous,  and  be  valiant.  And  the 
servants  of  Absalom  did  unto  Amnon  as  Absalom  had  commanded.' 
They  made  no  bones  of  obeying  the  bloody  commands  of  Absalom, 
against  all  law,  reason,  and  religion. 

I  have  read  of  one  Johannes  Abbas  who  willingly  fetched  water 
near  two  miles  every  day  for  a  whole  year  together,  to  pour  upon  a  dry 
stick,  upon  the  bare  command  of  his  confessor.1 

I  have  also  read  of  the  old  kings  of  Peru,  that  they  were  wont  to  use 
a  tassel  or  fringe  made  of  red  wool,  which  they  wore  upon  their  heads, 
and  wheu  they  sent  any  governor  to  rule  as  viceroy  in  any  part  of  their 
country,  they  delivered  unto  him  one  of  the  threads  of  the  tassel,  and 
for  one  of  those  simple  threads  he  was  as  much  obeyed  as  if  he  had  been 
the  king  himself.  Now,  shall  one  single  thread  be  more  forcible  to  draw 
infidels  to  obedience,  than  all  those  golden  commands,  last  cited,  shall  be 
of  force  to  draw  you  to  be  quiet  and  silent  under  the  troubles  and 
changes  you  meet  with  in  this  world  ?     The  Lord  forbid  ! 

Shall  carnal  and  wicked  persons  be  so  ready  and  willing  to  complv 
with  the  bloody,  and  senseless,  and  superstitious  commands  of  their 
superiors  ?  And  shall  not  Christians  be  more  ready  and  willino-  to 
comply  with  the  commands  of  the  great  God,  whose  commands  are  all 
just  and  equal,  and  whose  will  is  the  perfect  rule  of  righteousness. 
Prior  est  authoritas  imperantis,  quam  utilitas  servientis  [Tertullian]. 
The  chief  reason  of  obedience  is  the  authority  of  the  Lord,  not  the 
utility  of  the  servant.2  Ah,  Christians  !  when  your  hearts  begin  to  fret 
and  fume  under  the  smarting  rod,  charge  one  of  those  commands  last 
cited  upon  your  hearts ;  and  if  they  shall  mutter,  charge  another  of  those 
commands  upon  your  hearts  ;  and  if  after  this,  they  shall  vex  and  mur- 
mur, charge  another  of  those  commands  upon  your  hearts;  and  never 
leave  charging  and  rubbing  those  commands  one  after  another  upon 
your  hearts,  till  you  are  brought  to  lay  your  hands  upon  your  mouths, 
and  to  sit  silent  before  the  Lord  under  your  greatest  straits  and  your 
sorest  trials. 

11.  Eleventhly,  Consider,  That  mercy  is  nearest,  deliverance  and 
salvation  is  at  hand,  when  a  Christian  stands  still,  when  he  sits  quiet 
and  silent  under  his  greatest  troubles  and  his  sorest  trials.3  Exod.  xiv. 
they  were  in  very  great  straits.  Pharaoh  with  a  mighty  army  was  be- 
hind them,  the  Red  Sea  before  them,  mountains  on  each  hand  of  them 
and  no  visible  means  to  deliver  them.  But  now  they  stand  still  to  see 
the  salvation  of  the  Lord,  ver.  13,  and  within  a  few  hours  their  enemies 
are  destroyed,  and  they  are  gloriously  delivered,  ver.  24,  et  seq.  Ps. 
xxxix.  9,  David  is  dumb,  he  sits  mute  under  his  smart  afflictions  ;  but 
if  you  look  to  the  second  and  third  verses  of  the  fortieth  Psalm,  you 
shall  find  mercy  draw  near  to  him  and  work  salvation  for  him.  '  He 
brought  me  up  also  out  of  an  horrible  pit,  out  of  the  mire  and  clay,  and 
set  my  feet  upon  a  rock,  and  established  my  goings.     And  he  hath  put 

1  Cassian.  de  instit.  renunciant.  1.  iv.  c.  14. 

2  Non  parentum  aut  majorum  authoritas,  sed  Dei  docentis  imperium,  the  commands  of 
God  must  needs  outweigh  all  authority  and  example  of  men. — Jerome. 

3  Acts  xii.  7-11  ;  Dan.  ix  20,  24  ;  Isa.  xxxviii.  i  ;  xxx.  19. 


334  THE  MUTE  CHRISTIAN  [Ps.  XXXIX.  9. 

a  new  song  into  my  mouth,  even  praise  unto  our  God  ;  many  shall  see 
it  and  fear,  and  shall  trust  in  the  Lord.'  And  so  when  Absalom  had 
made  a  great  conspiracy  against  him,  and  his  subjects  fell  off  from  him, 
and  he  was  forced  to  flee  for  his  life,  his  spirit  was  quiet  and  calm. 
2  Sam.  xv.  25,  26,  '  And  the  king  said  unto  Zadok,  Carry  back  the  ark 
oft  rod  into  the  city  :  if  I  shall  find  favour  in  the  eyes  of  the  Lord,  he 
will  bring  me  again,  and  shew  me  both  it  and  his  habitation.  But  if 
he  thus  say,  I  have  no  delight  in  thee  ;  behold,  here  am  1,  let  him  do 
to  me  as  seemeth  good  unto  him.'  And  the  same  calmness  and  quiet- 
ness of  spirit  was  upon  him  when  Shimei  bitterly  cursed  him,  and  railed 
upon  him,  chap.  xvi.  5-14  ;  and  within  a  few  days,  as  you  may  see  in 
the  two  following  chapters,  the  conspirators  are  destroyed,  and  David's 
throne  more  firmly  established.  Mercy  is  always  Dearest  when  a  man 
can  in  quietness  possess  his  own  soul.  Salvation  is  at  hand  when  a 
Christian  comes  to  lay  his  hand  upon  his  mouth.  Mercy  will  be  upon 
the  wing,  loving-kindness  will  ride  post  to  put  a  period  to  that  man's 
troubles  who  sits  silent  in  the  day  of  his  sorrows  and  sufferings.  Ah, 
( 'hristians  !  as  you  would  have  mercy  near,  as  you  would  see  to  the 
end  of  your  afflictions,  as  you  would  have  deliverance  come  flying  upon 
the  wings  of  the  wind,  sit  mute  and  silent  under  all  your  troubles.  As 
wine  was  then  nearest  when  the  water-pots  were  filled  with  water,  even 
to  the  brim ;  so  when  the  heart  is  fullest  of  quietness  and  calmness,  then 
is  the  wine  of  mercy,  the  wine  of  deliverance,  nearest. 

12.  The  twelfth  and  last  motive  to  work  you  to  silence  under  your 
greatest  trials  is  this,  seriously  consider  the  heinous  and  da ngerous 
nature  of  murmuring.  Now  that  you  may,  let  me  propose  these  fol- 
lowing particulars  to  your  most  sober  consideration. 

(1.)  First,  Consider  that  murmuring  speaks  out  many  a  root  of  bit- 
terness to  be  strong  in  thy  soul,  Heb.  iii.  12.  Murmuring  speaks  out 
sin  in  its  power,  corruption  upon  its  throne,  Heb.  xii.  1.  As  holy 
silence  argues  true  grace,  much  grace,  yea,  grace  in  its  strength  and  in 
its  lively  vigour,  so  murmuring,  muttering  under  the  hand  of  God, 
argues  much  sin,  yea,  a  heart  full  of  sin  ;  it  speaks  out  a  heart  full  of 
self-love,  Exod.  xv.  24? ;  xvi.  7,  8  ;  and  full  of  slavish  fears,  Numb.  xiii. 
32,  33  ;  xiv.  1-3  ;  and  full  of  ignorance,  John  vi.  41,  42  ;  and  full  of 
pride  and  unbelief,  Ps.  cvi.  24,  25  ;  '  yea,  they  despised  the  pleasant 
land,'  or  the  land  of  desire,  Ps.  lxxvii.  19,  20  :  there  is  their  pride  ;  'they 
believed  not  in  his  word':  there  is  their  unbelief;1  what  follows?  They 
murmured  in  their  tents,  and  hearkened  not  unto  the  voice  of  God. 
They  were  sick  of  the  sullens,  and  preferred  Egypt  before  Canaan,  a 
wilderness  before  a  paradise.  As  in  the  first  chaos  there  were  the  seeds 
of  all  creatures,  so  in  the  murmurer's  heart  there  is  not  only  the  seeds 
of  all  sin,  but  a  lively  operation  of  all  sin.  Sin  is  become  mighty  in 
the  hearts  of  murmurers,  and  none  but  an  almighty  God  can  root  it  out. 
Those  roots  of  bitterness  have  so  spread  and  strengthened  themselves  in 
the  hearts  of  murmurers,  that  everlasting  strength  must  put  in,  or  they 
will  be  undone  for  ever,  Isa.  xxvi.  4.     But, 

(2.)  Secondly,  consider,  That  the  Holy  Ghost  hath  set  a  brand  of  in- 
famy upon  murmurers.  He  hath  stigmatised  them  for  up  godly  per- 
sons:  Jude  15,  16,  '  To  execute  judgment  upon  all,  and  to  convince 

1  Unbelief  is  virtually  all  sin. 


PS.  XXXIX.  9.]  UNDER  THE  SMARTING  ROD.  335 

all  that  are  ungodly  among  them  of  all  their  ungodly  deeds  which  they 
have  ungodly  committed,  and  of  all  their  hard  speeches  which  ungodly 
sinners  have  spoken  against  him.'  But  who  are  these  ungodly  sinners  ? 
'  They  are  murmurers,  complaiuers,  walking  after  their  own  lusts,'  &c, 
ver.  16.  When  Christ  comes  to  execute  judgment  upon  ungodly  ones, 
murmurers  shall  be  set  in  the  front,  they  shall  experience  the  fierceness 
of  his  wrath  and  the  greatness  of  his  wrath.  The  front,  you  know,  is 
first  assaulted,  and  most  strongly  assaulted.  Christ  will  bend  all  his 
power  and  strength  against  murmurers;  his  little  finger  shall  be  heavier 
upon  them,  than  his  loins  shall  be  upon  others,  1  Kings  xii.  11,  14; 
other  sinners  shall  be  chastised  with  whips,  but  ungodly  murmurers 
shall  be  chastised  with  scorpions.  If  you  can  joy  in  that  black  character 
of  ungodly  sinners,  be  murmurers  still ;  if  not,  cease  from  murmurings. 
Where  murmuring  is  in  its  reign,  in  its  dominion,  there  you  may  speak 
and  write  that  person  ungodly.  Let  murmurers  make  what  profession 
they  will  of  godliness,  yet  if  murmuring  keeps  the  throne  in  their  hearts, 
Christ  will  deal  with  them  at  last  as  ungodly  sinners.  A  man  may  be 
denominated  ungodly,  as  well  from  his  murmuring,  if  he  lives  under  the 
dominion  of  it,  as  from  his  drunkenness,  swearing,  whoring,  lying,  steal- 
ing, &c.  A  murmurer  is  an  ungodly  man,  he  is  an  ungodlike  man  ;  no 
man  on  earth  more  unlike  to  God  than  the  murmurer ;  and  therefore 
no  wonder  if  when  Christ  comes  to  execute  judgment,  he  deals  so 
severely  and  terribly  with  him.  In  the  wars  of  Tamberlain,1  one 
having  found  a  great  pot  of  gold,  that  was  hid  in  the  earth,  he  brought 
it  to  Tamberlain,  who  asked  whether  it  had  his  father's  stamp  upon  it  ? 
But  when  he  saw  that  it  had  not  his  father's  stamp,  but  the  Roman 
stamp  upon  it,  he  would  not  own  it,  but  cast  it  away.  The  Lord  Jesus, 
when  he  shall  come  with  all  his  saints  to  execute  judgment,  Oh !  he  will 
not  own  murmurers  ;  nay,  he  will  cast  them  away  for  ever,  because 
the}'  have  not  his  Father's  stamp  upon  them.  Ah,  souls  !  souls  !  as  you 
would  not  go  up  and  down  this  world  with  a  badge  of  ungodliness  upon 
you,  take  heed  of  murmuring. 

(3).  Thirdly,  Consider  tltat  murmuring  is  the  mother-sin  ;  it  is  the 
mother  of  harlots,  the  mother  of  all  abominations  ;  a  sin  that  breeds 
many  other  sins,  viz.,  disobedience,  contempt,  ingratitude,  impatience, 
distrust,  rebellion,  cursing,  carnality  ;  yea,  it  charges  God  with  folly, 
yea,  with  blasphemy,  Num.  xvi.  41,  xvii.  10,  Judges  xvii.  2.  The 
language  of  a  murmuring,  a  muttering  soul  is  this,  Surely  God  might 
have  done  this  sooner,  and  that  wiser,  and  the  other  thing  better,  &c. 
As  the  river  Nilus  bringeth  forth  many  crocodiles,  and  the  scorpion  many 
serpents  at  one  birth,  so  murmuring  is  a  sin  that  breeds  and  brings 
forth  many  sins  at  once.  Murmuring  is  like  the  monster  hydra  ;  cut  off 
one  head,  and  many  will  rise  up  in  its  room.  Oh  !  therefore,  bend  all 
thy  strength  against  this  mother-sin.  As  the  king  of  Syria  said  to  his 
captains,  '  Fight  neither  with  small  nor  great,  but  with  the  king  of 
Israel/  1  Kings  xxii.  31,  so  say  I,  Fight  not  so  much  against  this  sin 
or  that,  but  fight  against  your  murmuring,  which  is  .a  mother-sin. 
Make  use  of  all  your  Christian  armour,  make  use  of  all  the  ammunition 
of  heaven,  to  destroy  the  mother,  and  in  destroying  of  her,  you  will  de- 
stroy  the  daughters,  Eph.  vi.  10,  11.     When  Goliath  was  slain,  the 

1  Tamerlane. — G. 


336  THE  MUTE  CHRISTIAN  [Ps.  XXXIX.  9. 

Philistines  fled.  When  a  general  in  an  army  is  cut  off,  the  common 
soldiers  are  easily  and  quickly  routed  and  destroyed.  So,  destroy  but 
murmuring,  and  you  will  quickly  destroy  disobedience,  ingratitude,  im- 
patience, distrust,  &c.  Oh  !  kill  this  mother-sin,  that  this  may  never 
kill  thy  soul.  I  have  read  of  Sennacherib,  that  after  his  army  was  de- 
stroyed by  an  angel,  Isa.  xxxvii.,  and  he  returned  home  to  his  own 
country,  he  inquired  of  one  about  him,  what  he  thought  the  reason 
might  be  why  God  so  favoured  the  Jews  ?  He  answered  that  there 
was  one  Abraham,  their  father,  that  was  willing  to  sacrifice  his  son  to 
death  at  the  command  of  God,  and  that  ever  since  that  time  God 
favoured  that  people.  Well !  said  Sennacherib,  if  that  be  so,  I  have  two 
sons,  and  I  will  sacrifice  them  both  to  death,  if  that  will  procure  their 
God  to  favour  me ;  which,  when  his  two  sons  heard,  they,  as  the  story 
goeth,  slew  their  father,  lsa.  xxxvii.  38,  choosing  rather  to  kill  than  to 
be  killed.  So  do  thou  choose  rather  to  kill  this  mother-sin  than  to  be 
killed  by  it,  or  by  any  of  those  vipers  that  are  brought  forth  by  it,  Ps. 
exxxvii.  8,  9. 

(4.)  Fourthly,  Consider  that  murmuring  is  a  God-provoking  sin ; 
it  is  a  sin  that  provokes  God  not  only  to  afflict,  but  also  to  destroy  a 
people :  Num.  xiv.  27-29,  '  How  long  shall  I  bear  with  this  evil  con- 
gregation which  murmur  against  me  ?  I  have  heard  the  murmuring  of 
the  children  of  Israel,  which  they  murmur  against  me.  Say  unto  them, 
As  truly  as  I  live,  saith  the  Lord,  as  you  have  spoken  in  mine  ears,  so 
will  I  do  to  you.  Your  carcases  shall  fall  in  this  wilderness,  and  all 
that  were  numbered  of  you,  according  to  your  whole  number,  from 
twenty  years  old  and  upward,  which  have  murmured  against  me.' 
1  Cor.  x.  10,  '  Neither  murmur  ye,  as  some  of  them  also  murmured, 
and  were  destroyed  of  the  destroyer/  All  our  murmurings  do  but  pro- 
voke the  Lord  to  strike  us  and  destroy  us. 

I  have  read  of  Caesar,  that,  having  prepared  a  great  feast  for  his 
nobles  and  friends,  it  so  fell  out  that  the  day  appointed  was  extreme 
foul,  that  nothing  could  be  done  to  the  honour  of  their  meeting  ;  where- 
upon he  was  so  displeased  and  enraged,  that  he  commanded  all  them 
that  had  bows  to  shoot  up  their  arrows  at  Jupiter,  their  chief  god,  as  in 
defiance  of  him  for  that  rainy  weather  ;  which,  when  they  did,  their 
arrows  fell  short  of  heaven,  and  fell  upon  their  own  heads,  so  that  many 
of  them  were  very  sorely  wounded.  So  all  our  mutterings  and  murmur- 
ings, which  are  as  so  many  arrows  shot  at  God  himself,  they  will  return 
upon  our  pates,  hearts  ;  they  reach  not  him,  but  they  will  hit  us  ;  they 
hurt  not  him,  but  they  will  wound  us  :  therefore  it  is  better  to  be  mute 
than  to  murmur  ;  it  is  dangerous  to  provoke  a  consuming  fire,  Heb. 
xii.  29. 

(5.)  Fifthly,  Consider,  That  murmuring  is  the  devil's  image,  sin  and 
punishment.1  Satan  is  still  a-murmuring  ;  he  murmurs  at  every  mercy 
that  God  bestows,  at  every  dram  of  grace  he  gives,  Job  i.  8,  9  ;  he  mur- 
murs at  every  sin  he  pardons,  and  at  every  soul  he  saves.  A  soul  cannot 
have  a  good  look  from  heaven,  nor  hear  a  good  word  from  beaven,  nor 
receive  a  love-letter  from  heaven,  but  Satan  murmurs  at  it;  he  mur- 
murs and  mutters  at  every  act  of  pitying  grace,  and  at  every  art  of 
preventing  grace,  and  at  every  act  of  supporting  grace,  and  at  every  act 
1  Iremuus  calleth  inurmurers  ora  diaboli,  the  devil's  mouth. 


PS.  XXXIX.  9.]  UNDER  THE  SMARTING  ROD.  337 

of  strengthening  grace,  and  at  every  act  of  comforting  grace  that  God 
exercises  towards  poor  souls ;  he  murmurs  at  every  sip,  at  every  drop, 
at  every  crumb  of  mercy  that  God  bestows.  Cyprian,  Aquinas,  and 
others  conceive  that  the  cause  of  Satan's  banishment  from  heaven  was 
his  grieving  and  murmuring  at  the  dignity  of  man,  whom  he  beheld 
made  after  God's  own  image,  insomuch  that  he  would  relinquish  his 
own  glory,  to  divest  so  noble  a  creature  of  perfection,  and  rather  be  in 
hell  himself,  than  see  Adam  placed  in  paradise.1  But  certainly,  after 
his  fall,  murmuring  and  envy  at  man's  innocency  and  felicity  put  him 
upon  attempting  to  plunge  man  into  the  bottomless  gulf  of  sin  and 
misery ;  he  knowing  himself  to  be  damned,  and  lost  for  ever,  would 
needs  try  all  ways  how  to  make  happy  man  eternally  unhappy,  Mr 
Howell  tells  it  as  a  strange  thing,  that  a  serpent  was  found  in  the  heart 
of  an  Englishman  when  he  was  dead;2  but,  alas!  this  old  serpent  was 
by  sad  experience  found  to  have  too  much  power  in  the  heart  of  Adam 
whilst  alive,  and  whilst  in  the  height  of  all  his  glory  and  excellency. 
Murmuring  is  the  first-born  of  the  devil ;  and  nothing  renders  a  man 
more  like  to  him  than  murmuring.  Constantine's  sons  did  not  more 
resemble  their  father,  nor  Aristotle's  scholars  their  master,  nor  Alex- 
ander's soldiers  their  general,  than  murmurers  do  resemble  Satan. 
And  as  murmuring  is  Satan's  sin,  so  it  is  his  punishment.  God  hath 
given  him  up  to  a  murmuring  spirit ;  nothing  pleases  him  ;  all  things 
go  against  him  ;  he  is  perpetually  a-muttering  and  murmuring  at  per- 
sons or  things.  Now,  oh  what  a  dreadful  thing  is  it  to  bear  Satan's 
image  upon  us,  and  to  be  given  up  to  be  the3  devil's  punishment !  It 
were  better  not  to  be,  than  thus  to  be  given  up ;  and  therefore  cease 
from  murmuring,  and  sit  mute  under  your  sorest  trials.     But, 

(6.)  Sixthly,  Consider,  That  murmuring  is  a  mercy-embitter  in;/ 
sin,  a  mercy-souring  sin;  as  put  the  sweetest  things  into  a  sour  vessel, 
it  sours  them,  or  put  them  into  a  bitter  vessel,  and  it  embitters  them. 
Murmuring  puts  gall  and  wormwood  into  every  cup  of  mercy  that  God 
gives  into  our  hands.  As  holy  silence  gives  a  sweet  taste,  a  delightful 
relish,  to  all  a  man's  mercies,  so  murmuring  embitters  all.  The  mur- 
murer  can  taste  no  sweetness  in  his  sweetest  morsels  ;  every  mercy, 
every  morsel,  tastes  like  the  white  of  an  egg  to  him,  Job  vi.  6.  This 
mercy,  saith  the  murmurer,  is  not  toothsome,  nor  that  mercy  is  not 
wholesome ;  here  is  a  mercy  wants  salt,  and  there  is  a  mercy  wants 
sauce.  A  murmurer  can  taste  no  sweet,  can  feel  no  comfort ;  he  can 
take  no  delight  in  any  mercy  he  enjoys.  The  murmurer  writes  marah, 
that  is,  bitterness,  upon  all  his  mercies,  and  he  reads  and  tastes  bitter- 
ness in  all  his  mercies.  All  the  murmurer's  grapes  are  grapes  of  gall, 
and  all  their  clusters  are  bitter,  Deut.  xxxii.  23.  As  to  '  the  hungry 
soul  every  bitter  thing  is  sweet/  Prov.  xxvii.  7,  so  to  the  murmuring 
soul  every  sweet  thing  is  bitter.  The  mute  Christian  can  suck  sweet- 
ness from  every  breast  of  mercy,  but  the  murmurer  cries  out,  Oh  it  is 
bitter  !     Oh  these  breasts  of  mercy  are  dry  ! 

(7.)  Seventhly,  Consider,  That  murmuring  is  a  mercy-destroying 

1  Satan  can  never  be  quiet,  nee  victor,  nee  victus,  neither  conquered,  nor  conqueror. 
[Said  of  Marcellus,  as  before. — G.] 

*  In  his  Upistolce  Ho- Eliane ;  or,  Familiar  Letters.     1650.     3  vols. — G. 
8Qu.  'to  the'?— Ed. 
VOL.  I.  Y 


338  THE  MUTE  CHRISTIAN  [Ps.  XXXIX.  9. 

sin,  a  mercy-murdering  sin.  Murmuring  outs  the  throat  of  mercy;  it 
stabs  all  our  mercies  at  the  heart ;  it  sets  all  a  man's  mercies  a-bleeding 
about  him  at  once  :  Num.  xiv.  30,  '  Doubtless  ye  shall  not  come  into 
the  land  concerning  which  I  sware  to  make  you  dwell  therein,  save 
Caleb  the  son  of  Jephunneh,  and  Joshua  the  son  of  Nun.'  God  pro- 
mises them  that  they  should  possess  the  holy  land  upon  the  condition 
•  >t  (heir  obedience.  This  condition  they  brake  ;  and  therefore  God  was 
not  foresworn  though  he  cut  them  off  in  the  wilderness,  and  kept  them 
out  of  Canaan,  Deut.  xxxi.  16,  17.  But  what  is  the  sin  that  provokes 
the  Lord  to  bar  them  out  of  the  land  of  promise,  and  to  cut  them  off 
from  all  those  mercies  that  they  enjoyed  which  entered  into  the  holy 
land  ?  Why,  it  was  their  murmuring  ;  as  you  may  see  in  Numbers  xiv. 
1-3,  26-29.  As  you  love  your  mercies,  as  you  would  have  the  sweet 
of  your  mercies,  and  as  you  would  enjoy  the  life  of  your  mercies,  take 
need  of  murmuring.  Murmuring  will  bring  a  consumption  upon  your 
mercies  ;  it  is  a  worm  that  will  make  all  your  mercies  to  wither.  As 
there  be  some  that  love  their  mercies  into  the  grave,  and  others  that 
plot  their  mercies  into  the  grave,  so  there  be  some  that  murmur  their 
mercies  into  the  grave.  As  you  would  have  your  mercies  always  fresh 
and  green,  smiling  and  thriving,  as  you  would  have  your  mercies  to  bed 
and  board  with  you,  to  rise  up  and  lie  down  with  you,  and  in  all  con- 
ditions to  attend  you,  murmur  not.  murmur  not.  The  mute  Christian's 
mercies  are  most  sweet  and  most  long-lived  ;  the  murmurer's  mercies, 
like  Jonah's  gourd,  will  quickly  wither.  Murmuring  hath  cut  the  throat 
<»f  national  mercies,  of  domestical  mercies,  and  of  personal  mercies  ;  and 
therefore,  oh  how  should  men  fly  from  it  as  from  a  serpent !  as  from 
the  avenger  of  blood  !  yea,  as  from  hell  itself! 

(8.)  Eighthly,  Consider,  That  murmuring  unfits  the  soul  for  duty, 
Exod.  vi.  7-10.  A  murmurer  can  neither  hear  to  profit,  nor  pray  to 
profit,  nor  read  to  profit,  nor  meditate  to  profit.  The  murmurer  is 
neither  fit  to  do  good,  nor  receive  good.  Murmuring  unfits  the  soul  for 
doings  of  duties  ;  it  unfits  the  soul  for  delighting  in  duties  ;  it  unfits  the 
soul  for  communion  with  God  in  duties.  Murmuring  fills  the  soul  with 
cares,  fears,  distractions,  vexations  ;  all  which  unfits  a  man  for  duty, 
1  Cor.  vii.  33-35.  As  a  holy  quietness  and  calmness  of  spirit  prompts 
a  man  to  duty,  as  it  makes  every  duty  easy  and  pleasant  to  the  soul, 
Prov.  iii.  17  ;  so  it  is  murmuring  that  unhinges  the  soul,  and  indisposes 
the  soul,  so  that  it  takes  off  the  chariot  wheels  of  the  soul,  that  the  soul 
cannot  look  up  to  God,  nor  do  for  God,  nor  receive  from  God,  nor  wait 
on  God,  nor  walk  with  God,  nor  act  faith  upon  God,  &c,  Ps.  xl.  12. 
<  )h  !  therefore,  as  ever  you  would  be  in  a  blessed  preparedness,  and  a 
blessed  fittedness  for  duty,  take  heed  of  murmuring,  and  sit  mute  and 
silent  under  the  afflicting  hand  of  God,  Isa.  xxvi.  9-11. 

(9.)  Ninthly,  Consider,  That  murmuring  unmans  a  man  ;  it  strips 
him  of  his  reason  and  understanding;  it  makes  him  call  evil  good,  and 
good  evil;  it  puts  light  for  darkness  and  darkness  for  light,  bitter  for 
sweet  and  sweet  for  bitter ;  it  calls  saviours  destroyers,  and  deliverers 
murderers,  Isa.  v.  18-20;  as  you  see  in  the  murmuring  Israelites, 
Exod.  xiv.-xvi.  Murmuring  uncrowns  a  man.  The  murmurer  may 
say,  'My  crown  is  fallen  from  my  head,'  Lam.  v.  16.  Murmuring  strips 
a  man  of  all  his  glory  ;   it  spoils  all   his  excellency  ;    it  destroys  the 


PS.  XXXIX.  9.]  UNDER  THE  SMARTING  ROD.  339 

nobility  of  man ;  it  speaks  him  out  to  be  a  base  ignoble  creature. 
Murmuring  clouds  a  man's  understanding ;  it  perverts  the  judgment, 
it  puts  out  the  eye  of  reason,  stupefies  his  conscience ;  it  sours  the  heart, 
disorders  the  will,  and  distempers  the  affections  ;  it  be-beasts  a  man, 
yea,  it  sets  him  below  the  beasts  that  perish  ;  for  he  were  better  be  a 
beast,  than  be  like  a  beast.  The  murmurer  is  the  hieroglyphic  of  folly  ; 
he  is  a  comprehensive  vauity  ;  he  is  a  man  and  no  man  ;  he  is  sottish  and 
seoseless  ;  he  neither  understands  God  nor  himself  nor  anything  as  he 
should ;  he  is  the  man  that  must  be  sent  to  school,  to  learn  of  the  beasts 
of  the  field,  and  the  birds  of  the  air,  and  the  creeping  things  of  the 
earth,  how  to  cease  from  murmuring,  and  how  to  be  mute,  Isa.  iii.  8, 
Jer.  vii.  6.  Ah  !  sirs,  as  you  would  have  the  name,  the  honour,  the  re- 
putation of  being  men,  I  say  men,  Take  heed  of  murmuring,  and  sit 
silent  before  the  Lord. 

(10.)  Tenthly,  Murmuring  is  a  time-destroying  sin.  Ah  !  the 
precious  time  that  is  buried  in  the  grave  of  murmuring  ?  When  the 
murmurer  should  be  a-praying,  he  is  a-murmuring  against  the  Lord ; 
when  he  should  be  a-hearing,  he  is  a-murmuring  against  the  divine 
providences  ;  when  he  should  be  a-reading,  he  is  a-murmuring  against 
instruments.  The  murmurer  spends  much  precious  time  in  musing  ;  in 
musing  how  to  get  out  of  such  a  trouble,  how  to  get  off  such  a  yoke, 
how  to  be  rid  of  such  a  burden,  how  to  revenge  himself  for  such  a 
wrong,  how  to  supplant  such  a  person,  how  to  reproach  those  that  are 
above  him,  and  how  to  affront  those  that  are  below  him ;  and  a  thousand 
other  ways  murmurers  have  to  expend  that  precious  time  that  some 
would  redeem  with  a  world;  as  Queen  Elizabeth  on  her  deathbed  cried 
out,  'Time,  time,  a  world  of  wealth  for  an  inch  of  time.'1  The  murmurer 
lavishly  and  profusely  trifles  away  that  precious  time,  that  is  his  greatest 
interest  in  this  world  to  redeem,  Eph.  v.  16.  Every  day,  every  hour  in  the 
day,  is  a  talent  of  time,  and  God  expects  the  improvement  of  it,  and 
will  charge  the  non-improvement  of  it  upon  you  at  last,  Rev.  ii.  21,  25  ; 
1  Peter  iv.  2.  Caesar2  observing  some  ladies  in  Rome  to  spend  much  of 
their  time  in  making  much  of  little  dogs  and  monkeys,  asked  them, 
Whether  the  women  in  that  country  had  no  children  to  make  much  of? 
Ah !  murmurers,  murmurers,  you  who  by  your  murmuring,  trifle  away 
so  many  godly  hours  and  seasons  of  mercy,  have  you  no  God  to  honour? 
have  you  no  Christ  to  believe  in  ?  have  you  no  hearts  to  change,  no  sins 
to  be  pardoned,  no  souls  to  save,  no  hell  to  escape,  no  heaven  to  seek 
after  ?  Oh  !  if  you  have,  why  do  you  spend  so  much  of  your  precious 
time  in  murmuring  against  God,  against  men,  against  this  or  that  thing? 
Eternity  rides  upon  the  back  of  time.  Hoc  est  momentum,  this  is  the 
moment:  if  it  be  well  improved,  you  are  made  for  ever;  if  not,  you  are 
undone  for  ever.     Aut  male,  aut  nihil,  aut  aliud  agendo. 

I  have  read  of  Archias  a  Lacedaemonian  [Plutarch],  that  whilst  he  was 
rioting  and  quaffing  in  the  midst  of  his  cups,  one  delivers  him  a  letter, 
purposely  to  signify  that  there  were  some  that  lay  in  wait  to  take  away 
his  life,  and  withal  desires  him  to  read  it  presently,  because  it  was  a 
serious  business  and  matter  of  high  concernment  to  him.  Oh,  said  he, 
seria  eras,  I  will  think  of  serious  things  to-morrow  ;  but  that  night  he 

1  Sumptus  preciosissimus  tempus :  time  is  of  precious  cost,  saith  Theophrastus. 
1  Plutarch  in  the  life  of  Pericles. 


340  THE  MUTE  CHRISTIAN  [Ps.  XXXIX.  9. 

was  slain.  Ah  !  inurmurer,  cease  from  murmuring  to-day,  or  else  thou 
may  est  be  for  ever  undone  by  murmuring  to-morrow.  The  old  saying, 
y  a  in-  mil  n  a  iK/itam,  now  or  never  ;  so  say  I,  Now  or  never,  now  or 
never  give  over  murmuring,  and  let  it  swallow  up  no  more  of  your 
precious  time.  What  would  not  many  a  murmurer  give  for  one  of 
those  days,  yea,  for  one  of  those  hours  which  he  hath  trifled  away  in 
murmuring,  when  it  is  a  day  too  late  ! 

The  Rabbins  glory  in  this  conceit,  that  a  man  hath  so  many  bones  as 
there  be  letters  in  the  decalogue,  and  just  so  many  joints  and  members 
as  there  be  days  in  the  year ;  to  shew  that  all  our  strength  and  time 
should  be  expended  in  God's  service.  Ah,  murmurers  !  you  will  gain 
more  by  one  day's  faithful  serving  of  God,  than  ever  you  have  gained 
by  murmuring  against  God.     But, 

(11.)  Eleventhly,  Consider  this,  Christians,  that  of  all  men  in  the 
world,  you  have  least  cause,  yea,  no  cause,  to  be  murmuring  and 
muttering  under  any  dispensation  that  you  meet  with  in  this  world. 
Is  not  God  thy  portion  ?  Chrysostom  propounds  this  question,  Was 
Job  miserable  when  he  had  lost  all  that  God  had  given  him  ?  and  gives 
this  answer,  No,  he  had  still  that  God  that  gave  him  all.1  Is  not  Christ 
thy  treasurer  ?  is  not  heaven  thine  inheritance  ?  and  wilt  thou  murmur  ? 
Hast  thou  not  much  in  hand,  and  more  in  hope?  Hast  thou  not  much 
in  possession,  but  much  more  in  reversion  ;  and  wilt  thou  murmur  ? 
Hath  not  God  given  thee  a  changed  heart,  a  renewed  nature,  and  a 
sanctified  soul ;  and  wilt  thou  murmur?  Hath  he  not  given  thee  him- 
self to  satisfy  thee,2  his  Son  to  save  thee,  his  Spirit  to  lead  thee,  his 
grace  to  adorn  thee,  his  covenant  to  assure  thee,  his  mei'cy  to  pardon 
thee,  his  righteousness  to  clothe  thee  ;  and  wilt  thou  murmur?  Hath 
he  not  made  thee  a  friend,  a  son,  a  brother,  a  bride,  an  heir ;  and  wilt  thou 
murmur  ?  Hath  not  God  often  turned  thy  water  into  wine,  thy  brass 
into  silver,  and  thy  silver  into  gold  ;  and  wilt  thou  murmur  ?  When 
thou  wast  dead,  did  not  he  quicken  thee  ;  and  when  thou  wast  lost,  did 
not  he  seek  thee  ;  and  when  thou  wast  wounded,  did  not  he  heal  thee  ; 
and  when  thou  wert  falling,  did  not  he  support  thee;  and  when  thou 
wert  down,  did  not  he  raise  thee  ;  and  when  thou  wert  staggering,  did 
not  he  establish  thee  ;  and  when  thou  wert  erring,  did  not  he  reduce 
thee  ;  and  when  thou  wert  tempted,  did  not  he  succour  thee  ;  and  when 
thou  wert  in  dangers,  did  not  he  deliver  thee  ;  and  wilt  thou  murmur? 
What !  thou  that  art  so  highly  advanced  and  exalted  above  many  thou- 
sands in  the  world  ?  Murmuring  is  a  black  garment,  and  it  becomes 
none  so  ill  as  saints. 

(12.)  Twelfthly,  and  lastly,  Consider  that  murmuring  makes  the  life 
of  man  invisibly  miserable.  Every  murmurer  is  his  own  executioner. 
Murmuring  vexes  the  heart ;  it  wears  and  tears  the  heart,  it  enrages  and 
inflames  the  heart,  it  wounds  and  stabs  the  heart.  Every  murmurer  is 
his  own  martyr,  every  murmurer  is  a  murderer  ;  he  kills  many  at  once, 
viz.  his  joy,  his  comfort,  his  peace,  his  rest,  his  soul.  No  man  so  in- 
wardly miserable  as  the  murmurer ;  no  man  hath  such  inward  gripes 
and  griefs  as  he,  such  inward  bitterness  and  heaviness  as  he,  such  inward 
contentions  and  combustions  as  he.     Every  murmurer  is  his  own  tor- 

1  Lnm.  iii.  24  ;  Eph.  iii.  8  ;  1  Peter  iii.  4.     Chrysostom,  horn.  4,  de  Patientia  Jobi. 
*  Omne  lonum  in  mvimo  bono,  God  is  all  in  all,  and  all  without  all. 


PS.  XXXIX.  9.]  UNDER  THE  SMARTING  ROD.  341 

mentor.  Murmuring  is  a  fire  within  that  will  burn  up  all,  it  is  an 
earthquake  within  that  will  overturn  all,  it  is  a  disease  within  that  will 
infect  all,  it  is  a  poison  within  that  will  prey  upon  all. 

And  thus  I  have  clone  with  those  motives  that  may  persuade  us  not 
to  murmur  nor  mutter,  but  to  be  mute  and  silent  under  the  greatest 
afflictions,  the  saddest  providences  and  sharpest  trials  that  we  meet  with 
in  this  world. 

I  shall  now  address  myself  to  answer  those  objections,  and  to  remove 
those  impediments  which  hinder  poor  souls  from  being  silent  and  mute 
under  the  afflicting  hand  of  God,  &c. 

Obj.  1.  Sir  !  did  I  but  know  that  I  were  afflicted  in  love,  I  would  hold 
my  peace  under  my  affliction,  I  would  sit  mute  before  the  Lord  ;  but 
oh !  how  shall  I  come  to  understand  that  these  strokes  are  the  strokes  of 
love,  that  these  wounds  are  the  wounds  of  a  friend  ?     I  answer  : 

1 .  First,  If  thy  heart  be  drawn  more  out  to  the  Lord  by  thy  afflic- 
tions, then  the  afflictions  are  in  love.  If  they  are  so  sanctified  as  that 
they  draw  out  thy  soul  to  love  the  Lord  more,  and  to  fear  the  Lord 
more,  and  to  please  the  Lord  more,  and  to  cleave  to  the  Lord  more,  and 
to  wait  on  the  Lord  more,  and  to  walk  with  the  Lord  more,  then  they 
are  in  love.  Oh,  then  they  are  the  wounds  of  a  friend  indeed  I1  It  is 
reported  of  the  lioness,  that  she  leaves  her  young  whelps  till  they  have 
almost  killed  themselves  with  roaring  and  yelling,  and  then  at  the  last 
gasp,  when  they  have  almost  spent  themselves,  she  relieves  them,  and 
by  this  means  they  become  more  courageous  ;  and  so  if  the  afflictions 
that  are  upon  us  do  increase  our  courage,  strengthen  our  patience,  raise 
our  faith,  inflame  our  love,  and  enliven  our  hopes,  certainly  they  are  in 
love,  and  all  our  wounds  are  the  wounds  of  a  friend.     But, 

2.  Secondly,  //  you  are  more  careful  and  studious  how  to  glorify 
God  in  the  affliction,  and  how  to  be  kept  from  sinning  under  the 
affliction,  than  how  to  get  out  of  the  affliction,  then  certainly  your 
affliction  is  in  love,  Dan.  iii.  and  v.  16, 17,  Heb.  xi.  Where  God  smites 
in  love,  there  the  soul  makes  it  his  study  how  to  glorify  God,  and  how 
to  lift  up  God,  and  how  to  be  a  name  and  an  honour  to  God.  The 
daily  language  of  such  a  soul  under  the  rod  is  this  :  Lord  !  stand  by  me 
that  I  sin  not,  uphold  me  that  I  sin  not,  strengthen  me  that  I  sin  not, 
John  vii.  7-10.  He  that  will  not  sin  to  repair  and  make  up  his  losses, 
though  he  knew  assuredly  that  the  committing  of  such  a  sin  would 
make  up  all  again,  he  may  conclude,  that  his  affliction  is  in  love. 

I  have  read  of  a  nobleman  whose  son  and  heir  was  supposed  to  be 
bewitched,  and  being  advised  to  go  to  some  wizard  or  cunning  man,  as 
they  are  called,  to  have  some  help  for  his  son,  that  he  might  be  un- 
witched  again,  he  answered,  Oh,  by  no  means,  I  had  rather  the  witch 
should  have  my  son  than  the  devil.  His  son  should  suffer  rather  than 
he  would  sin  him  out  of  his  sufferings.  He  that  will  not  break  the 
hedge  of  a  fair  command  to  avoid  the  foul  way  of  some  heavy  affliction, 
may  well  conclude  that  his  affliction  is  in  love.  Christians!  what  say 
you,  when  you  are  in  the  mount ;  do  you  thus  bespeak  the  Lord  ?  Lord  ! 
take  care  of  thy  glory,  and  let  me  rather  sink  in  my  affliction  than  sin 
under  my  affliction.  If  this  be  the  bent  and  frame  of  thy  heart,  it  is 
1  Ps.  xviii.  1-8,  cxvi.  1-5,  cxix.  67,  69 ;  Isa.  xxxviii.  1,  seq. 


342  THE  MUTE  CHRISTIAN  [Ps.  XXXIX.  9. 

certain  the  affliction  that  is  upon  thee  is  in  love.     The  primitive  times 
afforded  many  such  brave  spirits,  though  this  age  affords  but  few. 

3.  Thirdly,  If  you  enjoy  the  special  'presence  of  God  with,  your  spirits 
in  your  affliction,  then  your  affliction  is  in  love,  Ps.  xxiii.  4-6.  Isa. 
xliii.  2,  '  When  thou  passest  through  the  waters,  I  will  be  with  thee;  and 
through  the  rivers,  they  shall  not  overflow  thee  :  when  thou  walkest 
through  the  fire,  thou  shalt  not  be  burnt,  neither  shall  the  flames  kindle 
upon  thee.n  Hast  thou  a  special  presence  of  God  with  thy  spirit, 
strengthening  of  that,  quieting  of  that,  stilling  of  that,  satisfying  of 
that,  cheering  and  comforting  of  that  ?  Ps.  xciv.  19,  '  In  the  multitude 
of  my  thoughts,' — that  is,  of  my  troubled,  intricate,  ensnared,  intertwined 
and  perplexed  thoughts,  as  the  branches  of  a  tree  by  some  strong  wind  are 
twisted  one  within  another,  as  the  Hebrew  word  properly  signifies, — 
'  thy  comforts  delight  my  soul.'  Here  is  a  presence  of  God  with  his 
soul,  here  is  comforts  and  delights  that  reach  the  soul,  here  is  a  cordial 
to  strengthen  the  spirit.  When  all  things  went  cross  with  Andronicus. 
the  old  emperor  of  Constantinople,2  he  took  a  psalter  into  his  hand,  and 
opening  the  same,  he  lighted  upon  Ps.  lxviii.  14,  'When  the  Almighty 
scattered  kings,  they  shall  be  white  as  snow  in  Salmon  ;'  which  scripture 
was  a  mighty  comfort  and  refreshment  to  his  spirit.  Now  you  are  to 
remember  that  Salmon  signifies  shady  and  dark  ;  so  was  this  mount,  by 
the  reason  of  many  lofty  fair-spread  trees  that  were  near  it,  but  made 
lightsome  by  snow  that  covered  it.  So  that  to  be  white  as  snow  in 
Salmon,  is  to  have  joy  in  affliction,  light  in  darkness,  mercy  in  miser)', 
&c.  And  thus  God  was  to  the  psalmist  as  snow  in  Salmon  in  the  midst 
of  his  greatest  afflictions.  When  Paul  would  wish  his  dear  son  Timothy 
the  best  mercy  in  all  the  world,  the  greatest  mercy  in  all  the  world,  the 
most  comprehensive  mercy  in  all  the  world,  a  mercy  that  carries  the 
virtue,  value,  and  sweetness  of  all  mercies  in  it,  he  wishes  the  presence 
of  God  with  his  spirit :  2  Tim.  iv.  22,  '  The  Lord  Jesus  Christ  be  with 
thy  spirit/  in  point  of  honour,  in  point  of  profit  and  pleasure,  in  point 
of  safety  and  security,  and  in  point  of  comfort  and  joy;  it  is  the  greatest 
blessing  and  happiness  in  this  world  to  have  the  presence  of  God  with 
our  spirits,  especially  in  times  of  trials  :  2  Cor.  iv.  16,  '  For  which  cause 
we  faint  not;  but  though  our  outward  man  perish,  yet  the  inward  man 
is  renewed  day  by  day.'  By  the  '  outward  man,'  you  are  to  understand 
not  merely  our  bodies,  but  our  persons,  estates,  and  outward  condition 
in  this  world  ;  and  by  the  '  inward  mau/  you  are  to  understand  our 
souls,  our  persons  considered  according  to  our  spiritual  estate.  Now, 
when  the  inward  man  gains  new  strength  by  every  new  trouble,  whenas 
troubles,  pressures,  afflictions,  and  tribulations  are  increased,  a  Chris- 
tian's inward  strength  is  increased  also,  then  his  afflictions  are  in  love. 
When  the  presence  of  God  is  with  our  inward  man,  cheering,  comfort- 
ing, encouraging,  strengthening,  and  renewing  of  that,  we  may  safely 
conclude  that  all  these  trials,  though  they  are  never  so  sharp  and  smart, 
yet  they  are  in  love. 

I  have  read  of  a  company  of  poor  Christians  that  were  banished  into 
some  remote  parts,  and  one  standing  by,  seeing  them  pass  along,  said 

1  The  bush,  which  was  a  typo  of  the  church,  consumed  not  all  the  while  it  burned  witl 
fire,  because  God  was  in  the  midst  of  it. 

2  [Richard]  Knowlles's  Turk.  Hist.  p.  1C4.     [1G10,  folio  ;  and  1638.— G.] 


PS.  XXXIX.  9.]  UNDER  THE  SMARTING  ROD.  343 

that  it  was  a  very  sad  condition  those  poor  people  were  in,  to  be  thus 
hurried  from  the  society  of  men,  and  to  be  made  companions  with  the 
beasts  of  the  field.  True,  said  another,  it  were  a  sad  condition  indeed 
if  they  were  carried  to  a  place  where  they  should  not  find  their  God  ; 
but  let  them  be  of  good  cheer,  God  goes  along  with  them,  and  will  ex- 
hibit the  comforts  of  his  presence  whithersoever  they  go.  The  presence- 
of  God  with  the  spirits  of  his  people,  is  a  breast  of  comfort  that  can 
never  be  drawn  dry  ;  it  is  an  everlasting  spring  that  will  never  fail, 
Heb.  xiii.  5,  6.  Well !  Christian,  thou  art  under  many  great  troubles, 
many  sore  trials:  but  tell  me,  doth  God  give  unto  thy  soul  such  cordials, 
such  supports,  such  comforts,  and  such  refreshments,  that  the  world 
knows  not  of  1     Oh  !  then,  certainly  thy  affliction  is  in  love.    . 

4.  Fourthly,  If  by  your  affliction  you  are  made  more  conformable 
to  Christ  in  M&  virtues,  then  certainly  your  afflictions  are  in  love. 
Many  are  conformable  to  Christ  in  their  sufferings,  that  are  not  made 
conformable  to  Christ  in  his  virtues  by  their  sufferings  ;  many  are  in 
poverty,  neglect,  shame,  contempt,  reproach,  &c,  like  to  Christ,  who 
yet  by  these  are  not  made  more  like  to  Christ  in  his  meekness,  humble- 
ness, heavenliness,  holiness,  righteousness,  faithfulness,  fruitfulness, 
goodness,  contentedness,  patience,  submission,  subjection.1  Oh  !  but  if 
in  these  things  you  are  made  more  like  to  Christ,  without  all  perad- 
venture  your  afflictions  are  in  love.  If  by  afflictions  the  soul  be  led  to 
shew  forth,  or  to  preach  forth,  the  virtues  of  Christ,  as  that  word  im- 
ports in  that  1  Peter  ii.  9,2  then  certainly  those  afflictions  are  in  love  ; 
for  they  never  have  such  an  operation  but  where  they  are  set  on  by  a 
hand  of  love.  When  God  strikes  as  an  enemy,  then  all  those  strokes 
do  but  make  a  man  more  an  enemy  to  God,  as  you  see  in  Pharaoh  and 
others  ;  but  when  the  strokes  of  God  are  the  strokes  of  love,  oh  !  then 
they  do  but  bring  the  soul  nearer  Christ,  and  transform  the  soul  more 
and  more  into  the  likeness  of  Christ,  Isa.  xxvi.  8-10,  Jer.  vi.  3,  Amos 
vi.  1.  If  by  thy  afflictions  thou  art  made  more  holy,  humble,  heavenly, 
&c,  they  are  in  love.  Every  afflicted  Christian  should  strive  to  be 
honoured  with  that  eulogy  of  Salvian,  Singularis  domini  piwclarus 
imitator,  an  excellent  disciple  of  a  singular  master.     But, 

5.  Fifthly,  If  by  outward  afflictions  thy  soid  be  brought  more  under 
the  inward  teachings  of  God,  doubtless  thy  afflictions  are  in  love,  Job 
xxxiv.  31,  32  :  Ps.  xciv.  12,  '  Blessed  is  the  man  whom  thou  chastenest, 
O  Lord,  and  teachest  him  out  of  thy  law.'  All  the  chastening  in  the 
world,  without  divine  teaching,  will  never  make  a  man  blessed  ;  that 
man  that  finds  correction  attended  with  instruction,  and  lashing  with 
lessoning,  is  a  happy  man.  If  God,  by  the  affliction  that  is  upon  thee, 
shall  teach  thee  how  to  loathe  sin  more,  how  to  trample  upon  the  world 
more,  and  how  to  walk  with  God  more,  thy  afflictions  are  in  love.  If 
God  shall  teach  thee  by  afflictions  how  to  die  to  sin  more,  and  how  to 
die  to  thy  relations  more,  and  how  to  die  to  thy  self-interest  more,  thy 
afflictions  are  in  love.  If  God  shall  teach  thee  by  afflictions  how  to  live 
to  Christ  more,  how  to  lift  up  Christ  more,  and  how  to  long  for  Christ 
more,  thy  afflictions  are  in  love.  If  God  shall  teach  thee  by  afflictions 
to  get  assurance  of  a  better  life,  and  to  be  still  in  a  gracious  readiness 

1  Witness  Judas,  Demas,  and  those  in  the  sixth  of  John,  and  many  Quakers  and  other 
deluded  people  amongst  us  at  this  day.  2  \\a.yyu\nTi,  publicly  to  set  forth. 


344  THE  MUTE  CHRISTIAN  [Ps.  XXXIX.  9. 

and  preparedness  for  the  day  of  thy  death,  thy  afflictions  are  in  love. 
It"  God  shall  teach  thee  by  afflictions  how  to  mind  heaven  more,  how  to 
live  in  heaven  more,  and  how  to  fit  for  heaven  more,  thy  afflict  inns  are 
in  love.  If  God  by  afflictions  shall  teach  thy  proud  heart  how  to  lie 
more  Low,  and  thy  hard  heart  how  to  grow  more  humble,  and  thy  cen- 
sorious heart  how  to  grow  more  charitable,  and  thy  carnal  heart  how  to 
grow  more  spiritual,  and  thy  froward  heart  how  to  grow  more  quiet,  &c, 
thy  afflictions  are  in  love.  When  God  teaches  thy  reins  as  well  as  thy 
brains,  thy  heart  as  well  as  thy  head,  these  lessons,  or  any  of  these  les- 
sons, thy  afflictions  are  in  love.  Pambo,  an  illiterate  dunce,  as  the 
historian  terms  him,  was  a-learning  that  one  lesson,  'I  said  I  will  take 
heed  to  my  ways  that  I  sin  not  with  my  tongue/  nineteen  years,  and 
yet  had  not  learned  it.1  Ah  !  it  is  to  be  feared  that  there  are  many  who 
have  been  in  the  school  of  affliction  above  this  nineteen  years,  and  yet 
have  not  learned  any  saving  lesson  all  this  while.  Surely  their  afflic- 
tions are  not  in  love,  but  in  wrath.  Where  God  loves,  he  afflicts  in 
love,  and  wherever  God  afflicts  in  love,  there  he  will,  first  or  last,  teach 
such  souls  such  lessons  as  shall  do  them  good  to  all  eternity.     But, 

(6.)  Sixthly,  If  God  suit  your  burdens  to  your  backs,  your  trials  fa 
your  strength,  according  to  that  golden  promise,  1  Cor.  x.  13,  y<mr 
afflictions  are  in  love.  '  There  hath  no  temptation  taken  you,  but 
such  as  is  common  to  man  :  but  God  is  faithful,  who  will  not  suffer  you 
to  be  tempted  above  what  ye  are  able ;  but  will  with  the  temptation 
also  make  a  way  to  escape,  that  ye  may  be  able  to  bear  it.'  When 
God's  strokes  and  a  Christian's  strength  are  suited  one  to  another,  all 
is  in  love,  Isa.  xxvii.  8,  Jei\  xxx.  11,  xlvi.  28.  Let  the  load  be  never 
so  heavy  that  God  lays  on,  if  he  put  under  his  eveidasting  arms,  all  is 
in  love,  Gen.  xlix.  23,  24.  As  Egypt  had  many  venomous  creatures, 
so  it  had  many  antidotes  against  them.  When  God  shall  lay  antidotes 
into  the  soul  against  all  the  afflictions  that  befall  a  Christian,  then  they 
are  all  in  love.  It  is  no  matter  how  heavy  the  burden  is,  if  God  gives 
a,  shoulder  to  bear  it :  all  is  in  love ;  it  is  no  matter  how  bitter  the  cup 
is,  if  God  give  courage  to  drink  it  off;  it  is  no  matter  how  hot  the  fur- 
nace  is,  if  God  gives  power  to  walk  in  the  midst  of  it :  all  is  in  love. 

(7.)  Seventhly,  If  thou  art  willing  to  lie  in  the  furnace  fill  thy  dross 
be  consumed  ;  if  thou  art  willing  that  the  plaster  should  lie  on,  though 
it  smart,  till  the  cure  be  wrought;  if  thou  art  willing  that  the  physic 
should  work,  though  it  makes  thee  sick,  till  the  humours  be  expelled ; 
all  is  in  love,  Job  xxiii.  10,  Micah  vii.  9.  Cain,  and  Saul,  and  Pharaoh, 
were  all  for  the  removing  away  of  the  stroke,  the  affliction  ;  they  cry 
not  out,  '  Our  sins  are  greater  than  we  are  able  to  bear/  but  they  cry 
out,  '  Our  punishment  is  greater  than  we  are  able  to  bear  ;'  they  cry 
not  out,  '  Lord,  take  away  our  sins/  but  '  Lord,  remove  the  stroke  of 
thy  hand.'2  Oh  !  but  when  an  affliction  comes  in  love  upon  a  soul,  the 
language  of  that  soul  is  this:  Lord,  remove  the  cause  rather  than  the 
effect,  the  sin  rather  than  the  punishment,  my  corruption  rather  than 
my  affliction.  Lord  !  what  will  it  avail  me  to  have  the  sore  skinned 
over,  if  the  corrupt  matter  still  remain  in?  there  is  no  evil,  Lord,  to  the 
evil  of  sin  ;  and  therefore  deliver  me  rather  from  the  evil  of  sin  than  the 
evil  of  suffering.     I  know,  Lord,  that  affliction  cannot  be  so  displeasing 

1  Socrates,  1.  ii.  c.  18.  *  Gen.  iv.  13;  Isa.  xxviii.  1,  6,  lix.  9-17;  Exod.  vii.-x. 


PS.  XXXIX.  9.]  UNDER  THE  SMARTING  ROD.  345 

to  me  as  sin  is  dishonourable  and  displeasing  to  thee  ;  and  therefore, 
Lord,  let  me  see  an  end  of  my  sin,  though  in  this  world  I  should  never 
see  an  end  of  my  sorrows  ;  oh,  let  me  see  an  end  of  my  corruptions, 
though  I  should  never  see  an  end  of  my  corrections  ;  Lord,  I  had  rather 
have  a  cure  for  my  heart  than  a  cure  for  my  head,  I  had  rather  be  made 
whole  and  sound  within  than  without,  I  had  rather  have  a  healthy  soul 
than  a  healthy  body,  a  pure  inside  than  a  beautiful  outside.  If  this  be 
the  settled  frame  and  temper  of  thy  spirit,  certainly  thy  afflictions  are 
in  love. 

There  was  one  who,  being  under  marvellous  great  pains  and  torments 
in  his  body,  occasioned  by  many  sore  diseases  that  were  upon  him, 
cried  out,  Had  I  all  the  world  I  would  give  it  for  ease,  and  yet  for  all 
the  world  I  would  not  have  ease  till  the  cure  be  wrought.  Sure  his 
afflictions  were  in  love.  The  first  request,  the  great  request,  and  the 
last  request  of  a  soul  afflicted  in  love,  is,  A  cure,  Lord  !  a  cure,  Lord  !  a 
cure,  Lord  !  of  this  wretched  heart,  and  this  sinful  life,  and  all  will  be 
well,  all  will  be  well. 

(8.)  Eighthly  and  lastly,  If  you  live  alife  of  faith  in  your  afflictions, 
then  your  afflictions  are  in  love.  Now,  what  is  it  to  live  by  faith  in 
affliction,  but  to  live  in  the  exercising  of  faith  upon  those  precious  pro- 
mises that  are  made  over  to  an  afflicted  condition?1  God  hath  pro- 
mised to  be  with  his  people  in  their  afflictions,  Isa.  xliii.  2,  3  ;  he  hath 
promised  to  support  them  under  their  affliction,  Isa.  xli.  10  ;  he  hath 
promised  to  deliver  his  people  out  of  their  afflictions,  Ps.  1.  15  ;  he  hath 
promised  to  purge  away  his  people's  sins  by  affliction,  Isa.  i.  25  ;  he 
hath  promised  to  make  his  people  more  partakers  of  his  holiness  by 
affliction,  Heb.  xii.  10  ;  he  hath  promised  to  make  affliction  an  inlet 
to  a  more  full  and  sweet  enjoyment  of  himself,  Hos.  ii.  14  ;  he  hath 
promised  that  he  will  never  leave  nor  forsake  his  people  in  their  afflic- 
tions, Heb.  xiii.  5,  6  ;  he  hath  promised  that  all  their  afflictions  shall 
work  for  their  good,  Zech.  xiii.  9,  Rom.  viii.  28.  Now  if  thy  faith  be 
drawn  forth  to  feed  upon  these  promises,  if  these  be  heavenly  manna  to 
thy  faith,  and  thy  soul  lives  upon  them,  and  sucks  strength  and  sweet- 
ness from  them,  under  all  the  trials  and  troubles  that  are  upon  thee, 
thy  afflictions  are  in  love. 

A  bee  can  suck  honey  out  of  a  flower,  which  a  fly  cannot.  If  thy 
faith  can  extract  comfort  and  sweetness  in  thy  saddest  distresses,  out 
of  the  breasts  of  precious  promises,  and  gather  one  contrary  out  of 
another,  honey  out  of  the  rock,  Deut.  xxxii.  13,  thy  afflictions  are  in 
love.  The  promises  are  full  breasts,  and  God  delights  that  faith  should 
draw  them2 ;  they  are  pabulum  fid ei,  et  anima  fidei,  the  food  of  faith, 
and  the  very  soul  of  faith  ;  they  are  an  everlasting  spring  that  can  never 
be  drawn  dry  ;  they  are  an  inexhaustible  treasure  that  can  never  be 
exhausted ;  they  are  the  garden  of  paradise,  and  full  of  such  choice 
flowers  that  will  never  fade,  but  be  always  fresh,  sweet,  green,  and 
flourishing ;  and  if,  in  the  day  of  affliction,  they  prove  thus  to  thy  soul, 
thy  afflictions  are  in  love.     Sertorius3  paid  what  he  promised  with  fair 

1  These  following  promises  have  been  choice  cordials  to  many  Christians  under  sore 
distresses.  Isa.  lvii.  15,  xli.  10;  1  Tim.  i.  15;  John  x.  27-29;  Isa.  xxvi.  3;  Mat.  xi.  28; 
1  John  iii.  14. 

"  As  the  mother  delights  that  the  child  should  draw  hers.  3  Plutarch^  Sertorius. — G. 


346  THE  MUTE  CHRISTIAN  [Ps.  XXXIX.  J). 

words,  but  so  doth  not  God.  Men  many  times  eat  their  words,  but 
God  will  never  eat  his;  all  his  promises  in  Christ  are  yea  and  in  him 
amen,  1  Cor.  i.  20.  Hath  he  spoken  it,  and  shall  it  not  come  to  passl 
It'  in  all  thy  troubles  thy  heart  be  drawn  forth  to  act  faith  upon  the 
promises,  thy  troubles  are  from  love.  And  thus  much  by  way  of  answer 
to  the  first  objection. 

Ohj.  2.  Oh,  but,  sir  !  the  Lord  hath  smitten  me  in  my  nearest  and 
dearest  comforts  and  contentments,  and  how  then  can  I  hold  my  peace  ? 
God  hath  taken  away  a  husband,  a  wife,  a  child,  an  only  child,  a  bosom- 
friend,  and  how  then  can  I  be  silent  ?  &c. 

Ans.  To  this  I  answer, 

(I.)  First,  If  God  did  not  strike  thee  in  that  mercy  which  was  near 
and  dear  unto  thee,  it  would  not  amount  to  an  affliction.  That  is  not 
worthy  the  name  of  an  affliction  that  does  not  strike  at  some  bosom 
mercy ;  that  trouble  is  no  trouble  that  doth  not  touch  some  choice  con- 
tentment ;  that  storm  is  no  storm  that  only  blows  off  the  leaves,  but 
never  hurts  the  fruit ;  that  thrust  is  no  thrust  that  only  touches  t lie 
clothes,  but  never  reaches  the  skin  ;  that  cut  is  no  cut  that  only  cuts  the 
hat,  but  never  touches  the  head  ;  neither  is  that  affliction  any  affliction 
that  only  reaches  some  remote  enjoyment,  but  never  reaches  a  Joseph* 
a  Benjamin,  &c. 

(2.)  Secondly,  The  best  mercy  is  not  too  good  for  the  best  God.  The 
best  of  the  best  is  not  good  enough  for  him  who  is  goodness  itself ;  the 
best  child,  the  best  yoke-fellow,  the  best  friend,  the  best  jewel  in  all  thy 
crown  must  be  readily  resigned  to  thy  best  God.  There  is  no  mercy, 
no  enjoyment,  no  contentment  worthy  of  God,  but  the  best.  The  milk 
of  mercy  is  for  others,  the  cream  of  mercy  is  due  to  God.  The  choicest, 
the  fairest,  and  the  sweetest  flowers,  are  fittest  for  the  bosom  of  God  ; 
if  he  will  take  the  best  flower  in  all  the  garden,  and  plant  it  in  a  better 
soil,  hast  thou  any  cause  to  murmur  ?  Wilt  thou  not  hold  thy  peace  ? 
Mai.  i.  13,  1+. 

(3.)  Thirdly,  Your  near  and  dear  mercies  were  first  the  Lords 
before  they  were  yours,  and  ahuays  the  Lord's  more  than  they  were 
yours.  When  God  gives  a  mercy,  he  doth  not  relinquish  his  own  right 
in  that  mercy  :  1  Chron.  xxix.  14-,  '  All  things  come  of  thee,  and  of  thine 
own  have  we  given  thee.'  The  sweet  of  mercy  is  yours,  but  the  sove- 
reign right  to  dispose  of  your  mercies  is  the  Lord's.  Quit-quid  ea,  debet 
creanti ;  quicquid  potes,  debes  redimenti  [Bernard],  whatsoever  thou 
art,  thou  owest  to  him  that  made  thee  ;  and  whatsoever  thou  hast, 
thou  owest  to  him  that  redeemed  thee.  You  say  it  is  but  just  and  reason- 
able that  men  should  do  with  their  own  as  they  please,  and  is  it  not  just 
and  reasonable  that  God,  who  is  Lord  paramount,  should  do  with  bifl 
own  as  he  pleases  ?  Dost  thou  believe  that  the  great  God  may  do  in 
heaven  what  he  pleases  ?  and  on  the  seas  what  he  pleases  ?  ami  in 
the  nations  and  kingdoms  of  the  world  what  he  pleases?  and  in  thy 
heart  what  he  pleases  ?  And  dost  thou  not  believe  that  God  may  do 
in  thy  house  what  he  pleases,  and  do  with  thy  mercies  what  he  pleases  1 
Job  ix.  12,  '  Behold,  he  taketh  away,'  or  he  snatcheth  away,  it  may  be 
a  husband,  a  wife,  a  child,  an  estate,  '  who  can  hinder  him  ?  Who  will 
say  unto  him,  what  doest  thou  f1  Who  dares  cavil  against  God?  Who 
1  Job  plainly  alludes  to  God's  taking  away  his  children,  servants,  and  cattle. 


PS.  XXXIX.  9.]  UNDER  THE  SMARTING  ROD.  347 

dares  question  that  God  that  is  unquestionable,  that  chief  Lord  that  is  un- 
controllable, and  who  may  do  with  his  own  what  he  pleaseth?  Dan.  iv.  35, 
'And  all  the  inhabitants  of  the  earth  are  reputed  as  nothing  :  and  he 
doeth  according  to  his  will  in  the  army  of  heaven,  and  among  the  inha- 
bitants of  the  earth  ;  and  none  can  stay  his  hand,  or  say  unto  him,  What 
doest  thou  ?'  Where  is  the  prince,  the  peasant,  the  master,  the  servant, 
the  husband,  the  wife,  the  father,  the  child,  that  dares  say  to  God,  What 
doest  thou  ?  Isa.  xlv.  9.  In  matters  of  arithmetical  accounts,  set  one  against 
ten,  ten  against  a  hundred,  a  hundred  against  a  thousand,  a  thousand 
against  ten  thousand,  although  there  be  great  odds,  yet  there  is  some  com- 
parison ;  but  if  a  man  could  set  down  an  infinite  number,  then  there  could 
be  no  comparison  at  all,  because  the  one  is  infinite,  the  other  finite ;  so  set 
all  the  princes  and  powers  of  the  earth  in  opposition  to  God,  they  shall 
never  be  able  to  withstand  him.  It  was  once  the  saying  of  Pompey, 
that  with  one  stamp  of  his  foot  he  could  raise  all  Italy  in  arms  j1  but 
let  the  great  God  but  stamp  with  his  foot,  and  he  can  raise  all  the 
world  in  arms,  to  own  him,  to  contend  for  him,  or  to  revenge  any  affronts 
that  by  any  are  put  upon  him,  and  therefore  who  shall  say  unto  him, 
What  doest  thou  ?  Water  is  stronger  than  earth,  fire  stronger  than 
water,  angels  stronger  than  men,  and  God  stronger  than  them  all ;  and 
therefore  who  shall  say  unto  God,  What  doest  thou  ;  when  he  takes 
their  nearest  and  their  dearest  mercies  from  them  \     But, 

(4.)  Fourthly,  It  may  be  thou  hast  not  made  a  happy  improvement 
of  thy  near  and  dear  mercies  whilst  thou  enjoy edst  them.  Thou  hast 
been  taken  with  thy  mercies,  but  thy  heart  hath  not  been  taken  up  in 
the  improvement  of  them.  There  are  many  who  are  very  much  taken 
with  their  mercies,  who  make  no  conscience  of  improving  their  mercies. 
Have  thy  near  and  dear  mercies  been  a  star  to  lead  thee  to  Christ  ? 
Have  they  been  a  cloud  by  day,  and  a  pillar  of  light  by  night,  to  lead 
thee  towards  the  heavenly  Canaan  ?  Have  they  been  a  Jacob's  ladder 
to  thy  soul  ?  Hast  thou  by  them  been  provoked  to  give  up  thyself  to 
God  as  a  living  sacrifice  ?  Rom.  xii.  1 .  Hast  thou  improved  thy  near 
and  dear  mercies  to  the  inflaming  of  thy  love  to  God,  to  the  strength- 
ening of  thy  confidence  in  God,  to  the  raising  of  thy  communion  with 
God,  and  to  the  engaging  of  thy  heart  to  a  more  close  and  circumspect 
walking  before  God  ?  &c.  If  thou  hast  not  thus  improved  them,  thuu 
hast  more  cause  to  be  mute  than  to  murmur,  to  be  silent  than  to  be 
impatient,  to  fall  out  with  thyself  than  to  fall  out  with  thy  God.  Chil- 
dren and  fools  are  taken  with  many  things,  but  improve  nothing.  Such 
children  and  fools  are  most  men ;  they  are  much  taken  with  their  mer- 
cies, but  they  make  no  improvement  of  their  mercies  ;  and  therefore  no 
wonder  if  God  strip  them  of  their  mercies.  The  candle  of  mercy  is  set 
up  not  to  play  by,  but  to  work  by. 

Pliny  speaks  of  one  Cressinus,2  who  improved  a  little  piece  of  ground 
to  a»far  greater  advantage  than  his  neighbours  could  a  greater  quantity 
of  land.  Thereupon  he  was  accused  of  witchcraft ;  but  he,  to  defend 
himself,  brought  into  the  court  his  servants  and  their  working  tools, 
and  said,  Veneficia  mea}  Quirites,  haec  sunt,  these  are  my  witchcrafts, 

1  Plutarch  in  vita  Pompeii. 

2  Lib.  xviii.  c.  6.  [The  name  is  C.  Furius  Chresimus,  not  Cressinus,  and  the  reference 
c.  8,  not  ti. — ] 


348  THE  MUTE  CHRISTIAN  [Ps.  XXXIX.  0. 

( )  ye  Romans ;  these  servants,  and  these  working  tools,  are  all  the  witch- 
craft that  I  know  of.  When  the  people  heard  this  plea,  with  one  con- 
sent they  acquitted  him,  and  declared  him  not  guilty;  and  so  his  little 
piece  of  ground  was  secured  to  him.  There  is  no  way  to  secure  your 
mercies  but  by  improving  of  them  ;  there  is  nothing  that  provokes  ( rod 
to  strip  you  of  your  mercies  like  the  non-improvement  of  them:  Mat. 
xxv.  28-31,  '  Take  therefore  the  talent  from  him,  and  give  it  unto  him 
which  hath  ten  talents.'  By  some  stroke  or  other  God  will  take  away 
the  mercy  that  is  not  improved.  If  thy  slothfulness  hath  put  God  upon 
passing  a  sentence  of  death  upon  the  dearest  mercy,  thank  thyself,  and 
hold  thy  peace. 

(5.)  Fifthly,  If  in  this  rose  God  hud  mode,  /lire  a  precedi  id  to 
others,  thou  'must  have  held  thy  peace;  how  much,  more,  then,  shouldst 
thou  be  mate  vhcn  God  hath  mode  mairy  others  'precedents  to  thee! 
Did  not  God  smite  Aaron  in  his  dear  and  near  enjoyments,  Lev.  x.  1,  2, 
and  doth  he  not  hold  his  peace?  Did  not  God  smite  David  in  his  Ab- 
salom, and  Abraham  in  his  Sarah,  and  Job  in  his  sons,  daughters,  estate, 
and  body,  and  Jonah  in  his  gourd?  Art  thou  more  beloved  than  these? 
No.  Hast  thou  more  grace  than  these?  No.  Hast  thou  done  more 
for  divine  glory  than  these  ?  No.  Art  thou  richer  in  spiritual  expe- 
riences than  these?  No.  Hast  thou  attained  to  higher  enjoyments 
than  these?  No.  Hast  thou  been  more  serviceable  in  thy  generation 
than  these  ?  No.  Hast  thou  been  more  exemplary  in  thy  life  and  con- 
versation than  these  ?  &c.  No.  Then  why  shouldst  thou  murmur  and 
fret  at  that  which  hath  been  the  common  lot  of  the  dearest  saints  ? 

Though  God  hath  smitten  thee  in  this  or  that  near  and  dear  enjoy- 
ment, it  is  thy  wisdom  to  hold  thy  peace,  for  that  God  that  hath  taken 
away  one,  might  have  taken  away  all.  Justice  writes  a  sentence  of 
death  upon  all  Job's  mercies  at  once,  and  yet  he  holds  his  peace,  Job  i. ; 
and  wilt  not  thou  hold  thine,  though  God  hath  cropped  the  fairest 
flower  in  all  thy  garden  ? 

Anjrtus,  a  young  spark  of  Athens,1  came  revelling  into  Alcibiades's 
house;  and  as  he  sat  at  supper  with  some  strangers,  he  arose  on  a  sud- 
den, and  took  away  one  half  of  his  place.2  Thereupon  the  guests  stormed, 
and  took  on  at  it.  He  bade  them  be  quiet,  and  told  them  that  he  had 
dealt  kindly  with  him,  since  that  he  had  left  the  one  half,  whereas  he 
might  have  taken  all.  So  when  our  hearts  begin  to  storm  and  take  on 
when  God  smites  us  in  this  near  mercy  and  in  that  dear  enjoyment,  oh 
let  us  lay  the  law  of  silence  upon  our  hearts  !  let  us  charge  our  souls  to 
be  quiet!  for  that  God  that  hath  taken  away  one  child,  might  have 
took  away  every  child  ;  and  he  that  hath  taken  away  one  friend,  might 
have  taken  away  every  friend  ;  and  he  that  hath  taken  away  a  part  of 
thy  estate,  might  have  taken  away  thy  whole  estate :  therefore  hold 
thy  peace  ;  let  who  will  murmur,  yet  be  thou  mute. 

(6.)  Sixthly,  It  may  be  thy  sins  have  been  much  about  thy  near  and 
dear  enjoyments.  It  may  be  thou  hast  over-loved  them,  and  over-prized 
them,  and  over-much  delighted  thyself  in  them  ;  it  may  be  they  have 
often  had  thy  heart,  when  they  should  have  had  but  thy  hand  ;  it  may 
be  that  care,  that  fear,  that  confidence,  that  joy  that  should  have  been 

1  The  foremost  of  the  accusers  of  Socrates,  and  the  infamous  friend  of  Alcihia<les.  Cf. 
Plato  and  Plutarch,  sub  nomiiw.—G.  *  Qu.  '  plate  '? — Ki>. 


PS.  XXXIX.  9.]  UNDER  THE  SMARTING  ROD.  34:9 

expended  upon  more  noble  objects,  hath  been  expended  upon  them. 
Thy  heart,  O  Christian  !  is  Christ's  bed  of  spices,  and  it  may  be  thou 
hast  bedded  thy  mercies  with  thee,  when  Christ  hath  been  put  to  lie  in 
an  outhouse,  Luke  ii.  7  ;  thou  hast  had  room  for  them,  when  thou  hast 
had  none  for  him  ;  they  have  had  the  best,  when  the  worst  have  been 
counted  good  enough  for  Christ.  It  is  said  of  .Reuben,  that  he  went  up 
to  his  father's  bed,  Gen.  xlix.  4.  Ah  !  how  often  hath  one  creature 
comfort  and  sometimes  another  put  in  between  Christ  and  your  souls  ! 
how  often  have  your  dear  enjoyments  gone  up  to  Christ's  bed  !  It  is 
said  of  the  Babylonians,  that  they  came  in  to  Aholah  and  Aholibah's 
bed  of  love,  Ezek.  xxiii.  17  ;  may  it  not  be  said  of  your  near  and  dear 
mercies,  that  they  have  come  into  Christ's  bed  of  love,  your  hearts  ;  they 
being  that  bed  wherein  Christ  delights  to  rest  and  repose  himself? 
Cant.  iii.  7.  Now,  if  a  husband,  a  child,  a  friend  shall  take  up  that  room 
in  thy  soul  that  is  proper  and  peculiar  to  God,  God  will  either  embitter 
it,  remove  it,  or  be  the  death  of  it.  If  once  the  love  of  a  wife  runs  out 
more  to  a  servant  than  to  her  husband,  the  master  will  turn  him  out 
of  doors,  though  otherwise  he  were  a  servant  worth  gold.  The  sweetest 
comforts  of  this  life,  they  are  but  like  treasures  of  snow  ;  now  do  but 
take  a  handful  of  snow,  and  crush  it  in  your  hands,  and  it  will  melt 
away  presently  ;  but  if  you  let  it  lie  upon  the  ground,  it  will  continue 
for  some  time.  And  so  it  is  with  the  contentments  of  this  world  ;  if  you 
grasp  them  in  your  hands  and  lay  them  too  near  your  hearts,  they  will 
quickly  melt  and  vanish  away  ;  but  if  you  will  not  hold  them  too  fast 
in  your  hands,  nor  lay  them  too  close  to  your  hearts,  they  will  abide  the 
longer  with  you.  There  are  those  that  love  their  mercies  into  their 
graves,  that  hug  their  mercies  to  death,  that  kiss  them  till  they  kill 
them.  Many  a  man  hath  slain  his  mercies,  by  setting  too  great  a  value 
upon  them  ;  many  a  man  hath  sunk  his  ship  of  mercy,  by  taking  up  in  it  ; 
over-loved  mercies  are  seldom  long  lived  :  Ezek.  xxiv.  21,  'When  I  take 
from  them  the  joy  of  their  glory,  the  desire  of  their  eyes,  and  that 
whereupon  they  set  their  minds,  their  sons  and  their  daughters.'  The 
way  to  lose  your  mercies  is  to  indulge  them  ;  the  way  to  destroy  them 
is  to  fix  your  minds  and  hearts  upon  them.  Thou  mayest  write  bitter- 
ness and  death  upon  that  mercy  first  that  hath  first  taken  away  thy 
heart  from  God.  Now,  if  God  hath  stripped  thee  of  that  very  mercy  with 
which  thou  hast  often  committed  spiritual  adultery  and  idolatry,  hast 
thou  any  cause  to  murmur  ?  Hast  thou  not  rather  cause  to  hold  thy 
peace,  and  to  be  mute  before  the  Lord  ?  Christians,  your  hearts  are 
Christ's  royal  throne,  and  in  this  throne  Christ  will  be  chief,  as  Pharaoh 
said  to  Joseph,  Gen.  xli.  40 ;  he  will  endure  no  competitor.  If  you 
shall  attempt  to  throne  the  creature,  be  it  never  so  near  and  dear  unto 
you,  Christ  will  dethrone  it,  he  will  destroy  it ;  he  will  quickly  lay  them 
in  a  bed  of  dust  who  shall  aspire  to  his  royal  throne.     But, 

(7.)  Seventhly,  Thou  hast  no  cause  to  murmur  because  of  the  loss  of 
such  near  and  dear  enjoyments,  considering  those  more  noble  and 
spiritual  mercies  and  favours  that  thou  still  enjoy  est.  Grant  that 
Joseph  is  not,  and  Benjamin  is  not,  Gen.  xlii.  36,  yet  Jesus  is  ;  he  is 
yesterday,  and  to-day,  and  the  same  for  ever,  Heb.  xiii.  8 ;  thy  union 
and  communion  with  Christ  remains  still ;  the  immortal  seed  abides  in 
thee  still,  1  John  iii.  9  ;    the  Sun  of  righteousness  shines  upon   thee 


350  THE  MUTE  CHRISTIAN  [Ps.  XXXIX.  9. 

still  ;  thou  art  in  favour  with  God  still,  and  thou  art  under  the  anoint- 
ings of  the  Spirit  still,  and  under  the  influences  of  heaven  still,  &c.  ;  and 
why  then  shouldst  thou  mutter,  and  not  rather  hold  thy  peace  ?  I  have 
read  of  one  Didymus,  a  godly  preacher,  who  was  blind;  Alexander,  a 
godly  man,  once  asked  him,  whether  he  was  not  sore  troubled  and 
afflicted  for  want  of  his  sight?  Oh  yes!  said  Didymus,  it  is  a  great 
affliction  and  grief  unto  me.  Then  Alexander  chid  him,  saying,  Hath 
God  given  you  the  excellency  of  an  angel,  of  an  apostle,  and  are  you 
troubled  for  that  which  rats  and  mice  and  brute  beasts  have?1  So  say 
I.  Ah,  Christians  !  hath  God  blessed  you  with  all  spiritual  blessings  in 
heavenly  places?  Eph.  i.  3,  4.  Hath  the  Lord  given  you  himself  for  a 
portion  ?  Hath  he  given  you  his  Son  for  your  redemption,  and  his  Spirit 
for  your  instruction  ;  and  will  you  murmur  ?  Hath  he  given  his  grace 
to  adorn  you,  his  promises  to  comfort  you,  his  ordinances  to  better  you, 
and  the  hopes  of  heaven  to  encourage  you  ;  and  will  you  mutter  ? 
Paulinus  Nolanus,2  when  his  city  was  taken  from  him,  prayed  thus  : 
Lord  !  said  he,  let  me  not  be  troubled  at  the  loss  of  my  gold,  silver, 
honour,  &c,  for  thou  art  all,  and  much  more  than  all,  these  unto  me. 
In  the  want  of  all  your  sweetest  enjoyments,  Christ  will  be  all  in  all 
unto  you,  Col.  iii.  11.  My  jewels  are  my  husband,  said  Phocion's  wife  ;3 
my  ornaments  are  my  two  sons,  said  the  mother  of  the  Gracchi ;  my 
treasures  are  my  friends,  said  Constantius  ;  and  so  may  a  Christian  under 
his  o-reatest  losses  say,  Christ  is  my  richest  jewels,  my  chiefest  treasures, 
my  best  ornaments,  my  sweetest  delights.  Look  what  all  these  things 
are  to  a  carnal  heart,  a  worldly  heart,  that  and  more  is  Christ  to  me. 

(8.)  Eighthly,  //  God,  by  smiting  thee  in  thy  nearest  and  dearest 
enjoyments,  shall  put  thee  upon  a  more  thorough  smiting  and  morti- 
fying of  thy  dearest  sins,  thou  hast  no  cause  to  murmur.  God  cures 
David  of  adultery  by  killing  his  endeared  child.  There  is  some  Delilah, 
some  darling,  some  beloved  sin  or  other,  that  a  Christian's  calling,  con- 
dition, constitution,  or  temptations  leads  him  to  play  withal,  and  to 
hug  in  his  own  bosom,  rather  than  some  other,  Ps.  xviii.  23,  Heb.  xii  1. 
As  in  a  ground  that  lieth  untilled,  amongst  the  great  variety  of  weeds 
there  is  usually  some  master-weed  that  is  rifer  and  rauker  than  all 
the  rest ;  and  as  it  is  in  the  body  of  man,  that  although  in  some  de- 
gree or  other,  more  or  less,  there  be  a  mixture  of  all  the  four  elements, 
not  any  of  them  wholly  wanting,  yet  there  is  some  one  of  them  pre- 
dominant that  gives  the  denomination,  in  which  regard  some  are  said  to 
be  of  a  sanguine,  some  of  a  phlegmatic,  some  of  a  choleric,  and  some  of 
a  melancholic  constitution  ;  so  it  is  also  in  the  souls  of  men :  though 
there  be  a  general  mixture  and  medley  of  all  evil  and  corrupt  qualities,  yet 
there  is  some  one  usually  that  is  paramount,  which,  like  the  prince  of 
devils,  is  most  powerful  and  prevalent,  that  swayeth  and  sheweth  forth 
itself  more  eminently  and  evidently  than  any  other  of  them  do.  And 
as  in  every  man's  body  there  is  a  seed  and  principle  of  death,  yet  in 
some  there  is  a  proneness  to  one  kind  of  disease  more  than  other  that 
may  hasten  death  ;  so,  though  the  root  of  sin  and  bitterness  hath  spread 
itself  over  all,  yet  every  man  hath  his  inclination  to  one  kind  of  sin  rather 
than  another,  and  this  may  be  called  a  man's  proper  sin,  his  bosom  sin, 
his  darling  sin.  Now,  it  is  one  of  the  hardest  works  in  this  world 
1  Jerome.  *  Pauliuus  of  Nola. — G.  3  Plutarch  in  vita  Phocion. 


PS.  XXXIX.  9.]  UNDER  THE  SMARTING  ROD.  351 

to  subdue  and  bring  under  this  bosom  sin.  Oh  !  the  prayers,  the 
tears,  the  sighs,  the  sobs,  the  groans,  the  gripes  that  it  will  cost  a 
Christian  before  he  brings  under  this  darling  sin  ! 

Look  upon  a  rabbit's  skin,  how  well  it  comes  off  till  it  comes  to  the 
head,  but  then  what  hauling  and  pulling  is  there  before  it  stirs  !  So 
it  is  in  the  mortifying,  in  the  crucifying  of  sin  ;  a  man  may  easily  sub- 
due and  mortify  such  and  such  sins,  but  when  it  comes  to  the  head-sin, 
to  the  master-sin,  to  the  bosom-sin,  oh  !  what  tugging  and  pulling  is 
there  !  what  striving  and  struggling  is  there  to  get  off  that  sin,  to  get 
down  that  sin  !  Now,  if  the  Lord,  by  smiting  thee  in  some  near  and 
dear  enjoyment,  shall  draw  out  thy  heart  to  fall  upon  smiting  of  thy 
master-sin,  and  shall  so  sanctify  the  affliction,  as  to  make  it  issue  in  the 
mortification  of  thy  bosom  corruption,  what  eminent  cause  wilt  thou 
have  rather  to  bless  him,  than  to  sit  down  and  murmur  against  him  ! 
And  doubtless  if  thou  art  dear  to  God,  God  will,  by  striking  thy  dearest 
mercy,  put  thee  upon  striking  at  thy  darling  sin  ;  and  therefore  hold  thy 
peace,  even  then  when  God  touches  the  apple  of  thine  eye. 

(9.)  Ninthly,  consider  That  the  Lord  hath  many  ways  to  make  ur> 
the  loss  of  a  near  and  dear  mercy  to  thee  ;  he  can  make  up  thy  loss  in 
something  else  that  may  be  better  for  thee,  and  he  will  certainly  make 
up  thy  loss,  either  in  kind  or  in  worth,  Mat.  xix.  27-30.  He  took  from 
David  an  Absalom,  and  he  gave  him  a  Solomon  ;  he  took  from  him  a 
Michal,  and  gave  him  a  wise  Abigail ;  he  took  from  Job  seven  sons  and 
three  daughters,  and  afterwards  he  gives  him  seven  sons  and  three 
daughters  ;  he  took  from  Job  a  fair  estate,  and  at  last  doubled  it  to 
him  ;  he  removed  the  bodily  presence  of  Christ  from  his  disciples,  but 
gave  them  more  abundantly  of  his  spiritual  presence,  which  was  far  the 
greater  and  the  sweeter  mercy.  If  Moses  be  taken  away,  Joshua  shall 
be  raised  in  his  room  ;  if  David  be  gathered  to  his  fathers,  a  Solomon 
shall  succeed  him  in  his  throne  ;  if  John  be  cast  into  prison,  rather  than 
the  pulpit  shall  stand  empty,  a  greater  than  John,  even  Christ  himself, 
will  begin  to  preach.1  He  that  lives  upon  God  in  the  loss  of  creature 
comforts,  shall  find  all  made  up  in  the  God  of  comforts;  he  shall  be  able 
to  say,  Though  my  child  is  not,  my  friend  is  not,  my  yoke-fellow  is  not, 
yet  my  God  liveth,  and  '  blessed  be  my  rock,'  Ps.  lxxxix.  26.  Though 
this  mercy  is  not,  and  that  mercy  is  not,  yet  covenant-mercies,  yet  'the 
sure  mercies  of  David'  continue,  2  Sam.  xxiii.  5  ;  these  bed  and  board 
with  me,  these  will  to  the  grave  and  to  glory  with  me.  I  have  read  of 
a  godly  man,  who,  living  near  a  philosopher,  did  often  persuade  him  to 
become  a  Christian.  Oh  !  but,  said  the  philosopher,  I  must,  or  may, 
lose  all  for  Christ ;  to  which  the  good  man  replied,  if  you  lose  anything 
for  Christ,  he  will  be  sure  to  repay  it  a  hundredfold.  Ay,  but,  said  the 
philosopher,  will  you  be  bound  for  Christ,  that  if  he  doth  not  pay  me, 
you  will  ?  Yes,  that  I  will,  said  the  good  man.  So  the  philosopher 
became  a  Christian,  and  the  good  man  entered  into  bond  for  perform- 
ance of  covenants.  Some  time  after  it  happened  that  the  philosopher 
fell  sick  on  his  deathbed,  and,  holding  the  bond  in  his  hand,  sent  for  the 
party  engaged,  to  whom  he  gave  up  the  bond,  and  said,  Christ  hath 
paid  all,  there  is  nothing  for  you  to  pay,  take  your  bond,  and  cancel  it. 
Christ  will  suffer  none  of  his  children  to  go  by  the  loss  ;  he  hath  all, 
1  The  fir3t  and  last  chapters  of  Job,  compared.     John  xvi.  7,  8,  &c.  ;  Acts  ii. 


352  Tin:  mute  christian  [Ps.XXXIX.lt. 

and  ho  will  make  up  all  to  them.  Iu  the  close,  Christ  will  pay  the 
reckoning.  No  man  shall  ever  have  cause  to  say  that  he  hath  been  a 
loser  by  Christ.  And,  therefore,  thou  hast  much  cause  to  be  mute, 
thou  hast  no  cause  to  murmur,  though  God  hath  snatched  the  fairest 
and  the  sweetesl  Ilower  out  of  thy  bosom. 

(10.)  Tenthly,  Howcanst  tltov.  tell  but  that  which  thou  culled  a  near 
a  ml  dear  mercyt  if  it  had  been  continued  longer  to  thee,  might  have 
proved  the  greatest  cross,  the  (jrmtest  calamity  and  vii.se ry  that  ever 
thou  didst  meet  with  in  this  world  ?l  Our  mercies,  like  choice  wines, 
many  times  turn  into  vinegar  ;  our  fairest  hopes  are  often  blasted  ;  and 
that  very  mercy  which  we  sometimes  have  said  should  be  a  staff  to 
sup])  >rt  us,  hath  proved  a  sword  to  pierce  us.  How  often  have  our  most 
flourishing  mercies  withered  in  our  hands,  and  our  bosom  contentments 
been  turned  into  gall  and  wormwood  !  If  God  had  continued  the  life 
of  David's  child  to  him,  it  would  have  been  but  a  living  monument  of- 
his  sin  and  shame  ;  and  all  that  knew  the  child  would  have  pointed  at 
him,  Yonder  goes  David's  bastard  ;  and  so  have  kept  David's  wound  still 
a-bleeding,  2  Sam.  xii.  16.  Many  parents  who  have  sought  the  lives  of 
their  children  with  tears,  have  lived  afterwards  to  see  them  take  such 
courses  and  come  to  such  dismal  ends  as  have  brought  their  grey  head 
with  sorrow  to  their  graves.2  It  had  been  ten  thousand  times  a  greater 
mercy  to  many  parents  to  have  buried  their  children  so  soon  as  ever 
they  had  been  born,  than  to  see  them  come  to  such  unhappy  ends  as 
they  often  do.  Well !  Christian,  it  may  be  the  Lord  hath  taken  from 
thee  such  a  hopeful  son,  or  such  a  dear  daughter,  and  thou  sayest,  How 
can  I  hold  my  peace  ?  but  hark,  Christian,  hark,  canst  thou  tell  me  how 
long  thou  must  have  travailed  in  birth  with  them  again  before  they  had 
been  twice  born?  Would  not  every  sin  that  they  had  committed  against 
thy  gracious  God  caused  a  new  throe  in  thy  soul  ?  Would  not  every 
temptation  that  they  had  fallen  before  been  as  a  dagger  at  thy  heart  ? 
Would  not  every  affliction  that  should  have  befallen  them  been  as  a 
knife  at  thy  throat  ?  What  are  those  pains,  and  pangs,  and  throes  of 
child-birth  to  those  after  pains,  pangs,  and  throes  that  might  have  been 
brought  upon  thee  by  the  sins  and  sufferings  of  thy  children  ?  Well ! 
Christians,  hold  your  peace,  for  you  do  not  know  what  thorns  in  your 
eyes,  what  goads  in  your  sides,  nor  what  spears  in  your  hearts,  such  near 
and  dear  mercies  might  have  proved  had  they  been  longer  continued. 

(1 1.)  Eleventhly,  Thou  canst  not  tell  how  bad  thy  heart  might  have 
proved  under  the  enjoyment  of  those  near  and  dear  mercies  that  now 
thou  hast  losV  Israel  were  very  bad  whilst  they  were  in  the  wilderness, 
but  they  were  much  worse  when  they  came  to  possess  Canaan,  that 
land  of  desires.  Man's  blood  is  apt  to  rise  with  the  outward  good.  In, 
the  winter,  men  gird  their  clothes  close  about  them,  but  in  the  summer 
they  let  them  hang  loose.  In  the  winter  of  adversity,  many  a  Christian 
girds  his  heart  close  to  God,  to  Christ,  to  gospel,  to  godliness,  to  ordi- 
nances, to  duties,  &c,  who  in  the  summer  of  mercy  hangs  loose  from  all. 

I  have  read  of  the  pine  tree,  that,  if  the  bark  be  pulled  off,  it  will  last 

■  The  Lamentations  of  Jeremiah  are  a  full  proof  of  this. 

8  This  age  affords  many  sad  instances  of  this  nature.     Who  can  think  of  Tyburn,  and 
question  it  '.'  and  of  killing  and  drowning,  and  say,  How  can  this  be? 

3  Deut.  xxxii.  5,  to  the  end.     Jer.  v.  7-9,  ii.  31,  and  xxii.  1\  :  Husea  iv.  7. 


PS.  XXXIX.  9.]  UNDER  THE  SMARTING  ROD.  353 

a  long  time  ;  but  if  it  continue  long  on,  it  rots  the  tree.  Ah !  how  bad, 
how  rotten,  how  base,  would  many  have  proved,  had  God  not  pulled  off 
their  bark  of  health,  wealth,  friendship  !  &c.  Near  and  dear  relations, 
they  stick  as  close  to  us  as  the  bark  of  a  tree  sticks  to  the  tree,  and 
if  God  should  not  pull  off  this  bark,  how  apt  should  we  be  to  rot  and 
corrupt  ourselves  ;  therefore  God  is  fain  to  bark  us,  and  peel  us,  and 
strip  us  naked  and  bare  of  our  dearest  enjoyments  and  sweetest  content- 
ments, that  so  our  souls,  like  the  pine  tree,  may  prosper  and  thrive  the 
better.  Who  can  seriously  consider  of  this,  and  not  hold  his  peace,  even 
then  when  God  takes  a  jewel  out  of  his  bosom  ?  Heap  all  the  sweetest 
contentments  and  most  desirable  enjoyments  of  this  world  upon  a  man, 
they  will  not  make  him  a  Christian  ;  heap  them  upon  a  Christian,  they 
will  not  make  him  a  better  Christian.  Many  a  Christian  hath  been  made 
worse  by  the  good  things  of  this  world  ;  but  where  is  the  Christian  that 
hath  been  bettered  by  them  ?  Therefore  be  quiet  when  God  strips  thee 
of  them. 

(12.)  Twelfthly,  and  lastly,  Get  thy  heart  more  affected  ivith  spiritual 
losses,  and  then  thy  soul  will  be  less  afflicted  with  those  temporal  losses 
that  thou  mournest  under.1  Hast  thou  lost  nothing  of  that  presence 
of  God  that  once  thou  hadst  with  thy  spirit  ?  Hast  thou  lost  none  of 
those  warnings,  meltings,  quickenings,  and  cheerings  that  once  thou 
hadst  ?  Hast  thou  lost  nothing  of  thy  communion  with  God,  nor  of  the 
joys  of  the  Spirit,  nor  Of  that  peace  of  conscience  that  once  thou  en- 
joyedst  ?  Hast  thou  lost  none  of  that  ground  that  once  thou  hadst 
got  upon  sin,  Satan,  and  the  world  ?  Hast  thou  lost  nothing  of  that 
holy  vigour  and  heavenly  heat  that  once  thou  hadst  in  thy  heart  ?  If 
thou  hast  not,  which  would  be  a  miracle,  a  wonder  ;  why  dost  thou  com- 
plain of  this  or  that  temporal  loss  ?  For  what  is  this  but  to  complain 
of  the  loss  of  thy  purse,  when  thy  God2  is  safe  ?  If  thou  art  a  loser  in 
spirituals,  why  dost  thou  not  rather  complain  that  thou  hast  lost  thy 
God  than  that  thou  hast  lost  thy  gold  ;  and  that  thou  hast  lost  thy 
Christ  than  that  thou  hast  lost  thy  husband  ;  and  that  thou  hast  lost 
thy  child,  and  that  thou  art  damnified  in  spirituals  than  that  thou  art 
damnified  in  temporals?  Dost  thou  mourn  over  the  body  the  soul  hath 
left  \  mourn  rather  over  the  soul  that  God  hath  forsaken,  as  Samuel  did 
for  Saul,  saith  one.     1  Sam.  xv.  14,  seq. 

I  have  read  of  Honorius,  a  Roman  emperor,  who  was  simple  and 
childish  enough  ;  when  one  told  him  Rome  was  lost,  he  was  exceedingly 
grieved,  and  cried  out,  Alas  !  alas  !  for  he  supposed  that  it  was  his  hen 
that  was  called  Rome,  which  hen  he  exceedingly  loved  ;  but  when  it 
was  told  him  it  was  his  imperial  city  of  Rome,  that  was  besieged  by 
Alaricus,  and  taken,  and  all  the  citizens  rifled,  and  made  a  prey  to  the 
rude  enraged  soldiers,  then  his  spirits  were  revived  that  his  loss  was  not 
so  great  as  he  imagined.3     Now,  what  is  the  loss  of  a  husband,  a  wife, 

1  Qui  te  non  habet,  Dumine  Dens,  totum perdilit. — Bernard.         2  Qu.  'gold'? — Ed. 

3  Grotesque  as  this  anecdote  sounds,  it  is  historical.  "When  Rome  was  plundered  hy 
Alaric,  a  eunuch  who  had  the  care  of  the  royal  poultry,  announced  to  Honorius  that 
'  Rome  was  destroyed'  (p&^m  awixuXt.)  '  And  yet,'  was  the  reply,  '  she  just  ate  out  of 
my  hands,'  referring  to  a  favourite  hen  of  great  size  which  he  called  '  Rome.'  '  I  mean.' 
said  the  eunuch,  '  that  the  city  of  Rome  has  heen  destroyed  by  Alaric'  '  But  I,'  said 
the  emperor,  '  thought  that  my  hen  "  Rome  "  was  dead.'  So  stupid,  adds  Frocopius,  do 
they  say  this  emperor  was.  — G. 

VOL.  I.  Z 


354  THE  MUTE  CHRISTIAN  [Ps.  XXXIX.  9. 

a  child,  a  friend,  to  the  loss  of  God,  Christ,  the  Spirit,  or  the  least  mea- 
sure of  grace  or  communion  with  God?  &C.  I  say,  What  are  all  such  losses, 
bul  the  loss  of  a  hen  to  the  loss  of  Rome?  And  yet  so  simple  and  childish 
are  many  Christians,  that  they  are  more  affected  and  afflicted  with  the 
loss  of  this  and  that  poor  temporal  enjoyment  than  they  are  with  the 
loss  of  their  most  spiritual  attaiments.  Ah,  Christians  !  be  but  more 
affected  with  spiritual  losses,  and  you  will  be  more  quiet  and  silent 
under  temporal  losses.  Let  the  loss  of  Rome  trouble  you  more,  and 
then  the  loss  of  your  hen  will  not  trouble  you  at  all.  Let  these  things 
suffice  for  answer  to  the  second  objection. 

Oh).  3.  Oh,  but  my  afflictions,  my  troubles  have  been  long  upon  me  ! 
and  iiow  then  can  I  hold  my  peace?     Were  they  but  of  yesterday,  I 
would  be  quiet;  but  they  are  of  a  long  continuance  ;  and  therefore  how 
can  I  be  silent,  &c.  ? 
To  this  I  answer, 

(1.)  First,  Thou  canst  not  date  thy  affliction  from  the  first  day  of 
thy  pollution.  Thou  hast  been  polluted  from  t ha  womb,  but  thou 
hast  not  been  afflicted  from  the  womb,  Ps.  li.  5  ;  many  have  been  the 
days,  the  years,  since  thou  wast  born  in  sin ;  few  have  been  the  days, 
the  years,  that  thou  hast  experienced  sorrow.  Thou  canst  not  easily 
number  the  days  of  thy  sinning,  thou  canst  easily  number  the  days  of 
thy  sufferings ;  thou  canst  not  number  thy  days  of  mercy,  thou 
canst  easily  number  thy  days  of  calamity  ;  thou  canst  not  number  thy 
davs  of  health,  but  thou  canst  easily  tell  over  thy  days  of  sickness. 

(2.)  Secondly,  Thy  afflictions  are  not  so  long  as  the  afflictions  oj 
other  saints.  Compare  thy  winter  nights  and  other  saints'  winter 
nights  together;  thy  storms  and  troubles  and  other  saints'  storms  and 
troubles  together;  thy  losses  and  other  saints'  losses  together;  thy 
miseries  and  other  saints'  miseries  together;  witness  the  proofs  in  the 
margin.1  Thy  afflictions  are  but  as  a  moment,  they  are  but  as  yester- 
day compared  with  the  afflictions  of  other  saints,  whose  whole  lives 
have  been  made  up  of  sorrows  and  sufferings,  as  the  life  of  Christ  was. 
Many  a  man's  life  hath  been  nothing  but  a  lingering  death  :  Job  xxi. 
25,  'And  another  dieth  in  the  bitterness  of  his  soul,  and  never  eateth 
with  pleasure.'  There  are  those  that  have  never  a  good  day  all  their 
days,  who  have  not  a  day  of  rest  among  all  their  days  of  trouble, 
nor  a  day  of  health  among  all  their  days  of  sickness,  nor  a  day  of  glad- 
ness among  all  their  days  of  sadness,  nor  a  day  of  strength  among  all 
their  days  of  weakness,  nor  a  day  of  honour  among  all  their  days  of 
reproach  ;  whose  whole  life  is  one  continued  winter's  night,  who  every 
day  drink  gall  and  wormwood,  who  lie  down  sighing,  who  rise  groaning, 
and  who  spend  their  days  in  complaining,  '  No  sorrow  to  our  sorrows, 
no  sufferings  to  our  sufferings  !'  Some  there  be  who  have  always  tears 
in  their  eyes,  sorrows  in  their  hearts,  rods  on  their  backs,  and  crosses  in 
their  hands  :  but  it  is  not  so  with  thee  ;  therefore  be  silent 

(3.)  Thirdly,  The  longer  thy  affliction  hath  been,  the  sweeter  vriU 
heaven  be  to  thee  at  last ;  the  longer  the  Israelites  had  been  in  the 
wilderness,  the  sweeter  was  Canaan  to  them  at  last ;  the  longer  the 
storm,  the  sweeter  the  calm  ;  the  longer  the  winter  nights,  the  sweeter 

1  Ps.  lxxvii.  and  lxxxviii.;  Gen.  xv.  12,  13;  Exod.  xii.  40-42;  Jer.  xxv.  11,  12. 


PS.  XXXIX.  9.]  UNDER  THE  SMARTING  ROD.  355 

the  summer  days.1  Long  afflictions  will  much  set  off  the  glory  of 
heaven.  The  harbour  is  most  sweet  and  desirable  to  them  that  have 
been  long  tossed  upon  the  seas ;  so  will  heaven  be  to  those  who  have 
been  lonp-  in  a  sea  of  trouble.  The  new  wine  of  Christ's  kingdom  is 
most  sweet  to  those  that  have  been  long  a-drinking  of  gall  and  vinegar, 
Luke  xxii.  18  ;  the  crown  of  glory  will  be  most  delightful  to  them  who 
have  been  long  in  combating  with  the  world,  the  flesh,  and  the  devil. 
The  longer  our  journey  is,  the  sweeter  will  be  our  end,  and  the  longer 
our  passage  is,  the  sweeter  will  our  haven  be.  The  higher  the  mountain, 
the  gladder  we  shall  be  when  we  are  got  to  the  top  of  it ;  the  longer 
the  heir  is  kept  from  his  inheritance,  the  more  delight  he  will  have 
when  he  comes  to  possess  it. 

(4.)  Fourthly,  They  are  not  long,  but  short,  if  compared  to  that 
eternity  of  glory  that  is  reserved  for  the  saints,  2  Cor.  iv.  16-18.2  If 
you  turn  to  the  words,  you  shall  find  for  affliction,  glory;  for  light  afflic- 
tions, a  weight  of  glory  ;  and  for  short  momentany  afflictions,  eternal 
glory.  There  will  quickly  be  an  end  of  thy  sadness,  but  there  will  never 
be  an  end  of  thy  happiness  ;  there  will  soon  be  an  end  of  thy  calamity 
aud  misery,  there  will  never  be  an  end  of  thy  felicity  and  glory.3  The 
kingdoms  of  this  world  are  not  lasting,  much  less  are  they  everlasting ; 
they  have  all  their  climacterical  years,  but  the  kingdom  of  heaven  is  an 
everlasting  kingdom ;  of  that  there  is  no  end.  There  are  seven  sorts  of 
crowns  that  were  in  use  among  the  Roman  victors,  but  they  were  all 
fading  and  perishing;  but  the  crown  of  glory  that  at  last  God  will  set 
upon  the  heads  of  his  saints,  shall  continue  as  long  as  God  himself  con- 
tinues. Who  can  look  upon  those  eternal  mansions  that  are  above,  and 
those  everlasting  pleasures  that  be  at  God's  right  hand,  and  say,  that 
his  affliction  is  long  ?  Well !  Christian,  let  thy  affliction  be  never  so 
long,  yet  one  hour's  being  in  the  bosom  of  Christ  will  make  thee  forget 
both  the  length  and  strength  of  all  thy  afflictions. 

(5.)  Fifthly,  The  longer  you  have  been  afflicted,  the  more  in  spiritual 
experiences  you  have  been  enriched  :  2  Cor.  i.  5,  '  For  as  the  sufferings 
of  Christ  abound  in  us,  so  our  consolation  also  aboundeth  by  Christ.' 
The  lower  the  ebb  the  higher  the  tide,  the  more  pain  the  more  gain,  the 
more  afflicted  the  more  comforted,  the  lower  we  are  cast  the  higher  we 
shall  be  raised.  Of  all  Christians,  none  so  rich  in  spiritual  experiences, 
as  those  that  have  been  long  in  the  school  of  affliction.4  Oh !  the  blessed 
stories  that  such  can  tell  of  the  power  of  God  supporting  them,  of  the 
wisdom  of  God  directing  them,  of  the  favour  of  God  comforting  them, 
of  the  presence  of  God  assisting  them.  Oh  !  the  love-tokens,  the  love- 
letters,  the  bracelets,  the  jewels  that  they  are  able  to  produce  since 
they  have  been  in  the  furnace  of  affliction.  Oh!  the  sin  that  long  afflic- 
tions have  discovered  and  mortified.  Oh !  the  temptations  that  long 
afflictions  have  prevented  and  vanquished.  You  shall  as  soon  number 
the  stars  of  heaven  and  the  sands  of  the  sea,  as  you  shall  number  up 
the  heavenly  experiences  of  such  Christians  that  have  been  long  under 
afflictions.     The  afflicted  Christian's  heart  is  fullest  of  spiritual  treasure. 

1  Ps.  cxxvi.  1.  2,  5,  6,  compared. 

2  See  this  largely  opened  in  my  '  String  of  Pearls.'  [Included  in  the  present  volume. — 
G.]  8  Ps.  xlv.,  lxxii.,  and  lxxxix. :  Isa  ix.  7 ;  1  Peter  i  4,  ii.  11. 

*  Heb.  xii.  11:2  Cor.  i.  8,  9  ;  Job  xxxiii.  17-22. 


356  THE  MUTE  CHRISTIAN  [Ps.  XXXIX.  !». 

Though  ho  may  be  poor  in  the  world,  yet  he  is  rich  in  faith  and  holy 
experiences,  James  ii.  5  ;  and  what  are  all  the  riches  of  this  world  to 
spiritual  experiences?  One  spiritual  experience  is  more  worth  than  a 
world,  and  upon  a  dying  bed  and  before  a  judgment-seat,  every  man 
will  be  of  this  opinion.  The  men  of  this  world  will  with  much  quiet- 
ness and  calmness  of  spirit  bear  much,  and  Buffer  much,  and  suffer  long, 
when  they  find  their  sufferings  to  add  to  their  revenues ;  and  shall  nature 
do  more  than  grace?  It  is  the  common  voice  of  nature,  'Who  will 
show  us  any  good?'  Ps.  iv.  6;  how  shall  we  come  to  be  great,  and  high, 
and  rich  in  the  world  ?  We  care  not  what  we  suffer,  nor  how  long  we 
Buffer,  so  we  may  but  add  house  to  house,  heap  to  heap,  bag  to  bag,  and 
land  to  land,  Isa.  v.  8.  Oh  how  much  more  then  should  Christians  be 
quiet  and  calm  under  all  their  afflictions,  though  they  are  never  so  long, 
considering  that  they  do  but  add  jewels  to  a  Christian's  crown ;  they 
do  but  add  to  his  spiritual  experiences.  The  long  afflicted  Christian 
hath  the  fullest  and  the  greatest  trade  ;  and  in  the  day  of  account,  will 
be  found  the  richest  man. 

(6.)  Sixthly,  Long  afflictions  sometimes  are  but  preparatives  to  long- 
lived  mercies.  Joseph's  thirteen  years'  imprisonment  was  but  a  pre- 
parative to  fourscore  years'  reigning  like  a  king ;  David's  seven  years' 
banishment  was  but  a  preparative  to  forty  years'  reigning  in  much 
honour  and  glory  ;  Job's  long  afflictions  were  but  preparatives  to  more 
long-lived  mercies,  as  you  may  see  in  that  last  of  Job  ;  and  those  sad 
and  sore  trials  that  the  Jews  have  been  under  for  above  these  sixteen 
hundred  years,  are  to  prepare  them  for  those  matchless  mercies,  and 
those  endless  glories,  in  some  sense,  that  God  in  the  latter  days  will 
crown  them  with  :J  Isa,  liv.  11—14,  'O  thou  afflicted,  tossed  with  tem- 
pests, and  not  comforted,  behold,  I  will  lay  thy  stones  with  fair  colours, 
and  lay  thy  foundation  with  sapphires.  And  I  will  make  thy  windows 
of  agates,  and  thy  gates  of  carbuncles,  and  all  thy  borders  of  pleasant 
stones.  And  all  thy  children  shall  be  taught  of  the  Lord,  and  great 
shall  be  the  peace  of  thy  children.  In  righteousness  shalt  thou  be 
established  :  thou  shalt  be  far  from  oppression,  for  thou  shalt  not  fear  ; 
and  from  terror,  for  it  shall  not  come  near  thee.'  Though  they  have 
been  long  afflicted  and  tossed,  yet  they  shall  at  last  upon  glorious  foun- 
dations be  established  ;  God  will  not  only  raise  them  out  of  their  dis- 
tressed estate  wherein  now  they  are,  but  he  will  advance  them  to  a 
most  eminent  and  glorious  condition  in  this  world  ;  they  shall  be  very 
glorious,  and  outshine  all  the  world  in  spiritual  excellencies  and  outward 
dignities  :  Isa.  lx.  14, 15,  '  The  sons  also  of  them  that  afflicted  thee  shall 
come  bending  unto  thee,  and  all  they  that  despised  thee  shall  bow  them- 
selves down  at  the  soles  of  thy  feet :  and  they  shall  call  thee,  the  city 
of  the  Lord,  the  Zion  of  the  Holy  One  of  Israel.  Whereas  thou  hast 
been  forsaken  and  hated,  so  that  no  man  went  through  thee,  I  will 
make  thee  an  eternal  excellency,  a  joy  of  many  generations.'  Ah, 
<  Ihristians  !  do  not  mutter  nor  murmur  under  your  long  afflictions,  for 
you  do  not  know  but  that  by  these  long  afflictions  God  may  prepare 
and  fit  you  for  such  favours  and  blessings  that  may  never  have  end.  By 
long  afflictions  God  many  times  prepares  his  people  for  temporal,  spiri- 
tual, and  eternal  mercies.  If  God  by  long  afflictions  makes  more  room 
1  Isa.  lxii.,  lxiii.,  and  lxvi. 


Ps.  XXXIX.  9.]  UNDER  THE  SMARTING  ROD.  357 

in  thy  soul  for  himself,  his  Son,  his  Spirit,  his  word  ;  if  by  long  afflic- 
tions he  shall  crucify  thy  heart  more  to  the  world  and  to  thy  relations, 
and  frame  and  fashion  thy  soul  more  for  celestial  enjoyments  ;  hast  thou 
any  cause  to  murmur  ?     Surely  no.     But, 

(7.)  Seventhly,  Tlie  longer  a  saint  is  afflicted  on  earth,  the  more 
glorious  he  shall  shine  in  heaven;  the  more  affliction  here,  the  more 
glory  hereafter.1     This  truth  may  be  thus  made  out : 

[1.]  First,  The  more  gracious  souls  are  afflicted,the  more  their  graces 
are  exercised  and  increased,  Heb.  xii.  10,  Rom.  v.  3-5.  Now,  the  more 
grace  here,  the  more  glory  hereafter  ;  the  higher  in  grace,  the  higher  in 
glory.  Grace  differs  nothing  from  glory  but  in  name  :  grace  is  glory  in 
the  bud,  and  glory  is  grace  at  the  full.  Glory  is  nothing  but  the  per- 
fection of  grace  ;  happiness  is  nothing  but  the  perfection  of  holiness. 
Grace  is  glory  in  the  seed,  and  glory  is  grace  in  the  flower ;  grace  is 
glory  militant,  and  glory  is  grace  triumphant.  Grace  and  glory  differ 
non  specie  sed  gradu,  in  degree,  not  kind,  as  the  learned  speak.  Now, 
it  is  most  certain  that  the  more  gracious  souls  are  afflicted,  the  more 
their  graces  are  exercised  ;  and  the  more  grace  is  exercised,  the  more  it 
is  increased,  as  I  have  sufficiently  demonstrated  in  this  treatise  already. 
But, 

[2.]  Secondly,  The  longer  a. gracious  soul  is  afflicted,  the  more  his 
religious  duties  will  be  multiplied.  Ps.  cix.  4,  '  For  my  love  they  are 
my  adversaries ;  but  I  give  myself  unto  prayer ;'  or  as  the  Hebrew  reads 
it,  '  But  I  am  prayer/  or  '  a  mau  of  prayer.'  In  times  of  afflictions  a 
Christian  is  all  prayer ;  he  is  never  so  much  a  man  of  prayer,  a  man 
given  up  to  prayer,  as  in  times  of  affliction.2  A  Christian  is  never  so 
frequent,  so  fervent,  so  abundant  in  the  work  of  the  Lord,  as  when  he 
is  afflicted  :  Isa.  xxvi.  16,  '  Lord  !  in  trouble  have  they  visited  thee,  they 
poured  out  a  prayer  when  thy  chastening  was  upon  them/  Now,  they 
do  not  only  pray,  but  they  pour  out  a  prayer  ;  they  were  freely,  largely, 
and  abundantly  in  prayer  when  the  rod  was  upon  them.  Look  !  as 
men  plentifully  pour  out  water  for  the  quenching  of  a  fire,  so  did  they 
plentifully  pour  out  their  prayers  before  the  Lord  ;  and  as  affliction 
puts  a  man  upon  being  much  in  prayer,  so  it  puts  him  upon  other  duties 
of  religion  answerably.  Now,  this  is  most  certain,  that  though  God  w  11 
reward  no  man /or  his  works,  yet  he  will  reward  every  man  according 
to  his  works:3  1  Cor.  xv.  58,  'Therefore,  my  beloved  brethren,  be  ye 
stedfast,  unmoveable,  always  abounding  in  the  work  of  the  Lord  ;  for- 
asmuch as  ye  know  that  your  labour  is  not  in  vain  in  the  Lord.'  2  Cor. 
ix.  6,  '  But  this  I  say,  he  which  soweth  sparingly  shall  reap  sparingly  ; 
aud  he  which  soweth  bountifully  shall  reap  bountifully  /  or  he  which 
soweth  in  benedictions  or  blessings  shall  reap  in  benedictions,  as  it  runs 
in  the  original. 

It  is  an  excellent  observation  of  Calvin  upon  God's  rewarding  the 
Rechabites'  obedience,  Jer.  xxxv.  19  ;  God,  saith  he,  oft  recompenseth 
the  shadows  and  seeming-appearance  of  virtue,  to  shew  what  compla- 
cency he  takes  in  the  ample  rewards  he  hath  reserved  for  true  and  sin- 
cere piety.     Now,  if  the  longer  a  Christian  is  afflicted,  the  more  his 

1  2  Cor.  iv.  16-18;  Mat.  v.  10-12;  1  Cor.  iii.  21-23. 

2  Ps.  xlii.  1-5,  lxiii.  1,  2,  3.  8  ;  Jer.  xxxi.  18,  19  ;  Hosea  vi.  11  with  1.  2  ;  Ps  cxvi.  3,  4 
and  cxlv.  6,  7.  3  God  will  reward  his  people  secundum  laborem. — Bernard. 


858  THE  MUTE  CHRISTIAN  [Ps.  XXXI X    9 

religious  services  will  be  multiplied,  and  the  more  they  are  multiplied, 
the  more  his  glory  at  last  will  be  increased,  then  the  longer  a  saint  is 
afflicted  on  earth,  the  more  glory  he  shall  have  when  he  comes  to 
heaven.     But, 

[3.]  Thirdly,  The  longer  any  saint  Is  afflicted,  the  more  into  the 
image  and  likeness  of  Christ  he  wiU  be  transformed.1  It  is  one  of 
God's  great  designs  and  ends  in  afflicting  of  his  people,  to  make  them 
more  conformable  to  his  Son;  and  God  will  not  lose  his  end.  Men 
often  lose  theirs,  but  God  never  hath  nor  will  lose  his  ;  and  experience 
tells  ns  that  God  doth  every  day,  by  afflictions,  accomplish  his  end  upon 
his  people.  The  longer  they  are  afflicted,  the  more  they  are  made  con- 
formable to  Christ  in  meekness,  lowliness,  spirit  nulness,  heavenliness, 
m  faith,  love,  self-denial,  pity,  compassion,  &c.  Now  certainly,  the  more 
like  to  Christ,  the  more  beloved  of  Christ."  The  more  a  Christian  is 
like  to  Christ,  the  more  he  is  the  delight  of  Christ ;  and  the  more  like 
to  Christ  on  earth,  the  nearer  the  soul  shall  sit  to  Christ  in  heaven. 
Nothing  makes  a  man  more  conformable  to  Christ  than  afflictions. 
Justin  Martyr,  in  his  second  Apology  for  the  Christians,  hath  observed, 
that  there  is  scarce  any  prediction  or  prophecy  concerning  our  Saviour, 
Christ  the  Son  of  God,  to  be  made  man,  but  the  heathen  writers,  who 
were  all  after  Moses,  did  from  thence  invent  some  fable,  and  feign  it  to 
have  been  acted  by  some  one  or  other  of  Jupiter's  sons  ;  only  the  pro- 
phecies about  the  cross  of  Christ  they  have  taken  for  the  ground  of  no 
fable.  They  have  not,  among  all  their  fictions,  told  us  of  any  one  of 
Jupiter's  sons  that  was  crucified,  that  acted  his  part  upon  the  cross.  - 
Many  would  wear  the  crown  with  Christ,  that  do  not  care  for  bearing 
the  cross  with  Christ.     But, 

(8.)  Eighthly,  The  longer  they  have  been,  the  greater  cause  thou  hast 
to  be  silent  and  patient,  for  impatience  will  but  lengthen  out  the  day 
of  thy  sorrows.  Every  impatient  act  adds  one  link  more  to  the  chain ; 
every  act  of  frowardness  adds  one  lash  more  to  those  that  have  already 
been  laid  out;  every  act  of  muttering  will  but  add  stroke  to  stroke,  and 
sting  to  sting;  every  act  of  murmuring  will  but  add  burden  to  burden, 
and  storm  to  storm.  The  most  compendious  way  to  lengthen  out  thy 
long  afflictions  is  to  fret,  and  vex,  and  murmur  under  them.  As  thou 
wouldst  see  a  speedy  issue  of  thy  long  afflictions,  sit  mute  and  silent 
under  them. 

(9.)  Ninthly,  God's  time  is  the  best  time;  mercy  is  never  nearer 
Salvation  is  at  hand,  deliverance  is  at  the  door,  when  a  man's  heart  is 
brought  into  such  a  frame  as  to  be  freely  willing  that  God  should  time 
his  mercy  and  time  his  deliverance  for  him,  Acts  xxvii.  13—44.  The 
physician's  time  is  the  best  time  for  the  patient  to  have  ease.  The  im- 
patient patient  cries  out  to  his  physician,  Oh  !  sir,  a  little  ease,  a  little 
refreshment !  Oh  the  pains,  the  tortures,  that  I  am  under  !  Oh,  sir,  I 
think  every  hour  two,  and  every  two  ten,  till  comfort  comes,  till  refresh- 
ment comes  !  But  the  prudent  physician  hath  turned  the  hour-glass, 
and  is  resolved  that  this  physic  shall  work  so  long,  though  his  patient 
frets,  flings,  roars,  tears.     So,  when  we  are  under  afflictions,  we  are  apt 

1  Rom.  viii.  28,  &c. ;  2  Cor.  i.  5-7;  Philip,  iii.  10;  Heb.  ii.  10;  2  Tim.  ii.  12. 

2  Gale's  'Court  of  the  Gentiles'  is  an  elaborate  demonstration  of  this  remark  of 
Brooks.     For  the  non-imitation  of  the  crucilixion,  see  Justin  Martyr :  Apol.   §72. — G. 


PS.  XXXIX.  9.]  UNDER  THE  SMARTING  ROD.  359 

to  cry  out,  How  long,  Lord,  shall  it  be  before  ease  comes,  before  deliver- 
ance comes  ?  Oh  the  tortures,  oh  the  torments,  that  we  are  under ! 
Lord,  a  little  refreshment !  Oh  how  long  are  these  nights  !  oh  how 
tedious  are  these  days !  But  God  hath  turned  our  glass,  and  he  will 
not  hearken  to  our  cry  till  our  glass  be  out.  After  all  our  fretting  and 
flinging,  we  must  stay  bis  time,  who  knows  best  when  to  deliver  us, 
and  how  to  deliver  us,  out  of  all  our  troubles,  and  who  will  not  stay  a 
moment  when  the  glass  is  out  that  he  hath  turned.1     But, 

(10.)  Tenthly,  and  lastly,  They  shall  last  no  longer  than  there  is 
need,  and  then  they  shall  work  for  thy  good.  It  is  with  souls  as  it  is 
with  bodies  ;  some  bodies  are  more  easily  and  more  suddenly  cured  than 
others  are,  and  so  are  some  souls.  God  will  not  suffer  the  plaster  to  lie 
one  day,  no,  not  one  hour,  no,  not  a  moment,  longer  than  there  is  need. 
Some  flesh  heals  quickly  ;  proud  flesh  is  long  a-healing.  By  affliction 
God  quickly  heals  some,  but  others  are  long  a-healing  :  1  Pet.  i.  6,  '  If 
need  be,  ye  are  in  heaviness,  through  manifold  temptations,'  or  through 
various  afflictions.  The  burden  shall  lie  no  longer  upon  thee  than 
needs  must ;  thy  pain  shall  endure  no  longer  than  needs  must ;  thy 
physic  shall  make  thee  no  longer  sick  than  needs  must,  &c.  Thy 
heavenly  Father  is  a  physician  as  wise  as  he  is  loving.  When  thy 
heart  begins  to  grow  high,  he  sees  there  is  need  of  some  heavy  affliction 
to  bring  it  low ;  when  thy  heart  grows  cold,  he  sees  there  is  need  of 
some  fiery  affliction  to  heat  it  and  warm  it ;  when  thy  heart  grows  dull 
and  dead,  he  sees  there  is  need  of  some  smart  affliction  to  enliven  and 
quicken  it.  And  as  thy  afflictions  shall  continue  no  longer  than  there 
is  need,  so  they  shall  last  no  longer  than  they  shall  work  for  thy  good. 
If  all  along  they  shall  work  for  thy  good,  thou  hast  no  cause  to  com- 
plain that  thy  afflictions  are  long.  That  they  shall  thus  work,  I  have 
fully  proved  in  the  former  part  of  this  book.  And  thus  much  for 
answer  to  the  third  objection. 

Obj.  4.  I  would  be  mute  and  silent  under  my  afflictions,  but  my 
afflictions  daily  multiply  and  increase  upon  me ;  like  the  waves  of  the  sea, 
they  come  rolling  over  the  neck  of  one  another,  &c.  ;  and  how  then  can 
I  hold  my  peace  ?  How  can  I  lay  my  hand  upon  my  mouth,  when  the 
sorrows  of  my  heart  are  daily  increased? 
To  this  I  answer  thus  : 

(1.)  First,  Thy  afflictions  are  not  so  many  as  thy  sins,  Ps.  xl.  12. 
Thy  sins  are  as  the  stars  of  heaven,  and  as  the  sand  upon  the  sea,  that 
cannot  be  numbered.  There  are  three  things  that  no  Christian  can 
number:  J,  his  sins  ;  2,  divine  favours  ;  3,  the  joys  and  pleasures  that 
be  at  Christ's  right  hand ;  but  there  is  no  Christian  so  poor  an  accountant, 
but  that  he  may  quickly  sum  up  the  number  of  his  troubles  and  afflic- 
tions in  this  world.  Thy  sins,  O  Christian,  are  like  the  Syrians  that 
filled  the  country,  but  thy  afflictions  are  like  the  two  little  flocks  of  kids 
that  pitched  before  them,  1  Kings  xx.  27  ;  therefore  hold  thy  peace. 

(2.)  Secondly,  If  such  should  not  be  mute  and  silent  under  their 
afflictions,  whose  afflictions  are  increased  and  multiplied  upon  them, 
then  there  are  none  in  the  world  who  will  be  found  mute  and  silent 
under  their  afflictions :  for  certainly  there  are  none  who  do  not  find  the 
waters  of  affliction  to  grow  daily  upon  them.  If  this  be  not  so,  what 
1  Ps.  vi.  3;  Ps-  xiii-  1,  2  ;  Ps.  xciv.  9, 10 ;  Rev.  vi.  10. 


360  THE  MUTE  CHRISTIAN  [Ps.  XXXIX.  9. 

means  the  bleating  of  the  sheep,  and  the  lowing  of  the  oxen?  1  Sam. 
xv.  14.  What  means  the  daily  sighs,  groans,  and  complaints  of  Chris- 
tians, if  their  troubles,  like  the  waters  in  Ezekiel's  sanctuary,  be  not 
still  increasing  upon  them  ?  Ezek.  xlvii.  1,  20.  Every  day  brings  us 
tidings  of  new  straits,  new  troubles,  new  crosses,  new  losses,  new 
trials,  &c. 

(3.)  Thirdly,  They  are  not  so  many  as  God  might  haveexerc'i*  <l  t/icc 
with.  God  could  as  easily  exercise  thee  with  ten  as  with  two,  and  with 
a  hundred  as  with  ten,  and  with  a  thousand  as  with  a  hundred.  Let 
thy  afflictions  be  never  so  many,  yet  they  are  not  so  many  as  they  might 
have  been,  had  God  either  consulted  with  thy  sins,  with  thy  deserts,  or 
with  his  own  justice.  There  is  no  comparison  between  those  afflictions 
that  God  hath  inflicted  upon  thee,  and  those  that  he  might  have  in- 
flicted. Thou  hast  not  one  burden  of  a  thousand  that  God  could  have 
laid  on,  but  he  would  not ;  therefore  hold  thy  peace.1 

(4.)  Fourthly,  Thy  afflictions  are  not  so  many  as  thy  mercies,  nay, 
they  are  not  to  be  named  in  the  day  wherein  thy  mercies  are  spoken 
of.  What  are  thy  crosses  to  thy  comforts,  thy  miseries  to  thy  mercies, 
thy  days  of  sickness  to  thy  days  of  health,  thy  days  of  weakness  to  thy 
days  of  strength,  thy  days  of  scarcity  to  thy  days  of  plenty?  And  this 
is  that  the  wise  man  would  have  us  seriously  to  consider  :  Eccles.  vii. 
14,  '  In  the  day  of  adversity  consider,' — but  what  must  we  consider? — 
'  that  God  hath  set  the  one  over  against  the  other.'  As  God  hath  set 
winter  and  summer,  night  and  day,  fair  weather  and  foul,  one  over 
against  another,  so  let  us  set  our  present  mercies  over  against  our  pre- 
sent troubles,  and  we  shall  presently  find  that  our  mercies  exceed  our 
trouble,  that  they  mightily  over-balance  our  present  afflictions  ;  there- 
fore let  us  be  silent,  let  us  lay  our  hands  upon  our  mouths. 

(5.)  Fifthly,  If  you  cast  up  a  just  and  righteous  account,  you  will 
find  that  they  are  not  so  many  as  the  afflictions  that  have  befall*  t, 
other  saints.  Have  you  reckoned  up  the  affliction  that  befell  Abraham, 
Jacob,  Joseph,  Job,  Asaph,  Haman,  the  prophets  and  apostles  ?2  If 
you  have,  you  will  say  that  your  afflictions  are  no  afflictions  to  those 
that  have  befallen  them  ;  their  lives  were  filled  up  with  sorrows  and 
sufferings,  but  so  are  not  yours  ;  therefore  kiss  the  rod  and  be  silent. 
It  may  be,  if  thou  look  est  upon  thy  relations,  thy  friends,  thy  neigh- 
bours, thou  may  est  find  many  whose  afflictions  for  number  and  weight 
do  much  outweigh  thine  ;  therefore  be  silent,  murmur  not,  hold  thy 
peace. 

(G.)  Sixthly,  Not  so  many  as  attended  our  Lord  Jesus  ;  whose  whole 
life,  from  the  cradle  to  the  cross,  was  nothing  but  a  life  of  sufferings.3 
Osorius,  writing  of  the  sufferings  of  Christ,  saith,  That  the  crown  of 
thorns  bored  his  head  with  seventy-two  wounds.  Many  seventy-two 
afflictions  did  Christ  meet  with  whilst  he  was  in  this  world.  None  can 
be  ignorant  of  this  who  have  but  read  the  New  Testament.  He  is 
called  '  a  man  of  sorrows  ;'  his  whole  life  was  filled  up  with  sorrows. 
When   he  was  but  a  little  past  thirty  years  of  age,  sorrows,  pains, 

1  Lam.  iii.  39,  Luke  xxiii.  41.  What  are  the  number  of  princes  to  the  subjects  that 
are  under  them  ?  or  what  are  the  number  of  generals  to  the  number  of  soldiers  that  are 
commanded  by  them?     No  more  are  thy  afflictions  to  thy  mercies. 

2  Kead  but  [of]  the  ten  persecutions,  and  thou  wilt  be  full  of  this  opinion. 
*  Isa.  53d,  read  the  whole  chapter. 


PS.  XXXIX.  9.]  UNDER  THE  SMARTING  ROD.  361 

troubles,  oppositions,  persecutions,  had  so  worn  him,  that  the  Jews 
judged  him  towards  fifty,  John  viii.  57.  A  man  were  as  good  compare 
the  number  of  his  bosom  friends  with  the  stars  of  heaven,  as  compare 
his  afflictions  and  the  afflictions  of  Christ  together. 

(7.)  Seventhly,  Muttering  and  murmuring  will  bid  add  to  the  num- 
ber. When  the  child  is  under  the  rod,  his  crying  and  fretting  doth  but 
add  lash  to  lash,  blow  to  blow ;  but  of  this  enough  before. 

(S.)  Eighthly,  and  lastly,  Though  they  are  many,  yet  they  are  not 
so  many  as  the  joys,  the  pleasures,  the  delights  that  be  at  Christ's  right 
hand.  As  the  pleasures  of  heaven  are  matchless  and  endless,  so  they 
are  numberless.1  Augustine,  speaking  concerning  what  we  can  say  of 
heaven,  saith,2  that  it  is  but  a  little  drop  of  the  sea,  and  a  little  spark 
of  the  great  furnace  ;  those  good  things  of  eternal  life  are  so  many, 
that  they  exceed  number ;  so  great,  that  they  exceed  measure  ;  so  pre- 
cious, that  they  are  above  all  estimation.  Nee  Christus,  nee  caelum 
patitur  hyperbolem,  neither  Christ  nor  heaven  can  be  hyperbolised  ;  for 
every  affliction  many  thousand  joys  and  delights  will  attend  the  saints 
in  a  glorified  estate.  What  will  that  life  be,  or  rather  what  will  not 
that  life  be,  saith  one,  speaking  of  heaven,  since  all  good  either  is  not 
at  all,  or  is  in  such  a  life  ;  light  which  place  cannot  comprehend ;  voices 
and  music  which  time  cannot  ravish  away  ;  odours  which  are  never  dis- 
sipated ;  a  feast  which  is  never  consumed  ;  a  blessing  which  eternity 
bestoweth,  but  eternity  shall  never  see  at  an  end.  And  let  this  suffice 
for  answer  to  this  fourth  objection. 

Obj.  5.  My  afflictions  are  very  great,  how  then  can  1  hold  my  peace  ? 
Though  they  were  many,  yet  if  they  were  not  great,  I  would  be  mute, 
but  alas  !  they  are  very  great.  Oh  !  how  can  I  be  silent  under  them  ? 
How  can  I  now  lay  my  hand  upon  my  mouth  ? 

Ans.  (1.)  To  this  I  answer,  Though  they  are  great,  yet  they  are  not 
so  great  as  thy  sins,  thyself  being  judge  ;  therefore  hold  thy  peace  :s 
Ezra  ix.  13,  'And  after  all  that  is  come  upon  us  for  our  evil  deeds,  and 
for  our  great  trespasses,  seeing  that  thou  our  God  hast  punished  us  less 
than  our  iniquities  deserve/  They  that  were  under  the  sense  and  guilt 
of  great  sins,  have  cause  to  be  silent  under  their  greatest  sufferings. 
Never  complain  that  thy  afflictions  are  great,  till  thou  canst  say  that 
thy  sins  are  not  great.  It  is  but  justice  that  great  afflictions  should 
attend  great  sins  ;  therefore  be  quiet.  Thy  sins  are  like  great  rocks  and 
mighty  mountains,  but  so  are  not  thy  afflictions  ;  therefore  lay  thy  hand 
upon  thy  mouth.  The  remembrance  of  great  sins  should  cool  and  calm 
a  man's  spirit  under  his  greatest  troubles  ;  and  if  the  sense  of  thy  great 
sins  will  not  stop  thy  mouth  and  silence  thy  heart,  I  know  not  what 
will. 

(2.)  Secondly,  It  may  be  they  are  not  great,  if  you  look  upon  them 
with  Scripture  spectacles,  1  Peter  v.  10.  Flesh  and  blood  many  times 
looks  upon  molehills  as  mountains,  and  scratches  upon  the  hand  as 
stabs  at  the  heart ;  we  make  elephants  of  flies,  and  of  little  pigmies 
we  frame  giants.  Carnal  reason  often  looks  upon  troubles  through  false 
glasses.  As  there  are  some  glasses  that  will  make  great  things  seem 
little,  so  there  are  others  that  will  make  little  things  seem  great,  and 

1  Ps.  xvi.  11  ;  Tsa.  lxiv.  4  ;  1  Cor.  ii.  9.  2  Aug.  de  Triplici  habitu,  c.  iv. 

3  Read  Ps.  cvi.,  Neh.  ix. 


SC2  THE  MUTE  CHUISTI  AN  [Ps.  XXXIX.  9. 

it  may  be  thai  thou  lookest  upon  thy  afflictions  through  one  of  them, 
ls.i  liv.  7,  8.  Look  upon  thy  afflictions  in  the  glass  of  the  word  ;  Look 
upon  them  in  a  Scripture  dress,  and  then  they  will  be  found  to  be  but 
little.  He  that  shall  look  into  a  gospel  glass,  shall  be  able  to  say,  heavy 
afflictions  are  Light,  long  afflictions  arc  short,  bitter  afflictions  arc  sweet, 
and  greal  afflictions  are  little,  2  Cor.  iv.  16-18.  It  is  good  to  make  a 
judgment  of  your  afflictions  by  a  gospel  light  and  by  a  gospel  rule. 

Artemon,  an  engineer,  was  afraid  of  his  own  shadow.'  Men  that  look 
not  upon  their  afflictions  in  a  Scripture  dress,  will  be  afraid  even  of  the 
shadow  of  trouble,  they  will  cry  out,  No  affliction  to  our  affliction,  no 
burden  to  our  burden,  no  cross  to  our  cross,  no  loss  to  our  loss  ;  but  out- 
look into  a  gospel  glass  would  make  them  change  their  note.  The  lion 
is  not  always  so  great  nor  so  terrible  as  he  is  painted  ;  neither  are  our 
troubles  always  so  great  as  we  fancy  them  to  be.  When  Hagar's  bottle 
of  water  was  spent,  she  sat  down  and  fell  a-weeping,  as  if  she  had  been 
utterly  undone,  Gen.  xxi.  17-19  ;  her  provision  and  her  patience,  beat 
bottle  and  her  hope  were  both  out  together  ;  but  her  affliction  was  not 
80  great  as  she  imagined,  for  there  was  a  well  of  water  near,  though  for 
a  time  she  saw  it  not.  So  many  Christians,  they  eye  the  empty  bottle, 
the  cross,  the  burden  that  is  at  present  upon  them,  and  then  they  fall 
a-weeping,  a-whiniug,  a-complaining,  a-repining,  a-murmuring,  as  if 
they  were  utterly  undone ;  and  yet  a  well  of  water,  a  well  of  comfort, 
a  well  of  refreshment,  a  well  of  deliverance  is  near,  and  their  case  is  no 
way  so  sad,  nor  so  bad  as  they  imagine  it  to  be. 

(3.)  Thirdly,  Tlte  greater  thy  afflictions  are,the  nearer  is  deliverance 
to  (lice.  When  these  waters  rise  high,  then  salvation  comes  upon  the 
wings  ;  when  thy  troubles  are  very  great,  then  mercy  will  ride  post  to 
deliver  thee  :2  Deut.  xxxii.  36,  'For  the  Lord  shall  judge  his  people, 
and  repent  himself  for  his  servants,  when  he  seeth  that  their  power  (or 
hand)  is  gone,  and  there  is  none  shut  up,  and  left.'  Israel  of  old,  and 
England  of  late  years,  hath  often  experienced  this  truth.  Wine  was 
nearest,  when  the  water-pots  were  filled  with  water  up  to  the  brim, 
John  ii.  1-1 1  ;  so  oftentimes  mercy  is  nearest,  deliverance  is  nearest, 
when  our  afflictions  are  at  the  highest.  When  a  Christian  is  brim -full  of 
troubles,  then  the  wine  of  consolation  is  at  hand  ;  therefore  hold  thy 
peace,  murmur  not,  but  sit  silent  before  the  Lord. 

(4.)  Fourthly,  They  are  not  great,  if  compared  to  the  glory  that  shall 
be  revealed,  2  Cor.  iv.  10-18:  Rom.  viii.  18,  'For  I  reckon,  that  the 
sufferings  of  this  present  time  are  not  worthy  to  be  compared  with  the 
glory  that  shall  be  revealed  in  us,  or  upon  us.'  The  apostle,  upon  casting 
up  of  his  accounts,  concludes  that  all  the  pains,  chains,  troubles,  trials, 
and  torments  that  they  meet  with  in  this  world,  was  not  to  be  put  in 
the  balance  with  the  glory  of  heaven.  As  the  globe  of  the  earth,  which 
after  the  mathematicians'  account  is  many  thousands  of  miles  in  com- 
pass, yet  being  compared  unto  the  greatness  of  the  starry  sky's  circum- 
ference, is  but  a  centre,  or  a  little  prick  ;  so  the  troubles,  a  mictions,  and 
sorrows  of  this  life,  in  respect  of  eternal  happiness  and  blessedness,  are 
to  be  reputed  as  nothing  ;  they  are  but  as  the  prick  of  a  pin  to  the  starry 
heavens.     They  that  have  heard  most  of  the  glory  of  heaven,  have  not 

1   Plutarch,  Pericles,  27  ;  Diod.  xii.  28.— G. 

8  IScripture  and  history  speaks  fully  to  this  bead. 


PS.  XXXIX.  9.]  UNDER  THE  SMARTING  ROD.  363 

heard  one  quarter  of  that  which  the  saints  shall  find  there  ;  that  glory 
is  unconceivable  and  unex'pressible.  Augustine  in  one  of  his  epistles 
hath  this  relation  :  that  the  very  same  day  wherein  Jerome  died,  he 
was  in  his  study,  and  had  got  pen,  ink,  and  paper,  to  write  something 
of  the  glory  of  heaven  to  Jerome,  and  suddenly  he  saw  a  light  breaking 
into  his  study,  and  a  sweet  smell  that  came  unto  him,  and  this  voice  he 
thought  he  heard  :  O  Augustine  !  what  doest  thou  ?  Dost  thou  think 
to  put  the  sea  into  a  little  vessel  ?  When  the  heavens  shall  cease  from 
their  continual  motion,  then  shalt  thou  be  able  to  understand  what  the 
glory  of  heaven  is,  and  not  before,  except  you  come  to  feel  it  as  now  I 
do.1  Nicephorus  speaks  of  one  Agbarus,  a  great  man,  that  hearing  so 
much  of  Christ's  fame,  by  reason  of  the  miracles  he  wrought,  sent  a 
painter  to  take  his  picture,  and  that  the  painter  when  he  came  was  not 
able  to  do  it,  because  of  that  radiancy  and  divine  splendour  which  sat 
on  Christ's  face.2  Such  is  the  splendour,  the  brightness,  the  glory,  the 
happiness,  and  blessedness  that  is  reserved  for  the  saints  in  heaven, 
that  had  I  all  the  tongues  of  men  on  earth,  and  all  the  excellencies  of 
the  angels  in  heaven,  yet 'should  I  not  be  able  to  conceive,  nor  to  express 
that  vision  of  glory  to  you.  It  is  best  hastening  thither,  that  we  may 
feel  and  enjoy  that  which  we  shall  never  be  able  to  declare. 

(5.)  Fifthly,  They  are  not  great,  if  compared  with  the  afflictions  and 
torments  of  such  of  the  damned,  who  when  they  were  in  this  world, 
never  sinned  at  so  high  a  rate  as  thou  hast  done.3  Doubtless  there 
are  many  now  in  hell,  who  never  sinned  against  such  clear  light  as  thou 
hast  done^  nor  against  such  special  love  as  thou  hast  done,  nor  against 
such  choice  means  as  thou  hast  done,  nor  against  such  precious  mercies 
as  thou  hast  done,  nor  against  such  singular  remedies  as  thou  hast 
done.4  Certainly  there  are  many  now  a-roaring  in  everlasting  burnings, 
who  never  sinned  against  such  deep  convictions  of  conscience  as  thou 
hast  done,  nor  against  such  close  and  strong  reasonings  of  the  Spirit  as 
thou  hast  done,  nor  against  such  free  offers  of  mercy  and  rich  tenders 
of- grace  as  thou  hast  done,  nor  against  such  sweet  wooings  and  multi- 
plied entreaties  of  a  bleeding  dying  Saviour  as  thou  hast  done  ;  there- 
fore hold  thy  peace.  What  are  thy  afflictions,  thy  torments,  to  the 
torments  of  the  damned,  whose  torments  are  numberless,--  easeless, 
remediless,  and  endless;  whose  pains  are  without  intermission  or 
mitigation  ;  who  have  weeping  served  in  for  the  first  course,  and  gnash- 
ing of  teeth  for  the  second,  and  the  gnawing  worm  for  the  third,  and 
intolerable  pain  for  the  fourth, — yet  the  pain  of  the  body  is  but  the 
body  of  pain,  the  very  soul  of  sorrow  and  pain  is  the  soul's  sorrow  and 
pain,  — and  an  everlasting  alienation  and  separation  from  God  for  the 
fifth?  Ah,  Christian!  how  canst  thou  seriously  think  on  these  things, 
and  not  lay  thy  hand  upon  thy  mouth,  when  thou  art  under  the  greatest 
sufferings  ?  Thy  sins  have  been  far  greater  than  many  of  theirs,  and 
thy  great  afflictions  are  but  a  flea-bite  to  theirs  ;  therefore  be  silent 
before  the  Lord. 

1  One  of  the  commonplaces  in  the  biographies  of  Augustine  and  Jerome.  See  Ep.  of 
the  former,  sub  nomine. — G. 

2  Ecclcs.  Hist.  [A  well-known  myth. — G.] 

3  1  Peter  iii.  18-20  ;  Jude  6,  7  ;  Mat.  x.  15,  xi.  23,  24. 

4  Isa.  xxxiii.  14.  The  fire  in  hell  is  like  that  stone  in  Arcadia,  which  being  once 
kindled,  could  not  be  quenched.  [Asbestos. — G.] 


364  tiik  mute  christian  [Ps.  XXXIX.  9. 

(G.)  Sixthly  and  lastly,  If  thy  afflictions  are  so  great;  then  what 
madness  cmdfoUy  will  it  be  for  thee  to  make  them  greater  by  mv/t- 
muring  !  Every  act  of  murmuring  will  but  add  load  unto  load,  and 
burden  to  burden.  The  Israelites  under  great  afflictions  fell  a-murraur- 
ing,  and  their  murmuring  proved  their  utter  ruin,  as  you  may  see  in 
that  Num.  xiv.  Murmuring  will  but  put  God  upon  heating  the 
furnace  seven  times  hotter;  therefore  hold  thy  peace,  1  Cor.  x.  11. 
But  of  this  I  have  spoken  sufficiently  already. 

Object.  6.  Oh  !  but  my  afflictions  are  greater  than  other  men's  afflic- 
tions  are  ;  and  how  then  can  I  be  silent  ?  Oh  !  there  is  no  affliction  to 
my  affliction  ;  how  can  I  hold  my  peace  ?     I  answer, 

(1.)  First,  It  may  be  thy  sins  are  greater  than  other  men's  sins, 
Jer.  iii.  6-12.  If  thou  hast  sinned  against  more  light,  more  love,  more 
mercies,  more  experiences,  more  promises  than  others,  no  wonder  if  thy 
afflictions  are  greater  than  others'.  If  this  be  thy  case,  thou  hast  more 
cause  to  be  mute  than  to  murmur  ;  and  certainly,  if  thou  dost  but 
seriously  look  into  the  black  book  of  thy  conscience,  thou  wilt  find 
greater  sins  there  than  any  thou  canst  charge  upon  any  person  or 
persons  on  earth.  If  thou  shouldst  not,  I  think  thou  wouldst  justly 
incur  the  censure  which  that  sour  philosopher  passed  upon  gramma- 
rians, viz.,  that  they  were  better  acquainted  with  the  evils  of  Ulysses 
than  with  their  own.1  Never  complain  that  thy  afflictions  are  greater 
than  others',  except  thou  canst  evidence  that  thy  sins  are  lesser  than 
others'. 

(2.)  Secondly,  It  may  be  thou  art  under  some  present  distemper, 
that  disenables  thee  to  make  a  right  judgment  of  the  different  dealings 
of  God  with  thyself  and  others.2  When  the  mind  is  distempered,  and 
the  brain  troubled,  many  things  seem  to  be  that  are  not ;  and  then  little 
things  seem  very  great.  Oh  !  the  strange  passions,  the  strange  imagi- 
nations, the  strange  conclusions,  that  attend  a  distempered  judgment. 

I  have  read  of  a  foolish  emperor,  who,  to  shew  the  greatness  of  his 
city,  made  show  of  many  spiders.  When  the  mind  is  disturbed,  men 
many  times  say  they  know  not  what,  and  do  they  know  not  what.  It 
may  be,  when  these  clouds  are  blown  over,  and  thy  mind  cleared,  and 
thy  judgment  settled,  thou  wilt  be  of  another  opinion.  The  supplicant 
woman  appealed  from  drunken  king  Philip  to  sober  king  Philip.  It  is 
good  to  appeal  from  a  distempered  mind  to  a  clear  composed  mind,  for 
that  is  the  way  to  make  a  righteous  judgment  of  all  the  righteous  dis- 
pensations of  God,  both  towards  ourselves  and  towards  others. 

(3.)  Thirdly,  It  may  be  that  the  Lord  sees  that  it  is  very  needful 
that  thy  afflictions  should  be  greater  than  others'.3  It  may  be  thy 
heart  is  harder  than  other  men's  hearts,  and  prouder  and  stouter  than 
other  men's  hearts  ;  it  may  be  thy  heart  is  more  impure  than  others, 
and  more  carnal  than  others,  or  else  more  passionate  and  more  worldly 
than  others,  or  else  more  deceitful  and  more  hypocritical  than  others,  or 
else  more  cold  and  careless  than  others,  or  else  more  secure  than  others, 
or  more  formal  and  lukewarm  than  others.  Now,  if  this  be  thy  case, 
certainly  God  sees  it  very  necessary,  for  the  breaking  of  thy  hard  heart, 

1  Diogenes  apud  Laertium. 

'-'  Deut.  xxviii.  28.     Good  men  are -sometimes  strangely  besotted  and  infatuated. 

3  Nothing  but  strong  vomits,  strong  purges,  strong  clysters,  will  cure  some. 


PS.  XXXIX.  9.]  UNDER  THE  SMARTING  ROD.  365 

and  the  humbling  of  thy  proud  heart,  and  the  cleansing  of  thy  foul 
heart,  and  the  spiritualising  of  thy  carnal  heart,  &c,  that  thy  afflictions 
should  be  greater  than  others  ;  and  therefore  hold  thy  peace.  Where 
the  disease  is  strong,  the  physic  must  be  strong,  else  the  cure  will  never 
be  wrought.  God  is  a  wise  physician,  and  he  would  never  give  strong 
physic  if  weaker  could  effect  the  cure,  Jer.  xxx.  11,  and  xlvi.  28;  Isa. 
xxvii.  8.  The  more  rusty  the  iron  is,  the  oftener  we  put  it  into  the  fire 
to  purify  it ;  and  the  more  crooked  it  is,  the  more  blows  and  the  harder 
blows  we  give  to  straighten  it.  Thou  hast  been  long  a -gathering  rust  ; 
and  therefore,  if  God  deal  thus  with  thee,  thou  hast  no  cause  to 
complain. 

(4.)  Fourthly,  Though  thy  afflictions  are  greater  than  this  and  that 
particular  man's  afflictions,  yet  doubtless  there  are  many  thousands 
in  the  world  whose  afflictions  are  greater  than  thine.  Canst  thou 
seriously  consider  the  sore  calamities  and  miseries  that  the  devouring 
sword  hath  brought  upon  many  thousand  Christians  in  foreign  parts, 
and  say  that  thy  afflictions  are  greater  than  theirs  ?  Surely  no.  Pliny, 
in  his  Natural  History,  writeth1  that  the  nature  of  the  basilisk  is  to 
kill  all  trees  and  shrubs  it  breathes  upon,  and  to  scorch  and  burn  all 
herbs  and  grass  it  passeth  over.  Such  are  the  dismal  effects  of  war.2 
The  sword  knows  no  difference  between  Catholics  and  Lutherans,  as 
once  the  duke  of  Medina  Sidonia  said,  betwixt  the  innocent  and  the 
guilty,  betwixt  young  and  old,  betwixt  bond  and  free,  betwixt  male  and 
female,  betwixt  the  precious  and  the  vile,  the  godly  and  the  profane, 
betwixt  the  prince  and  the  subject,  betwixt  the  nobleman  and  the 
beggar.  The  sword  eats  the  flesh  and  drinks  the  blood  of  all  sorts  and 
sexes,  without  putting  any  difference  betwixt  one  or  the  other.  The 
poor  protestants  under  the  Duke  of  Savoy,  and  those  in  Poland,  Den- 
mark, Germany,  and  several  other  parts,  have  found  it  so  ;  many  of 
their  wounds  are  not  healed  to  this  day.  Who  can  retain  in  his  fresh 
and  bleeding  memory  the  dreadful  work  that  the  sword  of  war  hath 
made  in  this  nation,  and  not  say,  Surely  many  thousands  have  been 
greater  sufferers  than  myself ;  they  have  resisted  unto  blood,  but  so  have 
not  I,  Heb.  xii.  4.     But, 

(5.)  Fifthly,  As  thy  afflictions  are  greater  than  other  men's,  so  it  may 
be  thy  mercies  are  greater  than  other  men's  mercies  ;  and  if  so,  thou 
hast  no  cause  but  to  hold  thy  peace.  As  Job's  afflictions  were  greater 
than  other  men's,  so  his  mercies  were  greater  than  other  men's,  and  Job 
wisely  sets  one  against  another,  and  then  lays  his  hand  upon  his  mouth, 
Job  i.  21,  22.  It  may  be  thou  hast  had  more  health  than  others,  and 
more  strength  than  others,  and  more  prosperity  than  others,  and  more 
smiling  providences  than  others,  and  more  good  days  than  others,  and 
more  sweet  and  comfortable  relations  than  others ;  and  if  this  be  thy 
case,  thou  hast  much  cause  to  be  mute,  thou  hast  no  cause  to  murmur. 
If  now  thy  winter  nights  be  longer  than  others,  remember  thy  summer 
days  have  formerly  been  longer  than  others  ;  and  therefore  hold  thy 
peace.     But, 

(6.)  Sixthly  and  lastly,  By  great  afflictions  the  Lord  may  greaten 
thy  graces,  and  greaten  thy  name  and  fame  in  the  world,  James  v. 

1  Lib.  viii.  c.  21.         2  Read  Josephus,  and  the  History  of  the  Bohemian  Persecution. 


366  THE  MUTE  CHRISTIAN'  [Ps.  XXXIX    !). 

10,  11.  By  Job's  great  afflictions,  God  did  greaten  his  faith,  and  great*  n 
his  patience,  and  greaten  his  integrity,  and  greaten  his  wisdom  and 
knowledge,  and  greaten  his  experience,  and  greaten  his  name  and  fame 
in  the  world,  as  you  all  know  that  have  hut  read  his  book.  Bonds  and 
afflictions  waited  on  Paul  in  every  city,  Acts  xx.  23,  2  Cor.  xi. ;  his 
afflict  ions  and  sufferings  were  very  great,  but  by  them  the  Lord  greatened 
his  spirit,  his  zeal,  his  courage,  his  confidence,  his  resolution,  and  his 
name  and  fame,  both  among  sinners  and  saints.  Certainly,  if  thou  art 
dear  to  Christ,  he  will  greaten  thee  in  spirituals,  by  all  the  great  afflic- 
tions that  are  upon  thee  ;  he  will  raise  thy  faith,  and  inflame  thy  love, 
and  quicken  thy  hope,  and  brighten  thy  zeal,  and  perfect  thy  patience, 
and  perfume  thy  name,  and  make  it  like  a  precious  ointment,  '  like  a 
precious  ointment  poured  forth/  Prov.  xxii.  1,  Eccles.  vii.  1  ;  so  that 
good  men  shall  say,  and  bad  men  shall  say,  Lo,  here  is  a  Christian  in- 
deed, here  is  a  man  more  worth  than  the  gold  of  Ophir  ;  therefore,  hold 
thy  peace,  though  thy  afflictions  are  greater  than  others. 

Object.  7.  I  would  be  silent,  but  my  outward  affliction  is  attended 
with  sore  temptations ;  God  hath  not  only  outwardly  afflicted  me,  but 
Satan  is  let  loose  to  buffet  me  ;  and  therefore  how  can  I  be  silent  ?  how 
can  I  hold  my  peace,  now  I  am  fallen  under  manifold  temptations  ?  To 
this  I  answer  : 

(1.)  First,  No  man  is  the  less  beloved  because  he  is  tempted ;  vay, 
those  that  God  loves  best  are  usually  tempted  most,  Eph.  vi.  12.  Wit- 
ness David,  Job,  Joshua,  Peter,  Paul,  yea,  Christ  himself,  Mat,  iv.,  who, 
as  he  was  beloved  above  all  others,  so  he  was  tempted  above  all  others; 
he  was  tempted  to  question  his  Sonship  ;  he  was  tempted  to  the  worst 
idolatry,  even  to  worship  the  devil  himself;  to  the  greatest  infidelity, 
to  distrust  his  Father's  providence,  and  to  use  unlawful  means  for  neces- 
sary supplies  ;  and  to  self-murder,  '  Cast  thyself  down,'  &c.  Those  that 
were  once  glorious  on  earth,  and  are  now  triumphing  in  heaven,  have 
been  sorely  tempted  and  assaulted.  It  is  as  natural  and  common  for 
the  choicest  saints  to  be  tempted,  as  it  is  for  the  sun  to  shine,  the  bird 
to  fly,  the  fire  to  burn.  The  eagle  complains  not  of  her  wings,  nor  the 
peacock  of  his  train,  nor  the  nightingale  of  her  voice,  because  these  are 
natural  to  them  ;  no  more  should  saints  of  their  temptations,  because 
they  are  natural  to  them.  Our  whole  life,  saith  Austin,  is  nothing  but 
a  tentation  ;  the  best  men  have  been  worst  tempted  ;  therefore,  hold 
thy  peace.1 

(2.)  Secondly,  Temptation  resisted  and  bewailed,  will  never  hurt 
you,  nor  harm  you.  Distasted  temptations  seldom  or  never  prevail. 
So  long  as  the  soul  distastes  them  and  the  will  remains  firmly  averse 
against  them,  they  can  do  no  hurt ;  so  long  as  the  language  of  the  soul 
is,  '  Get  thee  behind  me,  Satan/  Mat.  xvi.  23,  the  soul  is  safe.  It  is  not 
Satan  tempting  but  my  assenting,  it  is  not  his  enticing  but  my  yielding, 
that  mischiefs  me.  Temptations  may  be  troubles  to  my  mind,  but 
they  are  not  sins  upon  my  soul  whilst  I  am  in  arms  against  them.  If 
tliv  heart  trembles  and  thy  flesh  quakes  when  Satan  tempts,  thy  con- 
dition is  good  enough  ;  if  Satan's  temptations  be  thy  greatest  afflictions, 

1  I  am  without,  set  upon  by  all  the  world,  and  within,  by  the  devil  and  all  his  aDgels, 
saith  Luther. 


PS.  XXXIX.  9.]  UNDER  THE  SMARTING  ROD.  3G7 

his  temptations  shall  never  worst  thee  nor  harm  thee  ;  and  therefore,  if 
this  be  thy  case,  hold  thy  peace.1 

(3.)  Thirdly,  Temptations  are  rather  hopeful  evidences  that  thy 
estate  is  good,  that  thou  art  dear  to  Ood,  and  that  it  shall  go  ivell  with 
thee  for  ever,  than  otherwise.  God  had  but  one  Son  without  corruption, 
but  he  had  none  without  temptation,  Heb.  ii.  17,  18.  Pirates  make 
the  fiercest  assaults  upon  those  vessels  that  are  most  richly  laden  ;  so 
doth  Satan  upon  those  souls  that  are  most  richly  laden  with  the  trea- 
sures of  grace,  with  the  riches  of  glory.  Pirates  let  empty  vessels 
pass  and  repass,  without  assaulting  them  ;  so  doth  Satan  let  souls  that 
are  empty  of  God,  of  Christ,  of  the  Spirit,  of  grace,  pass  and  repass 
without  tempting  or  assaulting  of  them.  When  nothing  will  satisfy 
the  soul,  but  a  full  departure  out  of  Egypt,  from  the  bondage  and 
slavery  of  sin,  and  that  the  soul  is  firmly  resolved  upon  a  march  for 
Canaan,  then  Satan,  Pharaoh-like,  will  furiously  pursue  after  the  soul 
with  horses  and  chariots,  that  is,  with  a  whole  army  of  temptations, 
Exod.  xiv.  9.2  Well !  a  tempted  soul,  when  it  is  worst  with  him,  may 
safely  argue  thus  :  If  God  were  not  my  friend,  Satan  would  not  be  so 
much  my  enemy  ;  if  there  were  not  something  of  God  within  me,  Satan 
would  never  make  such  attempts  to  storm  me ;  if  the  love  of  God  were 
not  set  upon  me,  Satan  would  never  shoot  so  many  fiery  darts  to  wound 
me  ;  if  the  heart  of  God  were  not  towards  me,  the  hand  of  Satan  would 
not  be  so  strong  against  me.  When  Beza  was  tempted,  he  made  this 
answer,  Whatsoever  I  was,  Satan,  I  am  now  'in  Christ  a  new  creature/ 
and  that  is  it  which  troubles  thee  ;  I  might  have  so  continued  long 
enough  ere  thou  wouldst  have  vexed  at  it,  but  now  I  see  thou  dost 
envy  me  the  grace  of  my  Saviour.  Satan's  malice  to  tempt  is  no 
sufficient  ground  for  a  Christian  to  dispute  God's  love  upon  ;  if  it  were, 
there  is  no  saint  on  earth  that  should  quietly  possess  divine  favour  a 
week,  a  day,  an  hour.  The  jailor  is  quiet,  when  his  prisoner  is  in  bolts, 
but  if  he  be  escaped,  then  he  pursues  him  with  hue  and  cry ;  you  know 
how  to  apply  it.  Men  hate  not  the  picture  of  a  toad,  the  wolf  flies  not 
upon  a  painted  sheep  ;  no  more  doth  Satan  upon  those  he  hath  in  chains  ; 
therefore  hold  thy  peace,  though  thou  art  inwardly  tempted,  as  well 
as  outwardly  afflicted. 

(4.)  Fourthly,  Whilst  Satan  is  tempting  of  thee,  Christ  in  the  court 
of  glory  is  interceding  for  thee  :3  Luke  xxii.  31,  32, '  And  the  Lord  said, 
Simon,  Simon,  behold,  Satan  hath  desired  to  have  you,  that  he  may  sift 
you  as  wheat :  but  I  have  prayed  for  thee,  that  thy  faith  fail  not.' 
iSatan  would  fain  have  been  shaking  of  him  up  and  down,  as  wheat  is 
shaken  in  a  fan  ;  but  Christ's  intercession  frustrates  Satan's  designed 
temptations.  Whenever  Satan  stands  at  our  elbow  to  tempt  us,  Christ 
stands  at  his  Father's  to  intercede  for  us  :  Heb.  vii.  25,  '  He  ever  lives 
to  make  intercession.'  Some  of  the  learned  think,  that  Christ  intercedes 
only  by  virtue  of  his  merits  ;  others  think  that  it  is  done  only  with  his 
mouth  ;  probably  it  may  be  done  both  ways,  the  rather  because  he  hath 
a  tongue,  as  also  a  whole  glorified  body  in  heaven  ;  and  is  it  likely,  that 

1  He  that  can  say  when  he  is  tempted,  as  that  young  convert,  Ego  non  sum  ego,  is  happy 
enough  under  all  his  temptations. 

2  Israel  going  into  Egypt  had  no  opposition,  but  travelling  into  Canaan,  they  were 
never  free. 

3  Rom.  viii.  34 ;  1  John  ii.  1  ;  Zech.  iii.  1-3. 


.368  THE  MUTE  CHRISTIAN  [Ps.  XXXIX.  9. 

that  mouth  which  pleaded  so  much  for  us  on  earth,  John  xvii.  should  be 
altogether  silent  for  us  in  heaven?  Christ  is  a  person  of  highest  honour;  he 
is  the  greatest  favourite  in  the  court  of  heaven ;  he  always  stands  between 
us  and  danger.  If  there  be  any  evil  plotted  or  designed  against  us  by 
Satan,  the  great  accuser  of  the  brethren,  he  foresees  it,  and  by  his  inter- 
cession prevents  it.  When  Satan  puts  in  his  pleas  and  commences  suit 
upon  suit  against  us,  Christ  still  undertakes  our  cause  ;  he  answers  all 
his  pleas,  and  non-suits  Satan  at  every  turn,  and  in  despite  of  hell  he 
keeps  us  up  in  divine  favour.  When  Satan  pleads,  Lord !  here  are  such 
and  such  sins  that  thy  children  have  committed  !  and  here  are  such  and 
such  duties  that  they  have  omitted  !  and  here  are  such  and  such  mercies 
that  they  have  not  improved  !  and  here  are  such  and  such  ordinances 
that  they  have  slighted !  and  here  are  such  and  such  motions  of  the  Spirit 
which  they  have  quenched  !  divine  justice  answers,  All  this  is  true,  but 
Christ  hath  appeared  on  their  behalf;  he  hath  pleaded  their  cause;  he 
hath  fully  and  fairly  answered  whatever  hath  been  objected  and  given 
complete  satisfaction  to  the  utmost  farthing  ;  so  that  here  is  no  accusation 
nor  condemnation  that  can  stand  in  force  against  them  ;  upon  which 
account  the  apostle  triumphs  in  that  Rom.  viii.  34,  '  Who  is  he  that 
condemneth  ?  It  is  Christ  that  died,  yea  rather,  that  is  risen  again,  who 
is  even  at  the  right  hand  of  God,  who  also  maketh  intercession  for 
us.'  Christ's  intercession  should  be  the  soul's  anchor-hold  in  time  of 
temptation.  In  the  day  of  thy  temptation  thou  needest  not  be  dis- 
turbed nor  disquieted,  but  in  peace  and  patience  possess  thine  own  soul, 
considering  what  a  friend  thou  hast  in  the  court  of  glory,  and  how  he 
is  most  active  for  thee,  when  Satan  is  most  busy  in  tempting  of  thee.1 

(5.)  Fifthly  and  lastly,  All  temptations  that  the  saints  meet  with, 
shall  work  much  for  their  good  ;  they  shall  be  much  for  their  gain. 
The  profit  and  advantage  that  will  redound  to  tempted  souls  by  all 
their  temptations  is  very  great,  Rom.  viii.  28,  Lam.  i.  12.  Now  this 
will  appear  to  be  a  most  certain  truth  by  an  induction  of  particulars 
thus  : 

[1.]  First,  By  temptations  God  multiplies  and  increases  his  children's 
spiritual  experiences,  the  increase  of  winch  is  better  than  the  increase  of 
gold.2  In  the  school  of  temptation,  God  gives  his  children  the  greatest 
experience  of  his  power  supporting  them,  of  his  word  comforting  of  them, 
of  his  mercy  warming  of  them,  of  his  wisdom  counselling  of  them,  of  his 
faithfulness  joying  of  them,  and  of  his  grace  strengthening  of  them  : 
2  Cor.  xii.  9,  '  My  grace  shall  be  sufficient  for  thee.'  Paul  never  experi- 
enced so  deeply  what  almighty  power  was,  what  the  everlasting  arms  of 
mercy  were,  and  what  infinite  grace  and  goodness  was,  as  when  he  was 
under  the  buffetings  of  Satan. 

[2.]  Secondly,  All  their  temptations  shall  be  physical;  their  tempta* 
1'm, is  shall  /><  ha  i  ipy  preventions  of  great  abominations:  2  Cor.  xii.  7, 
'  Lest  I  should  be  exalted,  lest  I  should  be  exalted.'  It  is  twice  in  that 
one  verse  ;  he  begins  with  it,  and  he  ends  with  it.  If  he  had  not  been 
buffeted,  he  might  have  been  more  highly  exalted  in  his  own  conceit 

1  Saith  Christ,  Lord  !  here  is  wisdom  for  their  folly,  humility  for  their  pride,  heavenli- 
ness,  holiness,  for  their  earthliness,  for  their  wickedness,  &c. 

'-'  Kinn.  v.  3,  4,  Frequent  engagements  add  to  the  soldier's  skill,  and  much  increase  his 
experiences. 


Ps.  XXXIX.  9.]  UNDER  THE  SMARTING  ROD.  3G9 

than  he  was  before  in  his  ecstasy.  Ah,  tempted  souls  !  you  say  you 
are  naught,  very  naught,  but  had  it  not  been  for  the  school  of  tempta- 
tion, you  might  have  been  stark  naught  before  this  time.  You  say  you 
are  sick,  you  are  even  sick  to  death.  Why,  your  sickness  had  before 
this  time  killed  you,  had  not  temptations  been  physical1  to  you.  You 
are  bad  under  temptations ;  but  doubtless  you  would  have  been  much 
worse  had  not  God  made  temptation  a  diet-drink  to  you.2 

[3.]  Thirdly,  Temptation  shall  much  promote  the  exercise  of  grace. 
As  the  spring  in  the  watch  sets  all  the  wheels  agoing,  and  as  Solomon's 
virtuous  woman  set  all  her  maidens  to  work,  so  temptation  sets  faith  on 
work,  and  love  on  work,  and  repentance  on  work,  and  hope  on  work,  and 
holy  fear  on  work,  and  godly  sorrow  on  work,3  Prov.  xxx.  10-33 ;  1  Peter  i.  6. 
As  the  windsets  the  mill  atwork,so  the  wind  of  temptations  sets  the  graces 
of  the  saints  agoing.  Now  faith  runs  to  Christ,  now  it  hugs  a  promise,  now 
it  pleads  the  blood  of  Christ,  now  it  looks  to  the  recompence  of  reward, 
now  it  takes  the  sword  of  the  Spirit,  &c.  ;  now  love  cleaves  to  Christ, 
now  love  hangs  upon  Christ,  now  love  will  fight  it  out  to  the  death  for 
Christ ;  now  hope  flies  to  the  horns  of  the  sanctuary,  now  hope  puts  on 
her  helmet,  now  hope  casts  her  anchor  upon  that  within  the  veil,4  &c. 
Grace  is  never  more  acted  than  when  a  Christian  is  most  tempted. 
Satan  made  a  bow  of  Job's  wife  ;  of  his  rib,  as  Chrysostom  speaks,  and 
shot  a  temptation  by  her  at  Job,  thinking  to  have  shot  him  to  the  heart: 
'  Curse  God,  and  die  ;'  but  the  activity  of  Job's  graces  was  a  breastplate 
that  made  him  temptation-proof.  The  devil,  tempting  Bonaventure, 
told  him  he  was  a  reprobate,  and  therefore  persuaded  him  to  drink  in 
the  present  pleasures  of  this  life  ;  for,  said  he,  thou  art  excluded  from 
the  future  joys  with  God  in  heaven.  Bonaventure's  graces  being  active, 
he  answered,  No  ;  not  so,  Satan :  if  I  must  not  enjoy  God  after  this 
life,  let  me  enjoy  him  as  much  as  I  can  in  this  life. 

[4.]  Fourthly,  By  temptations  the  Lord  will  make  you  the  mors 
serviceable  and  useful  to  others?  None  so  fit  and  able  to  relieve  tempted 
souls,  to  sympathise  with  tempted  souls,  to  succour  tempted  souls,  to  counsel 
tempted  souls,  to  pity  tempted  souls,  to  support  tempted  souls,  to  bear  with 
tempted  souls,  and  to  comfort  tempted  souls,  as  those  who  have  been  in  the 
school  of  temptations :  2  Cor.  i.  3,  4,  '  Blessed  be  God,  even  the  Father  of 
our  Lord  Jesus  Christ,  the  Father  of  mercies,  and  the  God  of  all  comfort ; 
who  comforteth  us  in  all  our  tribulation,  that  we  may  be  able  to  comfort 
them  which  are  in  any  trouble,  by  the  comfort  wherewith  we  ourselves 
are  comforted  of  God/  By  temptations  God  trains  up  his  servants,  and. 
fits  and  capacitates  them  to  succour  and  shelter  their  fellow-brethren. 
One  tempted  Christian,  saith  Luther,  is  more  profitable  and  useful  to 
other  Christians  than  a  hundred,  I  may  add,  than  a  thousand,  that  have 
not  known  the  depths  of  Satan,  that  have  not  been  in  the  school  of 
temptation.6  He  that  is  master  of  arts  in  the  school  of  temptation  hath 
learned  an  art  to  comfort,  to  succour,  and  gently  to  handle  tempted  and 
distressed  souls,  infinitely  beyond  what  all  human  arts  can  reach  unto. 

1  =  as  'physic,'  medicine. — G. 

2  Those  soldiers  that  are  most  in  fighting,  are  least  in  sinning,  and  most  free  from 
diseases.  3  Tapers  burn  clearest  in  the  dark.  *  Cant,  ill  -  6,  7  ;  Heb.  vi.  19. 

5  The  skilfullest  commanders  and  leaders  are  of  the  greatest  service  and  use  to  the 
soldiers.  6  Luther  in  Gen.  xxvii. ;  Rev.  ii.  24. 

VOL.  I.  A  a 


■  'I 


0  THE  MUTE  CHRISTIAN  [P.S.  XXXIX.  ft 


No  iloctor  to  him  that  hath  been  a  doctor  in  the  school  of  temptation  ; 
all  other  doctors  arc  but  illiterate  dunces  to  him. 

[5.]  Fifthly,  It  is  an  honour  to  the  sal u Is  to  be  tempted,  and  in  the 
issue  /<>  have  a  n  In  mo  arable  conquest  over  the  tempter.  It  was  a  great 
honour  to  David  that  he  should  be  put  to  fight  hand  to  hand  with 
Goliath,  and  in  the  issue  to  overcome  him,  1  Sam.  xvii.  ;  but  it  was  far 
greater  honour  to  Job  and  Paul,  that  they  should  be  put  to  combat  in 
the  open  field  with  Satan' himself,  and  in  the  close  to  gain  a  famous 
conquest  over  him,  as  they  did,  Job  i. ;  2  Cor.  xii.  7-10.  It  was  a  very 
meat  honour  to  David's  three  mighty  men,  that  in  jeopardy  of  their 
lives  they  brake  through  the  host  of  the  Philistines,  to  bring  water  to 
David  out  of  the  well  of  Bethlehem,  and  did  effect  it  in  spite  of  all  the 
strength  and  power  of  their  enemies,  though  it  were  to  the  extremest 
hazard  of  their  blood  and  lives,  2  Sam.  xxiii.  13-18;  but  it  is  a  far 
greater  honour  to  the  saints  to  be  furnished  with  a  spirit  of  strength, 
courage,  and  valour,  to  break  through  an  army  of  temptations,  and  in 
the  close  to  triumph  over  them,  Rom.  viii.  15-28  ;  and  yet  this  honour 
have  all  the  saints:  1  Cor.  x.  13,  'But  God  is  faithful,  who  will  not 
suffer  you  to  be  tempted  above  that  ye  are  able ;  but  will  with  the 
temptation  also  make  a  way  to  escape,  that  ye  may  be  able  to  bear  it ;' 
Rom.  xvi.  20,  '  And  the  God  of  peace  shall  tread  Satan  under  your  feet 
shortly  ;'  1  John  ii.  13,  14,  'I  write  unto  you,  fathers,  because  ye  have 
known  him  that  is  from  the  beginning.  I  write  unto  you,  young  men, 
because  ye  have  overcome  the  wicked  one.  I  write  unto  you,  children, 
because  ye  have  known  the  Father.  I  have  written  unto  you,  fathers, 
because  ye  have  known  him  that  is  from  the  beginning.  I  have  written 
unto  you,  young  men,  because  ye  are  strong,  and  the  word  of  God 
abideth  in  you,  and  ye  have  overcome  the  wicked  one.'  1  John  v.  18, 
'  We  know  that  whosoever  is  born  of  God  sinneth  not,'  that  is,  'that  sin 
that  is  unto  death,'  ver.  1 6  ;  nor  he  sinneth  not  as  other  men  do, 
delightfully,1  greedily,  customarily,  resolvedly,  impenitently,  &c.  '  But 
he  that  is  begotten  of  God  keepeth  himself,  and  that  wicked  one 
toucheth  him  not.'  The  glorious  victory  that  the  people  of  God  had 
over  Pharaoh  and  his  great  host,  Exod.  xiv.,  was  a  figure  of  the  glorious 
victory  that  the  saints  shall  obtain  over  Satan  and  his  instruments, 
which  is  clear  from  that  Rev.  xv.  3,  where  we  have  the  song  of  Mioses 
and  of  the  Lamb.  But  why  the  song  of  Moses  and  of  the  Lamb,  but 
to  hint  this  to  us,  that  the  overthrow  of  Pharaoh  was  a  figure  of  the 
overthrow  of  Satan?  and  the  triumphal  song  of  Moses  was  a  figure  of 
that  song  which  the  saints  shall  sing  for  their  overthrow  of  Satan.  As 
certainly  as  Israel  overcame  Pharaoh,  so  certainly  shall  every  true 
Israelite  overcome  Satan.  The  Romans  were  worsted  in  many  fights, 
but  never  were  overcome  in  a  set  war;  at  the  long  run  they  overcame 
all  their  enemies.  Though  a  Christian  may  be  worsted  by  Satan  in 
some  particular  skirmishes,  yet  at  the  long  run  he  is  sure  of  an  honour- 
able conquest.  God  puts  a  great  deal  of  honour  upon  a  poor  soul  when 
he  brings  him  into  the  open  field  to  fight  it  out  with  Satan.  By  fight- 
ing he  overcomes,  he  gains  the  victory,  he  triumphs  over  Satan,  and 
Leads  captivity  captive.  Augustine  gives  this  reason  why  God  per- 
mitted Adam  at  first  to  be  tempted,  viz.  That  he  might  have  had  the 

1  '  Delightedly. '-G. 


Ps.  XXXIX.  9.]  UNDER  THE  SMARTING  ROD.  371 

more  glory  in  resisting  and  withstanding  Satan's  temptation.  It  is  the 
glory  of  a  Christian  to  be  made  strong  to  resist,  and  to  have  his  resist- 
ance crowned  with  a  happy  conquest. 

[6.]  Sixthly,  By  temptations  the  Lord  will  make  his  people  more 
frequent  and  more  abundant  in  the  work  of  prayer.  Every  tempta- 
tion proves  a  strong  alarm  to  prayer.  When  Paul  was  in  the  school  of 
temptation,  he  prayed  thrice,  that  is,  often,  1  Cor.  xii.  8,  9.  Days  of 
temptation  are  days  of  great  supplication  ;  Christians  usually  pray  most 
when  they  are  tempted  most.  They  are  most  busy  with  God  when 
Satan  is  most  busy  with  them.  A  Christian  is  most  upon  his  knees 
when  Satan  stands  most  at  his  elbow. 

Augustine  was  a  man  much  tempted,  and  a  man  much  in  prayer. 
Holy  prayer,  saith  he,  is  a  shelter  to  the  soul,  a  sacrifice  to  God,  and  a 
scourge  to  the  devil. 

Luther  was  a  man  under  manifold  temptations,  and  a  man  much  in 
prayer.  He  is  said  to  have  spent  three  hours  every  day  in  prayer.  He 
used  to  say  that  prayer  was  the  best  book  in  his  study. 

Chrysostom  was  much  in  the  school  of  temptation,  and  delighted 
much  in  prayer.  Oh  !  saith  he,  it  is  more  bitter  than  death  to  be 
spoiled  of  prayer,  and  hereupon,  as  he  observes,  Daniel  chose  rather  to 
run  the  hazai'd  of  his  life  than  to  lose  his  prayer.1     But, 

[7.]  Seventhly,  By  temptations  the  Lord  will  make  his  people  more 
and  more  conformable  to  the  image  of  his  Son.  Christ  was  much 
tempted,  he  was  often  in  the  school  of  temptation ;  and  the  more  a 
Christian  is  tempted,  the  more  into  the  likeness  of  Christ  he  will  be 
transformed.  Of  all  men  in  the  world,  tempted  souls  do  most  resemble 
Christ  to  the  life,  in  meekness,  lowliness,  holiness,  heavenliness,  &c. 
The  image  of  Christ  is  most  fairly  stamped  upon  tempted  souls. 
Tempted  souls  are  much  in  looking  up  to  Jesus,  and  every  gracious 
look  upon  Christ  changes  the  soul  more  and  more  into  the  image  of 
Christ.  Tempted  souls  experience  much  of  the  succourings  of  Christ, 
and  the  more  they  experience  the  sweet  of  the  succourings  of  Christ, 
the  more  they  grow  up  into  the  likeness  of  Christ.  Temptations  are 
the  tools  by  which  the  Father  of  spirits  doth  more  and  more  carve, 
form,  and  fashion  his  precious  saints  into  the  similitude  and  likeness  of 
his  dearest  Son,2 

[8.]  Eighthly  and  lastly,  take  many  things  in  one  ;  God  by  tempta- 
tions makes  sin  more  hateful,  and  the  world  less  delightful,  and  rela- 
tions less  hurtful.  By  temptations  God  discovers  to  us  our  own  weakness 
and  the  creature's  insufficiency  in  the  hour  of  temptation  to  help  us  or 
succour  us.  By  temptations,  God  will  brighten  our  Christian  armour, 
and  make  us  stand  more  upon  our  Christian  watch,  and  keep  us  closer 
to  a  succouring  Christ.  By  temptations,  the  Lord  will  make  his  ordi- 
nances to  be  more  highly  prized,  and  heaven  to  be  more  earnestly 'desired. 
Now  seeing  that  temptations  shall  work  so  eminently  for  the  saints' 
good,  why  should  not  Christians  be  mute  and  silent  ?  why  should  they 
not  hold  their  peace,  and  lay  their  hands  upon  their  mouths,  though 
their  afflictions  are  attended  with  great  temptations  ?3 

1  So  Bernard,  Basil,  Gorgonia  [Gorgonius?].  Trucilla;  James,  Jacob,  Daniel. 
3  Heb.  xii.  1,  2  ;  2  Cor.  ii.  28  ;  Heb.  ii.  17,  18 
3  I  Pet.  v.  8 ;  Epb.   vi.  10,  18  ;  2  Cor.  v.  1-3. 


372  Tin;  MITE  christian  [Ps.  XXXIX.  9. 

Obj.  8.  Oh  !  but  Cod  hath  deserted  me  !  he  hath  forsaken  me  !  and  'he 
that  should  comfort  my  soul  stands  afar  off!'  how  can  I  be  silent?  The 
Lord  hath  hid  his  face  from  me  ;  clouds  are  gathered  about  me;  God  hath 
turned  his  back  upon  me  ;  how  can  I  hold  my  peace? 

Supposing  that  the  desertion  is  real,  and  not  in  appearance  only,  as 
sometimes  it  falls  out  :  I  answer, 

(1.)  First,  //  hath  been  the  common  lot,  portion,  and  condition  of 
the  choicest  samts  in  this  world,  to  be  deserted  and  forsaken  of  God, 
Ps.  xx x.  6,  7  ;  Ps.  lxxvii.  6,  and  Ixxxviii.  6  ;  Job  xxiii.  8,  9  ;  Cant.  iii.  1-4, 
v.  6,  7  ;  Isa.  viii.  17  ;  Micah  vii.  7-9.  If  God  deals  no  worse  with  thee 
than  he  hath  dealt  with  his  most  bosom  friends,  with  his  choicest  jewels, 
thou  hast  no  reason  to  complain.     But, 

(2.)  Secondly,  God's  forsaMmg  of  thee  is  only  partial,  it  is  not  total, 
Psa.  ix.  4  ;  Gen.  xlix.  23,  24.  God  may  forsake  his  people  in  part,  but 
he  never  wholly  forsakes  them  ;  he  may  forsake  them  in  respect  of  his 
quickening  presence,  and  in  respect  of  his  comforting  presence,  but  lie 
never  forsakes  them  in  respect  of  his  supporting  presence ;  2  Cor.  xii.  9, 
'  My  grace  is  sufficient  for  thee  ;  for  my  strength  is  made  perfect  in 
weakness;'  Ps.  xxxvii.  23,  24,  '  The  steps  of  a  good  man  are  ordered  by 
the  Lord  ;  and  he  delighteth  in  his  way.  Though  he  fall,  he  shall  not 
be  utterly  cast  down  :  for  the  Lord  upholdeth  him  with  his  hand.'1  God's 
supporting  hand  of  grace  is  still  under  his  people  :  Ps.  lxiii.  8,  '  My  soul 
followeth  hard  after  thee  :  thy  right  hand  upholdeth  me/  Christ  hath 
always  one  hand  to  uphold  his  people,  and  another  hand  to  embrace 
them,  Cant.  ii.  16.  The  everlasting  arms  of  God  are  always  underneath 
his  people,  Deut.  xxxiii.  27.  And  this  the  saints  have  always  found ; 
witness  David,  Pieman,  Asaph,  Job,  &c. 

Geographers  write  that  the  city  of  Syracuse,  in  Sicily,  is  so  curiously 
situated  that  the  sun  is  never  out  of  sight.  Though  the  children  of 
God  sometimes  are  under  some  clouds  of  afflictions,  yet  the  Sun  of 
mercy,  the  Sun  of  righteousness,  is  never  quite  out  of  sight.     But, 

(3.)  Thirdly,  Though  God  hath  forsaken  thee,  yet  his  love  abides  and 
continues  constant  to  thee;  he  loves  thee  with  an  everlasting  love :  Jer. 
xxxi.  3,  '  Where  he  loves,  he  loves  to  the  end  ;'  John  xiii.  1 ;  Isa.  xlix. 
14-16,  '  But  Zion  said,  The  Lord  hath  forsaken  me,  and  my  Lord  hath 
forgotten  me.'  But  was  not  Zion  mistaken  ?  yes,  '  Can  a  woman  forget 
her  sucking  child,  that  she  should  not  have  compassion  on  the  son  of 
her  womb  ?  yea,  they  may  forget,  yet  will  not  I  forget  thee.  Behold, 
I  have  graven  thee  upon  the  palms  of  my  hands  ;  thy  walls  are  continu- 
ally before  me.'2  Look  !  as  persons  engrave  the  mark,  name,  or  picture 
of  those  whom  they  dearly  love  and  entirely  affect,  upon  some  stone 
that  they  wear  at  their  breasts,  or  upon  some  ring  that  they  wear  on 
their  finger,  so  hath  God  engraven  Zion  upon  the  palms  of  his  hands  ; 
she  was  still  in  his  eye,  and  always  dear  to  his  heart,  though  she  thought 
not  so.  As  Joseph's  heart  was  full  of  love  to  his  brethren,  Gen  xlii.  and 
xliii.,  even  then  when  he  spake  roughly  to  them,  and  withdrew  himself 
from  them,  for  he  was  fain  to  go  aside  and  ease  his  heart  by  weeping ; 
so  the  heart  of  God  is  full  of  love  to  his  people,  even  then  when  he 

J  As  the  nurse  upholds  the  little  child,  &c. 

*  The  very  heathen  hath  observed  that  God  doth  not  love  his  children  with  a  weak 
affection,  but  with  a  strong  masculine  love. — Seneca. 


Ps.  XXXIX.  9.]  UNDER  THE  SMARTING  ROD.  373 

seems  to  be  most  displeased  with  them,  and  to  turn  his  back  upon 
them.  •  Though  God's  dispensations  may  be  changeable  towards  his 
people,  yet  his  gracious  disposition  is  unchangeable  towards  them,  Mai. 
iii.  6.  When  God  puts  the  blackest  veil  of  all  upon  his  face,  yet  then 
his  heart  is  full  of  love  to  his  people,  then  his  bowels  are  yearning 
towards  them :  Jer.  xxxi.  18-20,  '  Is  Ephraim  my  dear  son  ?  is  he  a 
pleasant  child  ?  for  since  I  spake  against  him,  I  do  earnestly  remember 
him  still ;  therefore  my  bowels  are  troubled  for  him  :  I  will  surely  have 
mercy  upon  him,  saith  the  Lord.'  The  mother's  bowels  cannot  more 
yearn  after  the  tender  babe  than  God  doth  after  his  distressed  ones. 
As  Moses  his  mother,  when  she  had  put  him  into  the  ark  of  bulrushes, 
Exod.  ii.,  wept  to  see  the  babe  weep,  and  when  she  was  turned  from 
him,  she  could  not  but  cast  a  weeping  eye  of  love  towards  him  ;  so 
when  God  turns  aside  from  his  people,  yet  he  cannot  but  cast  an  eye  of 
love  towards  them  :  Hos.  xi.  1,  '  How  shall  I  give  thee  up,  O  Ephraim !' 
&c.  Here  are  four  several  'hows'  in  the  text,  the  like  not  to  be  found 
in  the  whole  book  of  God.  I  am  even  at  a  stand,  justice  calls  for  ven- 
geance, but  mercy  interposeth  ;  my  bowels  yearn,  my  heart  melts,  oh, 
how  shall  I  give  thee  up  !  oh,  I  cannot  give  thee  up  !  I  will  not  give 
thee  up !  God's  love  is  always  like  himself,  unchangeable  ;  his  love  is 
everlasting  ;  it  is  a  love  that  never  decays  nor  waxes  cold  ;  it  is  like  the 
stone  albestos,1  of  which  Solinus2  writes,  that  being  once  hot,  it  can 
never  be  cooled  again. 

(4.)  Fourthly,  Though  the  Lord  hath  hid  his  face  from  thee,  yet  cer- 
tainly thou  hast  his  secret  presence  with  thee.  God  is  present  when  he 
is  seemingly  absent :  '  The  Lord  was  in  this  place,  and  I  knew  it  not,' 
saith  Jacob,  Gen.  xxviii.  16.  The  sun  many  times  shines  when  we  do 
not  see  it,  and  the  husband  is  many  times  in  the  house  when  the  wife 
doth  not  know  it.  God  [is]  in  thy  house,  he  is  in  thy  heart,  though  thou 
seest  him  not,  thou  feelest  him  not,  though  thou  hearest  him  not :  Heb. 
xiii.  5,  '  I  will  never  leave  thee,  nor  forsake  thee  ;'  or,  as  it  may  be  ren- 
dered according  to  the  Greek,  '  I  will  not  leave  thee,  neither  will  I  not 
forsake  thee.'  Art  thou  not  now  drawn  out  to  prize  God  and  Christ, 
and  his  love  above  all  the  world  ?  Yes.  Art  thou  not  now  drawn  out 
to  give  the  Lord  many  a  secret  visit,  in  a  corner,  behind  the  door,  Cant.  - 
ii.  14,  in  some  dark  hole  where  none  can  see  thee  nor  hear  thee  but  the 
Lord?  Ps.  xlii.  1-3,  lxiii.  1-3.  Yes.  Are  there  not  strong  breathings, 
pantings,  and  longings  after  a  clearer  vision  of  God,  and  after  a  fuller 
fruition  of  God  ?  Yes.  Art  thou  not  more  affected  and  afflicted  with 
the  withdrawings  of  Christ  than  thou  art  with  the  greatest  afflictions 
that  ever  befell  thee?  Cant.  v.  6.  Yes.  Austin,  upon  that  answer  of 
God  to  Moses,  '  Thou  canst  not  see  my  face  and  live,'  Exod.  xxxiii.  20, 
makes  this  quick  and  sweet  reply,  '  Then,  Lord  !  let  me  die,  that  I  may 
see  thy  face.'  Dost  thou  not  often  tell  God  that  there  is  no  punishment 
to  the  punishment  of  loss,  and  no  hell  to  that  of  being  forsaken  of  God? 
Ps.  xxx.  6,  7.  Yes.  Dost  thou  not  find  a  secret  power  in  thy  soul, 
drawing  thee  forth  to  struggle  with  God,  to  lay  hold  on  God,  and 
patiently  to  wait  on  God,  till  he  shall  return  unto  thee,  and  lift  up  the 

1  '  Asbestos.' — G. 

2  The  '  ape'  of  Pliny,  whose  grotesque  '  Worke,'  quaintly  rendered  by  Golding  (1587), 
was  a  favourite  with  the  Puritans. — G. 


374  THE  MUTE  CHRISTIAN  [Ps.  XXXIX.  9. 

light  of  his  countenance  upon  thee?  Yes.  Well,  then,  thou  mayest 
be  confident  that  thou  hast  a  secret  and  blessed  presence  of  God  with 
thee,  though  God,  in  regard  of  his  comfortable  presence,  may  be  de- 
parted from  thee.  Nothing  below  a  secret  presence  of  God  with  a 
man's  spirit  will  keep  him  waiting  and  working  till  the  Sun  of  right- 
eousness shines  upon  him,  Mai.  iv.  2.  If  any  vain  persons  should  put 
that  deriding  question  to  thee,  Where  is  thy  God?  thou  mayest  safely 
and  boldly  answer  them,  '  My  God  is  here  ;  he  is  nigh  me,  he  is  round 
about  me,  yea,  he  is  in  the  midst  of  me  :  Zeph.  iii.  17,  '  The  Lord  thy 
God  in  the  midst  of  thee  is  mighty,  he  will  save,  he  will  rejoice  over 
thee  with  joy,  he  will  rest  in  his  love,  he  will  joy  over  thee  with  sing- 
ing.' The  bush,  which  was  a  type  of  the  church,  consumed  not  all  the 
while  it  burned  with  fire,  because  God  was  in  the  midst  of  it.  It  is  no 
argument  that  Christ  is  not  in  the  ship,  because  tempests  and  storms 
arise. 

(5.)  Fifthly,  Though  God  begone,  yet  he  will  return  again.  Though 
your  sun  be  now  set  in  a  cloud,  yet  it  will  rise  again  ;  though  sorrow 
may  abide  for  a  night,  yet  joy  comes  in  the  morning.1  A  Christian's 
mourning  shall  last  but  till  morning :  Micah  vii.  19,  '  He  will  turn 
again,  he  will  have  compassion  upon  us  ;'  Cant.  iii.  4,  '  It  was  but  a 
little  that  I  passed  from  them,  but  I  found  him  whom  my  soul  loveth  ; 
I  held  him,  and  I  would  not  let  him  go/  &c. ;  Ps.  xciv.  19,  'In  the 
multitude  of  my  thoughts  within  me,  thy  comforts  delight  my  soul ;' 
Isa.  liv.  7,  &,  10,  '  For  a  moment  have  I  forsaken  thee,  but  with  great 
mercies  will  I  gather  thee.  In  a  little  wrath  I  hid  my  face  from  thee 
for  a  moment,  but  with  everlasting  kindness  will  I  have  mercy  on  thee, 
saith  the  Lord  thy  Redeemer ;  for  the  mountains  shall  depart,  and  the 
hills  be  removed,  but  my  kindness  shall  not  depart  from  thee  ;  neither 
shall  the  covenant  of  my  peace  be  removed,  saith  the  Lord,  that  hath 
mercy  on  thee.'  God  will  not  suffer  his  whole  displeasure  to  rise  upon 
his  people,  neither  will  he  forsake  them  totally  or  finally.  The  saints 
shall  taste  but  some  sips  of  the  cup  of  God's  wrath,  sinners  shall  drink 
the  dregs  ;  their  storm  shall  end  in  a  calm,  and  their  winter  night  shall 
be  turned  into  a  summer  day.  There  was  a  woman  avIio  was  thirteen 
years  under  desertion,  which  was  so  vehement,  that  for  the  most  part 
of  her  time  she  was  fain  to  keep  her  bed  through  weakness.  A  godly 
minister,  who  was  affected  with  her  condition,  went  to  comfort  her,  and 
to  pray  with  her ;  but  when  he  came  and  offered  to  do  it,  she  shrieked 
out,  utterly  refusing  and  forbidding  him  to  pray  with  her,  for,  said  she, 
I  have  too  many  abused  mercies  to  answer  for  already.  Yet  he  would 
not  be  put  off,  but  prayed  by  her,  and  so  prevailed  with  God  on  her 
behalf,  that  the  next  morning  she  was  delivered  from  all  her  fears,  and 
had  such  exceeding  joy,  that  the  like  hath  rarely  been  heard  of.  The 
Lord,  that  had  been  long  withdrawn  from  her,  returned  at  length  in  a 
way  of  singular  mercy  to  her.2  There  was  another  precious  woman  who 
was  several  years  deserted,  and  hearing  a  precious  godly  minister  preach, 
she  of  a  sudden  fell  down,  overwhelmed  with  joy,  crying  out,  Oh !  lie  is 
come  whom  my  soul  loveth!  and  for  divers  days  after  she  was  rilled 

1  Isa.  xvii.  14  ;  Ps.  xxx.  5 ;  xl.  1-3  ;  v.  1 1 ;  xlii.  5,  8,  9,  11. 

2  So  Mrs  Honeywoofi,  Mrs  Kutherine  Bretti.-r^h,  and  divers  others.     [See  note  ante  on 
Mrs  Biettergh,  and  our  Index  sub  nomine. — O.] 


P,S.  XXXIX.  9.]  UNDER  THE  SMARTING  ROD.  375 

with  such  exceeding  joys,  and  had  such  gracious  and  singular  ravishing 
expressions  so  fluently  coming  from  her,  that  many  came  to  hear  the 
rare  manifestations  of  God's  grace  in  her.  The  lowest  of  her  pious  ex- 
pressions did  exceed  the  highest  that  ever  the  minister  had  read  in  the 
book  of  martyrs.     But,  x 

(6.)  Sixthly  and  lastly,  God's  deserting,  God's  forsaking  of  his  people, 
shall  many  ivays  work  for  their  good.     As, 

[I.]  First,  God  by  withdrawing  from  his  people,  will  prepare  and 
fit  them  for  greater  refreshings,  manifestations,  and  consolations : 
Ps.  lxxi.  1 1,  20,  21,  '  Saying,  God  hath  forsaken  him  :  persecute  and 
take  him  ;  for  there  is  none  to  deliver  him/  But  shall  this  forlorn  con- 
dition work  for  his  good  ?  Yes,  'Thou,  which  hast  shewed  me  great  and 
sore  troubles,  shall  quicken  me  again,  and  shalt  bring  me  up  again 
from  the  depths  of  the  earth.  Thou  shalt  increase  my  greatness,  and 
comfort  me  on  every  side.'  When  Joseph's  brethren  were  in  their 
greatest  distress,  then  Joseph  makes  known  himself  most  fully  to  them, 
Gen.  xlv.  2-4 ;  so  doth  Christ,  our  spiritual  Joseph,  to  his  people. 
Hudson  the  martyr,  deserted  at  the  stake,  went  from  under  his  chain, 
aud  having  prayed  earnestly,  was  comforted  immediately,  and  suffered 
valiantly.1 

[2.]  By  God's  withdrawing  from  his  people,  he  prevents  his  people's 
withdrawing  from  him  ;  and  so  by  an  affliction  he  prevents  sin? 
For  God  to  withdraw  from  me  is  but  my  affliction,  but  for  me  to  with- 
draw from  God,  that  is  my  sin,  Heb.  x.  38,  39 ;  and  therefore  it  were  better 
for  me  that  God  should  withdraw  a  thousand  times  from  me,  than  that  I 
should  once  withdraw  from  God.  God  therefore  forsakes  us,  that  we 
may  not  forsake  our  God.  God  sometimes  hides  himself  that  we  may 
cleave  the  closer  to  him,  and  hang  the  faster  upon  him  ;  as  the 
mother  hides  herself  from  the  child  for  a  time,  that  the  child  may 
cleave  the  closer  and  hang  the  faster  upon  her  all  the  day  long.  God 
sometimes  hid  himself  from  David  :  Ps.  xxx.  7,  '  Thou  didst  hide  thy 
face,  and  I  was  troubled,'  I  was  all  amort.3  Well !  and  is  that  all  ?  No  ; 
ver.  8,  '  I  cried  to  thee,  O  Lord,  and  unto  the  Lord  I  made  my  supplica- 
tion.' Now  he  cries  louder,  and  cleaves  closer  to  God  than  ever ;  so  in 
that  Ps.  lxiii.  1,  2,  '  O  God,  thou  art  my  God ;  early  will  I  seek  thee  : 
my  soul  thirsteth  for  thee,  my  flesh  longeth  for  thee  in  a  dry  and 
thirsty  land,  where  no  water  is  ;  to  see  thy  power  and  thy  glory,  so  as 
I  have  seen  thee  in  thy  sanctuary.'  Well !  and  how  do  those  withdraw  - 
ings  of  God  work  ?  Why  !  this  you  may  see  in  ver.  8,  '  My  soul  followeth 
hard  after  thee/  or  as  the  Hebrew  reads  it,  '  My  soul  cleaveth  after 
thee.'  Look  !  as  the  husband  cleaves  to  his  wife,  so  doth  my  soul 
cleave  to  the  Lord.  The  psalmist  now  follows  God  even  hard  at  heels, 
as  we  say.     But, 

[3.]  Thirdly,  The  Lord,  by  withdratving  from  his  people,  will  enhance 
and  raise  the  price,  and  commend  the  worth,  excellency,  sweetness,  and 
usefulness  of  several  precious  promises,  which  otherwise  would  be  but 
as  dry  breasts,  and  as  useless  weapons  to  the  soul,  2  Peter  i.  4.  As 
that  Micah  vii.  18,  19,   'He  will  turn  again,  he  will  have  compassion 

1  Clark's  '  Martyrologie,'  as  before,  page  499. — Q. 

2  Christ,  the  captain  of  our  salvation,  will  execute  martial  law  upon  them  that  withdraw 
from  their  colours,  &c.  »  '  Dejected.' — <i. 


:;7(5  THE  MUTE  CHRISTIAN  [Ps.  XXXIX.  9. 

upon  us,'  &c.  ;  and  that  lsa  liv.  7,  8,  but  now  opened;  and  that  Heb. 
xiii.  ">,  (5;  and  that  Heb.  ii.  3;  and  that  Ps.  v.  12,  'For  thou,  Lord, 
wilt  bless  the  righteous  ;  with  favour  thou  wilt  compass  him,'  or  crown 
him,  'as  with  a  shield.'  The  Lord  will  compass  the  righteous  about 
with  his  favour,  as  the  crown  compasses  about  the  head,  as  tin-  Hebrew 
Imports;  and  that  Ps.  cxii.  4,  'Unto  the  upright  there  ariseth  Light  in 
darkness:  lie  is  gracious,  and  full  of  compassion,  and  righteous.'  And 
that  Jer.  xxxi.  37,  '  Thus  saith  the  Lord,  If  heaven  above  can  be  m<  asured, 
and  the  foundations  of  the  earth  searched  out  beneath,  I  will  also  cast 
off  all  the  seed  of  Israel,  for  all  that  they  have  done,  saith  the  Lord.'1 
As  sure  as  heaven  cannot  be  measured,  nor  the  foundations  of  the  earth 
searched  by  the  skill  or  power  of  any  mortal  man,  so  sure  and  certain 
it  is,  that  God  will  not  utterly  cast  off' his  people,  no,  not  for  all  the  evil 
that  they  have  done.  Now  at  what  a  rate  doth  a  deserted  soul  value 
these  precious  promises  ?  Well !  saith  he,  these  promises  are  sweeter 
than  the  honey  or  the  honey-comb  ;  they  are  more  precious  than  gold, 
than  fine  gold,  than  much  gold,  than  all  the  gold  in  the  world ;  I  prefer 
t  hem  before  my  food,  before  my  delightful  food,  yea,  before  my  necessary 
food,  before  my  appointed  portion.2  As  Alexander  laid  up  Homer's 
J  Had  in  a  cabinet  embroidered  with  gold  and  pearls ;  so  deserted  souls 
will  lay  up  these  precious  promises  in  the  cabinet  of  their  hearts,  as  the 
choicest  treasure  the  world  affords.  Dolphins,  they  say,  love  music,  so 
do  deserted  souls  the  music  of  the  promises.  That  promise,  1  Tim.  i. 
1"),  was  music  to  Bilney  the  martyr;  and  that  promise,  John  x.  29,  was 
music  toUrsinus;  and  that  promise,  lsa  lvii.  15,  was  music  to  another; 
and  that  promise,  lsa.  xxvi.  3,  was  music  to  another;  and  that  to  another, 
Mat.  xi.  28,  &c.  Promises  that  are  suited  to  a  deserted  man's  condition, 
make  the  sweetest  music  in  his  ear,  and  are  the  most  sovereign  cordials 
to  bear  up  the  spirits  that  God  can  give,  or  heaven  afford,  or  the  soul 
desire:  Deut.  xxxii.  13,  'He  made  him  to  ride  on  the  high  places  of 
the  earth,  that  he  might  eat  the  fruits  of  the  field  ;  and  he  made  him 
to  suck  honey  out  of  the  rock,  and  oil  out  of  the  flinty  rock.'  Ah  !  the 
honey,  the  oil  that  deserted  souls  suck  of  such  promises  that  speak 
home  and  close  to  their  conditions  ! 

[4.]  Fourthly,  By  God's  hiding  his  face  and  withdrawing  himself 
from  thee,  thou  wilt  be  enabled  more  feelingly,  and  more  experiment- 
ally to  sympathise  with  others,  and  to  have  compassion  on  others  that 
are  or  may  be  in  the  dark  and  forsaken  of  God,  as  now  thou  art, 
Heb.  v.  2.  Heb.  xiii.  2,  '  Remember  them  that  are  in  bonds,  as  bound 
with  them  ;  and  them  which  suffer  adversity,  as  being  yourselves  also 
in  the  body.'  It  is  observed  of  the  bees,  that  when  one  is  sick  they  all 
mourn  ;3  and  of  the  sheep,  that  if  one  of  them  be  faint,  the  rest  of  the 
flock  will  stand  betwixt  it  and  the  sun  until  it  be  revived.  In  the 
natural  body,  if  one  member  grieve  and  is  in  pain,  all  suffer  with  it. 
'When  a  thorn  is  <jot  into  the  foot,  how  doth  the  back  bow,  and  the 
eyes  pry,  and  the  hands  go  to  pluck  the  thorn  out !  None  so  compas- 
sionate towards  deserted  souls  as  those  who  have  been  deserted  and  for- 

1  And  that  John  xiv.  21-23  ;  and  that  Sam.  xii.  20  ;  lsa.  Ix.  19-22. 
*  Ps.  cxix.  72,  10;{,  xix.  10;  Prov.  viii.  11  ;  Joh  xxiii.  12. 

3  Pliny  in  Nat.  Hist.  1.  xi.  c.  17.     [The  remark  is  inadu  concerning  the  '  king  '  (queen) 
bee — G.] 


PS.  XXXIX.  9.]  UNDER  THE  SMARTING  ROD.  377 

saken  of  God  themselves.  Oh  !  they  know  what  an  evil  and  a  bitter 
thing  it  is  to  be  left  and  forsaken  of  God,  and  therefore  then- 
bowels,  their  compassions  run  out  much  to  such,  yea,  most  to  such. 
They  know  that  there  is  no  affliction,  no  misery,  no  hell,  to  that  of 
being  forsaken  of  God. 

Anaxagoras,  seeing  himself  old  and  forsaken  of  the  world,  laid  him- 
self down,  and  covered  his  head  close,  determining  to  starve  himself  to 
death  with  hunger  [Plutarch].  But,  alas  !  what  is  it  to  be  forsaken  of 
the  world,  to  a  man's  being  forsaken  of  God  ?  Were  there  as  many 
worlds  as  there  be  men  in  the  world,  a  man  were  better  be  forsaken  by 
them  all  than  to  be  forsaken  of  God.  There  is  a  great  truth  in  that  say- 
ing of  Chrysostom,  viz.,  That  the  torments  of  a  thousand  hells,  if  there 
were  so  many,  come  far  short  of  this  one,  to  wit,  to  be  turned  out  of 
God's  presence  with  a  Non  novi  vos,  1  know  you  not,  Mat.  vii.  23.1 
The  schools  have  long  since  concluded,  that  poena  sensus,  the  pain  of 
sense,  is  far  greater  than  poena  damni,  the  pain  of  loss.  What  a  grief 
was  it  to  Absalom  to  see  the  king's  face  clouded  ;  and  how  sadly  was  Eli 
and  his  daughter  affected  with  the  loss  of  the  ark,  which  was  but  a 
testimony  of  God's  presence  !  but  oh  !  how  much  more  is  a  Christian 
affected  and  afflicted  with  the  loss  of  the  face  and  favour  of  God,  the 
remembrance  of  which  makes  his  heart  to  melt  and  his  bowels  to  yearn 
towards  those  whose  sun  is  set  in  a  cloud? 

[5.]  Fifthly,  Hereby  the  Lord  will  teach  his  people  to  set  a  higher 
price  upon  his  face  and  favour  when  they  come  to  enjoy  it.2  Cant, 
iii.  4,  '  It  was  but  a  little  that  I  passed  from  them,  but  I  found  him.  whom 
my  soul  loveth  ;  I  held  him,  and  I  would  not  let  him  go,'  &c.  iNo  man 
sets  so  high  a  price  upon  Christ,  as  he  that  hath  lost  him  and  found 
him  again.  Jesus  in  the  China  tongue  signifies  the  rising  sun,  and  so 
he  is,  Mai.  iv.  2,  especially  to  souls  that  have  been  long  clouded.  The 
poor  northern  nations  of  Strabo,  who  want  the  light  of  the  sun  for 
some  months  together,  when  the  term  of  his  return  approaches,  they 
climb  up  into  the  highest  mountains  to  spy  it,  and  he  that  spies  it  first 
was  accounted  the  best  and  most  beloved  of  God,  and  usually  they  did 
choose  him  king;  at  such  a  rate  did  they  prize  the  return  of  the  sun. 
Ah!  so  it  is  with  a  poor  soul,  that  for  some  months,  years,  hath  been 
deserted  ;  oh,  how  highly  doth  he  prize  and  value  the  Sun  of  right- 
eousness his  returning  to  him,  and  shining  upon  him  !  Ps.  lxiii.  3, 
'  Thy  loving-kindness  is  better  than  life,'  or,  '  better  than  lives/  as  the 
Hebrew  hath  it  [Chaiim].  Divine  favour  is  better  than  life  ;  it  is 
better  than  life  with  all  its  revenues,  with  all  its  appurtenances,  as 
honours,  riches,  pleasures,  applause,  &c,  yea,  it  is  better  than  many 
lives  put  together.  Now  you  know  at  what  a  high  rate  men  value 
their  lives  ;  they  will  bleed,  sweat,  vomit,  purge,  part  with  an  estate, 
yea,  with  a  limb,  yea,  limbs,  to  preserve  their  lives.  As  he  cried  out, 
Give  me  any  deformity,  any  torment,  any  misery,  so  you  spare  my  life. 
Now,  though  life  be  so  dear  and  precious  to  a  man,  yet  a  deserted  soul 
prizes  the  returnings  of  divine  favour  upon  him  above  life,  yea,  above 
many  lives.     Many  men  have  been  weary  of  their  lives,  as  is  evident  in 

1  Chrysostom,  ad  Pop.  Antioch.  Horn.  47,  and  in  Mat.  Horn.  24. 

2  Austin  saith,  Lord,  I  am  content  to  suffer  any  pains  and  torments  in  this  world,   if 
1  might  see  thy  face  one  day  ;  at  such  a  rate  did  he  prize  the  face  of  God. 


378  THE  MUTE  CHRISTIAN  [Ps.  XXXIX.  & 

Scripture  and  history  ;  but  no  man  was  ever  yet  found  that  was  weary 
of  tlic  love  and  favour  of  God.  No  man  sets  so  high  a  price  upon  the 
sun  as  he  that  hath  laid  long  in  a  dark  dungeon,  &c.     But, 

6.]  Sixthly,  Hereby  the  Lord  will  train  up  his  servants  in  that 
precious  life  of  faith,  which  is  the  most  honourable  and  the  wvosi 
happy  life  vn  all  the  world  :  2  Cor.  v.  7,  'For  we  walk  by  faith,  and 
not  by  sight.'  The  life  of  sense,  the  life  of  reason,  is  a  low  life,  a  mean 
life  ;  the  life  of  faith  is  a  noble  life,  a  blessed  life.  When  Elisha  de- 
manded of  the  Shunamite  what  he  should  do  for  her,  whether  he  should 
speak  for  her  to  the  king  or  the  captain  of  the  host,  she  answered,  '  I 
dwell  among  my  people,'  2  Kings  iv.  13  ;  that  is,  I  dwell  nobly  and 
happily  among  my  people  ;  I  have  no  need  to  make  any  suit  to  king 
or  captain  ;  and  this  she  accounts  her  great  happiness,  and  indeed  it  is 
the  greatest  happiness  in  this  world  to  live  much  in  the  exercise  of 
faith.  No  man  lives  so  free  a  life,  so  holy  a  life,  so  heavenly  a  life,  so 
happy  a  life,  as  he  that  lives  a  life  of  faith.  By  divine  withdrawing* 
the  soul  is  put  upon  hanging  upon  a  naked  God,  a  naked  Christ,  a 
naked  promise,  Isa.  1.  10  ;  lxiii.  15,  16.  Now  the  soul  is  put  upon  the 
highest  and  the  purest  acts  of  faith,  viz.,  to  cleave  to  God,  to  hang 
upon  God,  and  to  carry  it  sweetly  and  obediently  towards  God,  though 
he  frowns,  though  be  chides,  though  he  strikes,  yea,  though  he  kills, 
Job  xiii.  15.1  Those  are  the  most  excellent  and  heroic  acts  of  faith  that 
are  most  abstracted  from  sense  and  reason  ;  he  that  suffers  his  reason 
to  usurp  upon  his  faith,  will  never  be  an  excellent  Christian.  He  that 
goes  to  school  to  his  own  reason,  hath  a  fool  to  his  schoolmaster;  and  he 
that  suffers  his  faith  to  be  overruled  by  his  reason,  shall  never  want 
woe.  Where  reason  is  strongest,  faith  usually  is  weakest.  But  now 
the  Lord,  by  forsaking  of  his  people  for  a  time,  he  makes  them  skilful 
in  the  life  of  faith,  which  is  the  choicest  and  the  sweetest  life  in  this 
world.     But, 

[7.]  Seventhly,  By  divine  withdrawings,  you  are  made  more  con- 
formable to  Christ  your  head  and  husband,  who  was  under  spirit  mil 
desertion  as  well  as  you  :  Mat.  xxvii.  46,  '  My  God,  my  God,  why  hast 
thou  forsaken  me  V  Ps.  xxii.  1 ,  2.  There  is  an  hidden  emphasis  in  the 
Hebrew  word  :  El  signifies  a  strong  God  ;  Eli,  Eli,  My  strong  God, 
my  strong  God.  The  unity  of  Christ's  person  was  never  dissolved,  nor 
his  graces  were  never  diminished.2  In  the  midst  of  this  terrible  storm, 
his  faith  fortifieth  and  strengthened  itself  upon  the  strength  of  God, 
My  God,  my  God  ;  yet  in  respect  of  divine  protection  and  divine  solace, 
he  was  for  some  time  forsaken  of  his  Father.  And  if  this  be  thy  case, 
thou  art  herein  but  made  conformable  to  thy  Lord  and  master  ;  nay, 
thou  dost  but  sip  of  that  bitter  cup  of  which  Christ  drank  deep  ;  thy 
cloud  is  no  cloud  to  that  which  Christ  was  under.     But, 

[8.]  Eighthly  and  lastly,  By  these  transient  and  partial  forsaking*, 
the  Lord  will  exceedingly  sweeten  the  char,  full,  constant,  and  unin- 
terrupted enjoyments  of  himself  in  heaven  to  all  his  people,  Ps.  lxxi. 
10,  21.  Ah  !  how  sweet  and  precious  was  the  face  and  favour  of  the 
king  to  Absalom,  after  he  had  for  a  time  been  banished,  and  at  length 
restored  to  his  royal  favour  again  !     Onesimus  departed  from  Philemon 

1   Faitb  acts  in  the  most  kingly  way  when  it  hangs  upon  a  killing  God. 

8  Christ  was  only  forsaken  in  regard  of  his  human  nature,  not  in  respect  of  his  Godhead. 


Ps.  XXXIX.  9.]  UNDER  THE  SMARTING  ROD.  o79 

for  a  season,  that  he  might  receive  him  for  ever.  So  the  Lord  departs 
from  his  people  for  a  time,  that  they  may  receive  him  for  ever ;  he  hides 
himself  for  a  season,  that  his  constant  presence  amongst  his  children  in 
glory  may  be  the  more  sweet  and  delightful  to  them,  &c. 

Object.  9.  Oh  !  but  I  am  falsely  accused  and  sadly  reproached,  and 
my  good  name,  which  should  be  as  dear  or  dearer  to  me  than  my  life, 
is  defamed  and  fly-blown,  and  things  are  laid  to  my  charge  that  I  never 
did,  that  I  never  knew,  &c.  ;  and  how  then  can  I  be  silent  ?  how  can  I 
hold  my  peace  ?  I  cannot  forget  the  proverb,  Oculus  et  fauna  non 
patiuntur  jocos,  a  man's  eye  and  his  good  name  can  bear  no  jests;  and 
how  then  can  I  be  mute  to  see  men  make  jests  upon  my  good  name  ? 
and  every  day  to  see  men  lade  it  with  all  the  scorn  and  contempt  ima- 
ginable, that  they  may  utterly  blast  it  ?  &c.     To  this  I  say, 

(1.)  First,  That  it  must  be  granted  that  a  good  name  is  one  of  the 
choicest  jewels  in  a  Christian's  crown.  Though  a  great  name  many 
times  is  little  worth,  yet  a  good  name  is  rather  to  be  chosen  than  great 
riches.  It  is  better  to  have  a  good  name  abroad,  than  silver  or  gold 
laid  up  in  a  chest  at  home.  '  A  good  name  is  better  than  precious 
ointment,'  Eccles.  vii.  1.  Precious  ointments  were  greatly  in  use  and 
highly  esteemed  of  amongst  the  Israelites  in  those  eastern  parts  ;  they 
were  laid  up  amongst  the  most  precious  things  even  in  the  king's  trea- 
sury, Isa.  xxxix.  2.  Sweet  ointments  can  but  affect  the  smell,  and 
comfort  the  brain,  and  delight  the  outward  man  ;  they  reach  not  the 
best  part,  the  noble  part,  viz.,  the  soul,  the  conscience  of  a  Christian  ; 
but  a  good  name  doth  both.  What  is  the  perfume  of  the  nostrils  to 
the  perfume  of  the  heart  ?J 

I  have  read  that  in  some  countries  they  have  a  certain  art  of  drawing 
of  pigeons  to  their  dove-houses  in  those  countries,  by  anointing  the 
wings  of  one  of  them  with  sweet  ointment,  and  that  pigeon  being  sent 
abroad,  doth,  by  the  fragrancy  of  that  ointment,  decoy,  invite,  and 
allure  others  to  that  house,  where  itself  is  a  domestic.  Such  is  the 
fragrancy  of  a  good  name,  that  it  draws  other  men  after  the  savour 
thereof.  Among  all  sorts  and  ranks  of  men  in  the  world,  a  good  name 
hath  an  attractive  faculty  ;  it  is  a  precious  ointment  that  draws  hearers 
to  attend  good  preachers,  patients  to  attend  physicians,  clients  to  attend 
law3^ers,  scholars  to  attend  schoolmasters,  and  customers  to  attend  shop- 
keepers, who,  with  Demetrius,  hath  a  good  report  of  all  good  men, 
3d  epistle  of  John  12.  Let  a  man's  good  name  be  but  up,  and  he  can- 
not easily  want  anything  that  men  or  money  can  help  him  to.  A  good 
name  will  bring  a  man  into  favour,  and  keep  a  man  in  favour  with  all 
that  are  good  ;  therefore,  say  the  moralists  : 

Omnia  si  perdas,  famam  servare  memento, 
Qua  semel  amissa,  postea  nullus  eris.s 

Whatsoever  commodity  you  lose,  be  sure  yet  to  preserve  that  jewel  of 
a  good  name.  A  Christian  should  be  most  chary  of  his  good  name,  for 
a  good  name  answers  to  all  things,  as  Solomon  spake  of  money.  Ergo  si 
bonam  famam  servasso,  sat  dives  ero,  If  I  may  but  keep  a  good  name, 
I  have  wealth  enough,  said  the  heathen  [Plautus].  A  Christian  should 
rather  forego  gojd  than  let  go  a  good  name  ;  and  he  that  robs  a  Chris- 

1  A  good  renown  is  better  than  a  golden  girdle,  saith  the  French  proverb, 
a  Claudian,  De  Cons.  Mall.  Theod.  v.  3.— G. 


380  THE  M!Ti:  CHRISTIAN  [Ps.  XXXIX.  0. 

tian  of  his  good  name  is  a  worse  thief  than  he  that  robs  him  of  his 
purse,  and  better  deserves  a  hanging  than  he,  &C.1     But, 

(2.)  Secondly,  It  Dtust  he  grn titcil,  flint  n  good  nuiae  onre  lost,  isvery 
hardly  recovered  again.  A  man  may  more  easily  recover  a  lost  friend, 
a  lost  estate,  than  a  lost  name.  A  good  name  is  like  a  princely  struc- 
ture, quickly  ruined,  but  long  a-rearing.  The  father  of  the  prodigal  could 
say  of  his  lost  son,  'This  my  son  was  lost,  but  is  found  ;  he  was  dead, 
but  is  alive,'  Luke  xv.  32;  but  how  few  Christians  can  say,  This  my 
good  name  was  lost,  but  is  found  ;  it  was  (lead,  but  now  it  lives.  As 
when  ( >rpah  once  left  Naomi,  she  returned  no  more  to  her,  Ruth  i.  14; 
so  when  once  a  good  name  leaves  a  man,  it  hardly  returns  to  him  again. 
A  cracked  credit  will  hardly  be  sodered2  anew  ;  new  wine  is  rarely  put 
into  old  bottles.  A  man  should  stand  upon  nothing  more  than  the  credit 
of  his  conscience  and  the  credit  of  his  name. 

In  Japan,  the  very  children  are  so  zealous  of  their  reputation,  that  in 
ease  you  lose  a  trifle,  and  say  to  one  of  them,  Sirrah,  I  believe  you  have 
stolen  it,  without  any  pause,  the  boy  will  immediately  cut  off  a  joint 
from  one  of  his  fingers,  and  say,  Sir,  if  you  say  true,  I  wish  my  finger 
may  never  heal  again.  Three  things  a  Christian  should  stiffly  labour  to 
maintain  :  1,  the  honour  of  God  ;  2,  the  honour  of  the  gospel  ;  3,  the 
honour  of  his  own  name.  If  once  a  Christian's  good  name  sets  in  a 
cloud,  it  will  be  lonsr  before  it  rises  afjain. 

(3.)  Thirdly,  Though  all  this  be  true,  yet  it  hath  been  the  poi-tion  of 
(I oil's  dearest  saintsand  servants  to  be  slandered,  reproached,  vilified, 
and  falsely  accused : 3  Ps.  xxxi.  ]  8,  '  Let  the  lying  lips  be  put  to  silence, 
which  speak  grievous  things,  proudly,  and  contemptuously  against  the 
righteous.'  How  sadly  and  falsely  was  Joseph  accused  by  his  wanton 
mistress  ;  David  by  Doeg  and  Shimei ;  Job  of  hypocrisy,  impiety,  inhu- 
manity, cruelty,  partiality,  pride,  and  irreligion  !  Was  not  Naboth 
accused  of  speaking  blasphemy  against  God  and  the  king  ?  Did  not 
Haman  present  the  Jews  to  the  king  as  refractories  and  rebels  ? 
Esther  iii.  Was  not  Elias  accused  to  be  the  troubler  of  Israel,  and  Jere- 
miah the  trumpet  of  rebellion  ;  the  Baptist  a  stirrer  up  of  sedition,  and 
Paul  a  pestilent  incendiary  ?4  Were  not  the  apostles  generally  accounted 
deceivers  and  deluders  of  the  people,  and  the  offscouring  of  the  world  ? 
&c.  Athanasius  and  Eustathius  were  falsely  accused  of  adultery.5  He- 
resy and  treason  were  charged  upon  Cranmer,  parricide  upon  Philpot, 
sedition  upon  Latimer.  As  the  primitive  persecutors  usually  put  Chris- 
ti.ms  into  bears'  skins  and  dogs'  skins,  and  then  baited  them  ;6  so  they 
usually  loaded  their  names  and  persons  with  all  the  reproach,  scorn, 
contempt,  and  false  reports  imaginable,  and  then  baited  them,  and  then 
acted  all  their  malice  and  cruelty  upon  them.  I  think  there  is  no  Chris- 
tian, but  sooner  or  later,  first  or  last,  will  have  cause  to  say  with  David, 
Ps.  xxxv.  11,  'False  witnesses  did  rise  up;  they  laid  to  my  charge 

1  Another  reminiscence  by  our  Puritan  of  Shakespeare's,  '  Who  steals  my  purse  steals 
trash,'  &c— Othello  III.  3.— G.  *  '  Soldered.— G. 

3  Mat.  v.  10-12  ;  1  Peter  iii.  14  ;  Ps.  Ixix.  7  ;  Gen.  xxxix.  13,  14  ;  Ps.  Iii.  1,  2  ;  2  Sam. 
iii.    11,  12;  vi.  13-16;  Jer.  li.  51. 

4  Jer.  xx.  7-9 ;  Rom.  iii.  8  ;  2  Cor.  vi.  8  ;  1  Cor.  iv.  12,  13. 

6  Act.  and  Mon.  [Foxe. — G.]  , 

6  As  Tertullian,  Minutius  Felix,  and  others  declare.  [Cf.  Clarke's  '  Martyrologie,'  as 
before,  with  quaiut  illustrations  to  as  quaint  a  text G.  | 


PS.  XXXIX.  9.]  UNDER  THE  SMARTING  ROD.  381 

things  that  I  knew  not ;'  they  charged  me  with  such  things  whereof  I 
was  both  innocent  and  ignorant.  It  was  the  saying  of  one  [Hippias], 
that  there  was  nothing  so  intolerable  as  accusation,  because  there  was 
no  punishment  ordained  by  law  for  accusers,  as  there  was  for  thieves, 
although  they  stole  friendship  from  men,  which  is  the  goodliest  riches 
men  can  have.  Well !  Christians,  seeing  it  hath  been  the  lot  of  the 
dearest  saints  to  be  falsely  accused,  and  to  have  their  names  and  reputes 
in  the  world  reproached  and  fly-blown,  do  you  hold  your  peace,  seeing 
it  is  no  worse  with  you  than  it  was  with  them,  '  of  whom  this  world  was 
not  worthy.'  The  Rabbins  say  [Kimchi],  that  the  world  cannot  subsist 
without  patient  bearing  of  reproaches.     But, 

(4.)  Fourthly,  Our  Lord  Jesus  Christ  was  sadly  reproached  and 
falsely  accused.  His  precious  name,  that  deserves  to  be  always  writ 
in  characters  of  gold,  as  the  Persians  usually  writ  their  king's,  was  often 
eclipsed  before  the  sun  was  eclipsed  at  his  death.  His  sweet  name,  that 
was  sweeter  than  all  sweets,  was  often  crucified  before  his  body.  Oh, 
the  stones  of  reproach  that  were  frequently  rolled  upon  that  name  by 
which  we  must  be  saved,  if  ever  we  are  saved  !  Oh,  the  jeers,  the  scoffs, 
the  scorns  that  were  cast  upon  that  name  that  can  only  bless  us  !  The 
name  of  Jesus,  saith  Chrysostom,  hath  a  thousand  treasures  of  joy  and 
comfort  in  it.  The  name  of  a  Saviour,  saith  Bernard,  is  honey  in  the 
mouth,  and  music  in  the  ear,  and  a  jubilee  in  the  heart ;  and  yet  where 
is  the  heart  that  can  conceive,  or  the  tongue  that  can  express,  how  much 
dung  and  filth  hath  been  cast  upon  Christ's  name  ;  and  how  many  sharp 
arrows  of  reproach  and  scorn  hath  been,  and  daily,  yea,  hourly,  are,  shot 
by  the  world  at  Christ's  name  and  honour  ?  Such  ignominious  reproaches 
were  cast  upon  Christ  and  his  name  in  the  time  of  his  life  and  at  his 
death,  that  the  sun  did  blush,  and  masked  himself  with  a  cloud,  that  he 
might  no  longer  behold  them.1  Mat.  xi.  19,  'The  Son  of  man  came 
eating  and  drinking,  and  they  say,  Behold  a  man  gluttonous,  and  a 
winebibber,  a  friend  of  publicans  and  sinners.'  But  was  he  such  an 
one  ?  No  :  '  Wisdom  is  justified  of  her  children.'  Wisdom's  children 
will  stand  up  and  justify  her  before  all  the  world.  Mat.  xxvii.  63,  'Sir, 
we  remember  that  that  deceiver  said,  while  he  was  yet  alive,  After  three 
days,  I  will  rise  again.'  But  was  he  a  deceiver  of  the  people  ?2  No,  he 
was  the  faithful  and  true  witness,  Rev.  i.  5,  chap.  iii.  14.  John  vii.  20, 
'  The  people  answered  and  said,  Thou  hast  a  devil ;  who  goeth  about  to 
kill  thee?'  chap.  viii.  48,  '  Then  answered  the  Jews,  and  said  unto  him, 
Say  we  not  well,  that  thou  art  a  Samaritan,  and  hast  a  devil  V  chap, 
x.  20,  '  And  many  of  them  said,  He  hath  a  devil,  and  is  mad  ;  why  hear 
ye  him  V  It  was  a  wonder  of  wonders  that  the  earth  did  not  open  and 
swallow  up  these  monsters,  and  that  God  did  not  rain  hell  out  of  heaven 
upon  these  horrid  blasphemers  ;  but  their  blasphemous  assertions  were 
denied  and  disproved  by  some  of  wisdom's  children:  ver.  21,  'Others 
said,  These  are  not  the  words  of  him  that  hath  a  devil :  can  a  devil 
open  the  eyes  of  the  blind  V  The  devil  hath  no  such  power,  nor  any 
such  goodness,  as  to  create  eyes  to  him  that  was  born  blind. 

1  It  is  a  foolish  thing,  saith  Cato,  to  hope  for  life  by  another's  death.  The  world  prac- 
tically speaks  as  much  every  day. 

2  The  Greek  word  signifies  one  who  doth  profess  an  art  of  cozening  people  to  their 
faces. 


382  THE  MUTE  CHRISHAM  [Ps.  XXXIX  9. 

Will  you  yet  see  more  scorn,  dirt,  and  contempt  cast  upon  the  Lord 
of  glory?  Why,  then,  cast  your  eyes  upon  that:  Luke  xvi.  14,  'And 
the  pharisees  also,  who  were  covetous,  heard  all  these  things,  and  they 
derided  him  ;'  or  as  the  Greek  reads  it,  '  They  blew  their  noses  at  him 
in  scorn  and  derision.'1  The  pharisees  did  not  only  laugh,  fleer,  and 
jeer  at  Christ,  but  they  have  also  external  signs  of  scorn  and  derision 
in  their  countenance  and  gestures  ;  they  blew  their  noses  at  him,  they 
contemned  him  as  a  thing  of  nought.  And  in  chap.  xxv.  35,  both 
people  and  rulers  blew  their  noses  at  him ;  for  the  original  word  is  the 
same  with  that  in  the  fore-mentioned  chapter.  John  xix.  12,  he  is 
accused  for  being  an  enemy  to  Caesar.  Now,  who  can  seriously  consider 
of  the  scorn,  reproach,  and  contempt  that  hath  been  cast  upon  the  name 
and  honour  of  our  Lord  Jesus,  and  not  sit  silent  and  mute  under  all 
the  scorn  and  contempt  that  hath  been  cast  upon  his  name  or  person 
in  this  world  ? 

(5.)  Fifthly,  To  be  well  spoken  of  by  them  that  are  ill  spoken  of  by 
God,  to  be  in  favour  with  them  who  are  out  of  favour  with  God,  is 
rather  a  reproach  than  an  honour  to  a  man.     Our  Saviour  himself 
testifieth  that  in  the  church  and  nation  of  the  Jews,  they  that  had  the 
most  general  approbation  and  applause,  they  who  were  most  admired 
and  cried  up,  were  the  worst,  not  the  best,  men  ;  they  were  the  false, 
not  the  true,  prophets  :  Luke  vi.  26,  '  Woe  unto  you  when  all  men  shall 
speak  well  of  you,  for  so  did  their  fathers  to  the  false  prophets.'2    Austin 
feared  the  praises  of  good  men,  and  detested  the  praises  of  evil  men. 
I  would  not,  saith  Luther,  have  the  glory  and  fame  of  Erasmus  ;  my 
greatest  fear  is  the  praises  of  men.     Phocion  had  not  suspected  his 
speech  had  not  the  common  people  applauded  it.     Antisthenes  mis- 
trusted some  ill  in  himself  for  the  vulgar  commendations.     Socrates 
ever  suspected  that  which  passed  with  the  most  general  commendations. 
To  be  praised  of  evil  men,  said  Bion,  is  to  be  praised  for  evil  doing;  for 
the  better  they  speak  of  a  man  the  worse,  and  the  worse  the  better. 
The   Lacedaemonians  would  not  have  a  good  saying  sullied  with  a 
wicked  mouth.     A  wicked  tongue  soils  all  the  good  that  drops  into  it. 
It  is  a  mercy  to  be  delivered  from  the  praises  of  wicked  men  ;  wicked 
men's  applauses  oftentimes  become  the  saints'  reproaches.     The  heathen 
[Socrates]  could  say,  Quid  mali  feci  ?  what  evil  have  I  done,  that  this 
bad  man  commends  me.     There  is  a  truth  in  that  saying  of  Seneca, 
Recti  argumentum  est,  pessimis  displicere,  the  worst  men  are  com- 
monly most  displeased  with  that  which  is  best.     Who  can  seriously 
dwell  on  these  things,  and  not  be  mute  and  silent  under  all  the  re- 
proaches and  scorn  that  is  cast  upon  his  name  and  credit  in  this  world  ? 
(6\)  Sixthly,  There  will  come  a  day  when  the  Lord  will  wipe  off  all 
the  dust  andfdth  that  wicked  men  have  cast  upon  the  good  names  of 
//  is  people.3     There  shall  be  a  resurrection  of  names  as  well  as  of  bodies ; 
their  names  that  are  now  buried  in  the  open  sepulchres  of  evil  throats 

1  Read  this,  Mark  xv.  19  ;  Isa.  lvii.  4  ;  Mat.  xxvii.  2,  29.  [The  word  is  jg^uxr.-^ov, 
sneered  with  outward  marks  of  derision  ;  fivxrrio,  nams,  as  in  Horace,  S.  i.  6.  5,  '  Naso  sus- 
pended adunco,'  which  Brooks  probably  had  in  mind. — G.] 

*  The  tongues  of  wicked  men  are  like  the  Uuke  of  Medina  Sidonia's  sword,  that  knew 
no  difference  hetwecn  a  catholic  and  an  heretic.  The  lashes  of  lewd  tongues  is  as  impos- 
sible to  avoid  as  necessary  to  contemn. 

3  Isa.  lxv.  15,  lxi.  7 ;  Ps.  lxviii.  13  ;  Mai.  iii.  17,  18. 


Ps.  XXXIX.  9.]  UNDER  THE  SMARTING  ROD.  383 

shall  surely  rise  again.1  '  Their  innocency  shall  shine  forth  as  the  light, 
and  their  righteousness  as  the  noon-day/  Ps.  xxxvii.  6.  Though  the 
clouds  may  for  a  time  obscure  the  shining  forth  of  the  sun,  yet  the  sun 
will  shine  forth  again  as  bright  and  glorious  as  ever :  '  The  righteous 
shall  be  had  in  everlasting  remembrance,'  Ps.  cxii.  6.  Though  the  mali- 
cious slanders  and  false  accusations  of  wicked  men  may  for  a  time  cloud 
the  names  of  the  saints,  yet  those  clouds  shall  vanish,  and  their  names 
shall  appear  transparent  and  glorious.  God  will  take  that  care  of  his 
people's  good  name,  that  the  infamy,  calumnies,  and  contumelies  that 
are  cast  upon  it  shall  not  long  stick.  The  Jews  rolled  a  stone  upon 
Christ  to  keep  him  down,  that  he  might  not  rise  again,  but  an  angel 
quickly  rolls  away  the  stone,  and  in  despite  of  his  keepers,  he  rises  in 
a  glorious  triumphant  manner,  Mat.  xxviii.  2.  So  though  the  world 
may  roll  this  stone  and  that  of  reproach  and  contempt  upon  the  saints' 
good  names,  yet  God  will  roll  away  all  those  stones ;  and  their  names 
shall  have  a  glorious  resurrection  in  despite  of  men  and  devils.  That 
God  that  hath  always  one  hand  to  wipe  away  his  children's  tears  from 
their  eyes,  that  God  hath  always  another  hand  to  wipe  off  the  dust  that 
lies  upon  his  children's  names.  Wronged  innocency  shall  not  long  lie 
under  a  cloud.  Dirt  will  not  stick  long  upon  marble  nor  statues  of 
gold.  Well !  Christians,  remember  this,  the  slanders  and  reproaches 
that  are  cast  upon  you,  they  are  but  badges  of  your  innocency  and 
glory :  Job  xxxi.  35,  36,  '  If  mine  adversary  should  write  a  book  against 
me  :  surely  I  would  take  it  upon  my  shoulder,  and  bind  it  as  a  crown 
to  me/  All  reproaches  are  pearls  added  to  a  Christian's  crown.  Hence 
Austin,  Quisquis  volens  detrahit  famce  mew,  nolens  addit  mercedi 
niece,  he  that  willingly  takes  from  me  my  good  name,  unwillingly  adds 
to  my  reward  ;  and  this  Moses  knew  well  enough,  which  made  him  pre- 
fer Christ's  reproach  before  Pharaoh's  crown,  Heb.  xi.  25,  26.  That 
God  that  knows  all  his  children  by  name  will  not  suffer  their  names  to 
be  long  buried  under  the  ashes  of  reproach  and  scorn ;  and  therefore 
hold  thy  peace.  The  more  the  foot  of  pride  and  scorn  tramples  upon 
thy  name  for  the  present,  the  more  splendent  and  radiant  it  will  be,  as 
the  more  men  trample  upon  a  figure  graven  in  gold,  the  more  lustrous 
they  make  it.     Therefore  lay  thy  hand  upon  thy  mouth.     But, 

(7.)  Seventhly,  The  Lord  hath  been  a  swift  and  a  terrible  witness 
against  such  that  have  falsely  accused  his  children,  and  that  have  laded 
their  names  with  scorn,  reproach,  and  contempt,  Isa.  xli.  2  ;  Jude  15. 
Ahab  and  Jezebel,  that  suborned  false  witness  against  Naboth,  had  their 
bloods  licked  up  by  dogs,  1  Kings  xxii.  21,  22  ;  2  Kings  ix.  30.  Ama- 
ziah,  who  falsely  accused  the  prophet  Amos  to  the  king,  met  with  this 
message  from  the  Lord  :  '  Thy  wife  shall  be  an  harlot  in  the  city,  thy  , 
sons  and  daughters  shall  fall  by  the  sword,  and  thy  land  shall  be  divided 
by  line  ;  thou  shalt  die  in  a  polluted  land,'  Amos  vii.  17.  Haman,  who 
falsely  accused  the  Jews,  was  one  day  feasted  with  the  king,  and  the 
next  day  made  a  feast  for  crows,  Esth.  vii.  10,  ix.  10.  The  envious 
courtiers,  who  falsely  accused  Daniel,  were  devoured  of  lions,  Dan.  vi. 
24.  Let  me  give  you  a  taste  of  the  judgments  of  God  upon  such  per- 
sons out  of  histories. 

Caiaphas  the  high-priest,  who  gathered  the  council  and  suborned  false 
1  A  reminiscence  of  Sibbes.     Cf.  Memoir,  vol.  i.  pp.  xxii,  xxiii,  and  30,  31. — G. 


38-t  THE  MUTE  CHRISTIAN  [Ps.  XXXIX.  0. 

witnesses  against  the  Lord  Jesus,  was  shortly  after  put  out  of  office, 
and  one  Jonathan  substituted  in  his  room,  whereupon  he  killed  himself. 
John  Cooper,  a  godly  man,  being  falsely  accused  in  Queen  Mary's  days, 
by  one  Grimwood,  shortly  after  the  said  Grimwood,  being  in  perfect 
health, his  bowels  suddenly  fell  out  of  his  body,and  so  he  died  miserably.1 

Narcissus,  a  godly  bishop  of  Jerusalem,  was  falsely  accused  by  three 
men  of  many  foul  matters,  who  sealed  up  with  oaths  and  imprecations 
their  false  testimonies;  but  shortly  after  that,  one  of  them,  with  his 
whole  family  and  substance,  was  burnt  with  fire  ;  another  of  them  was 
stricken  with  a  grievous  disease,  such  as  in  his  imprecation  he  had 
wished  to  himself;  the  third,  terrified  with  the  sight  of  God's  judgment 
upon  the  former,  became  very  penitent,  and  poured  out  the  grief  of  his 
heart  in  such  ahundance  of  tears,  that  thereby  he  became  blind.2 

A  wicked  wretch  [Nicephorus],  under  Commodus  the  emperor,  ac- 
cused Apollonius,  a  godly  Christian,  to  the  judges  for  certain  grievous 
crimes,  which,  when  he  could  not  prove,  he  was  adjudged  to  have  his 
legs  broken,  according  to  an  ancient  law  of  the  Romans. 

Gregory  Bradway  falsely  accused  one  Brook ;  but  shortly  after,  through 
terrors  of  conscience,  he  sought  to  cut  his  own  throat,  but  being  pre- 
vented, he  fell  mad. 

I  have  read  of  Socrates's  two  false  accusers,  how  that  the  one  was 
trodden  to  death  by  the  multitude,  and  the  other  was  forced  to  avoid 
the  like  by  a  voluntary  banishment.  I  might  produce  a  multitude  of 
other  instances,  but  let  these  suffice,  to  evidence  how  swift  and  terrible 
a  witness  God  hath  been  against  those  that  have  been  false  accusers  of 
his  people,  and  that  have  laded  their  precious  names  with  scorn  and 
reproach,  the  serious  consideration  of  which  should  make  the  accused 
and  reproached  Christian  to  sit  dumb  and  silent  before  the  Lord.3 

(8.)  Eighthly,  and  lastly,  God  himself  is  daily  reproached.  Men 
tremble  not  to  cast  scorn  and  contempt  upon  God  himself.  Sometimes 
they  charge  the  Lord  that  his  ways  are  not  equal,  that  it  is  a  wrong 
way  he  goeth  in,  Ezek.  xviii.  25,  Jer.  ii.  5,  6  ;  sometimes  they  charge 
God  with  cruelty,  '  My  punishment  is  greater  than  I  am  able  to  bear,' 
Gen.  iv.  13  ;  sometimes  they  charge  God  with  partiality  and  respect  of 
persons,  because  here  he  strokes,  and  there  he  strikes  ;  here  he  lifts  up, 
and  there  he  casts  down  ;  here  he  smiles,  and  there  he  frowns  ;  here  he 
gives  much,  and  there  he  gives  nothing ;  here  he  loves,  and  there  he 
hates;  here  he  prospers  one,  and  there  he  blasts  another:  Mai.  ii.  17, 
'  Where  is  the  God  of  judgment?'  i.e.  nowhere  ;  either  there  is  no  God 
of  judgment,  or  at  least  not  a  God  of  exact,  precise,  and  impartial  judg- 
ment, &c.4  Sometimes  they  charge  God  with  unbountifulness;  that  he 
is  a  God  that  will  set  his  people  too  hard  work,  too  much  work,  but 
will  pay  them  no  wages,  nor  give  them  no  reward  :  Mai.  iii.  14-  'Ye 
have  said,  it  is  in  vain  to  serve  God,  and  what  profit  is  it  that  we  have 
kept  his  ordinances,  and  that  we  have  walked  mournfully  before  the 
Lord  of  hosts?'  Sometimes  they  charge  God  that  he  is  a  hard  master, 
and  that  he  reaps  where  he  hath  not  sown,  aud  gathers  where  he  hath 

1  [Foxe]  Acts  and  Monuments.  2  Eusebius. 

3  For  these  references  see  BearrVs  Theatre  of  Judgment. 
*  Ps.  1.  21.     It  were  very  strange  that  I  should  please  a  world  of  men,  when  God  him- 
self doth  not  give  every  man  content. — Salv[iaii\. 


PS.  XXXIX.  9.]  UNDER  THE  SMARTING  ROD.  385 

not  strewed,  Mat.  xxv.  24,  &c.  Oh !  the  infinite  reproach  and  scorn 
that  is  every  day,  that  is  every  hour  in  the  day,  cast  upon  the  Lord, 
his  name,  his  truth,  his  ways,  his  ordinances,  his  glory  !  Alas  !  all  the 
scorn  and  contempt  that  is  cast  upon  all  the  saints  all  the  world  over, 
is  nothing  to  that  which  is  cast  upon  the  great  God  every  hour  ;  and  yet 
he  is  patient.  Ah !  how  hardly  do  most  men  think  of  God,  and  how 
hardly  do  they  speak  of  God,  and  how  unhandsomely  do  they  carry  it 
towards  God;  and  yet  he  bears.  They  that  will  not  spare  God  himself, 
his  name,  his  truth,  his  honour;  shall  we  think  it  much  that  they  spare 
not  us  or  our  names  ?  &c.  Surely  no.  Why  should  we  look  that  those 
should  give  us  good  words  that  cannot  afford  God  a  good  word  from  one 
week's  end  to  another?  yea,  from  one  year's  end  to  another?  Why 
should  we  look  that  they  should  cry  out  '  Hosanna,  hosanna!'  to  us, 
whenas  every  day  they  cry  out  of  Christ,  '  Crucify  him,  crucify  him  !' 
Mat.  x.  25,  '  It  is  enough  for  the  disciple  that  he  be  as  his  master,  and 
the  servant  as  his  lord  ;  if  they  have  called  the  master  of  the  house 
Beelzebub '  (or  a  master-fly,  or  a  dunghill  god,  or  the  chief  devil),  '  how 
much  more  shall  they  call  them  of  his  household!'  It  is  preferment 
enough  for  the  servant  to  be  as  his  Lord  ;  and  if  they  make  no  bones  of 
staining  and  blaspheming  the  name  of  the  Lord,  never  wonder  if  they 
fly-blow  thy  name.  And  let  this  suffice  to  quiet  and  silence  your  hearts, 
Christians,  under  all  that  scorn  and  contempt  that  is  cast  upon  your 
names  and  reputations  in  this  world. 

The  tenth  and  last  objection  is  this, 

Obj.  10.  Sir,  In  this  my  affliction  I  have  sought  to  the  Lord  for  this 
and  that  mercy,  and  still  God  delays  me,  and  puts  me  off ;  I  have 
several  times  thought  that  mercy  had  been  near,  that  deliverance  had 
been  at  the  door,  but  now  I  see  it  is  afar  off;  how  can  I  then  hold  my 
peace  ?  How  can  I  be  silent  under  such  delays  and  disappointments  ? 
To  this  objection,  I  shall  give  you  these  answers. 

(1.)  First,  The  Lord  doth  not  always  time  his  answers  to  the  swift- 
ness of  his  people's  expectations.1  He  that  is  the  God  of  our  mercies, 
is  the  Lord  of  our  times.  God  hath  delayed  long  his  dearest  saints, 
times  belonging  to  him,  as  well  as  issue  :  Hab.  i.  2,  '  O  Lord,  how  long 
shall  I  cry,  and  thou  wilt  not  hear  !  even  cry  out  unto  thee  for  violence, 
and  thou  wilt  not  help  !'  Job  xix.  7,  '  Behold,  I  cry  out  of  violence,  but 
I  have  no  answer  ;  I  cry,  but  there  is  no  judgment.'  Ps.  lxix.  3,  'I  am 
weary  of  crying,  my  throat  is  dry,  mine  eyes  fail  while  I  wait  for  my 
God.'  Ps.  xl.  1 7,  '  Make  no  tarrying,  O  my  God.'  Though  God  had 
promised  him  a  crown,  a  kingdom,  yet  he  puts  him  off  from  day  to  day, 
and  for  all  his  haste  he  must  stay  for  it  till  the  set  time  is  come.  Paul 
was  delayed  so  long,  till  he  even  despaired  of  life,  and  had  the  sentence 
of  death  in  himself,  2  Cor.  i.  8,  9.  And  Joseph  was  delayed  so  long, 
till  the  irons  entered  into  his  soul,  Ps.  cv.  17-19.  So  he  delayed  long 
the  giving  in  of  comfort  to  Mr  Glover,  though  he  had  sought  him  fre- 
quently, earnestly,  and  denied  himself  to  the  death  for  Christ.2  Augus- 
tine being  under  convictions,  a  shower  of  tears  came  from  him,  and 
casting  himself  on  the  ground  under  a  fig  tree,  he  cries  out,  '  O  Lord, 

1  Ps.  lxx.  5  ;  xciv.  3.  4  ;  xiii.  1,  2  ;  Zech.  i.  12. 

2  Clarke's  '  Martyrologie,'  as  before,  pp,  463,  464. — G. 
VOL.  I.  B  b 


386  THE  MUTE  CHRISTIAN  [Ps.  XXXIX.  9. 

how  long  ?'  How  long  shall  I  say,  To-morrow,  to-morrow  ?  why  not  to- 
day, Lord,  why  not  to-day  ?  Though  Abigail  made  haste  to  prevent 
David's  fury,  and  Rahab  made  haste  to  hang  out  her  scarlet  thread; 
yet  God  doth  not  always  make  haste  to  hear  and  save  his  dearest  chil- 
dren. And  therefore  hold  thy  peace.  He  deals  no  worse  with  thee 
than  he  hath  done  by  his  dearest  jewels. 

(2.)  Secondly,  Though  the  Lord  doth  defer  and  delay  you  for  a  time, 
yet  In  will  come,  and  mercy  and  deliverance  shall  certainly  come} 
He  will  not  always  forget  the  cry  of  the  poor  :  Heb.  x.  37,  '  For  yet  a 
little,  little  while,  and  be  that  shall  come  will  come,  and  will  not 
tarry.'  Hah.  ii.  3,  '  The  vision  is  yet  for  an  appointed  time,  but  at  the 
end  it  shall  speak,  and  not  lie :  though  it  tarry,  wait  for  it.'  God 
will  come,  and  mercy  will  come  ;  though  for  the  present  thy  sun  he 
Set,  and  thy  God  seems  to  neglect  thee,  yet  thy  sun  will  rise  again,  and 
thy  God  will  answer  all  thy  prayers,  and  supply  all  thy  necessities  : 
Ps.  lxxi.  20,  21,  'Thou  which  hast  shewed  me  great  and  sore  troubles, 
shalt  quicken  me  again,  and  shalt  bring  me  up  again  from  the  depths 
of  the  earth.  Thou  shalt  increase  my  greatness  and  comfort  me  on 
every  side.'  Three  martyrs  being  brought  to  the  stake,  aud  all  bound, 
one  of  them  slips  from  under  his  chain,  to  admiration,  and  falls  down 
upon  the  ground,  and  wrestled  earnestly  with  God  for  the  sense  of  his 
love,  and  God  gave  it  in  to  him  then,  and  so  he  came  and  embraced 
the  stake,  and  died  cheerfully  a  glorious  martyr.  God  tit 'lays  him  till 
he  was  at  the  stake,  and  till  he  was  bound,  and  then  sweetly  lets  out 
himself  to  him. 

(3.)  Thirdly,  Though  God  do  delay  thee,  yet  he  doth  not  forget  thee. 
He  remembers  thee  still ;  thou  art  still  in  his  eye,  Isa.  xlix.  14?— 16,  and 
always  upon  his  heart,  Jer.  xxxi.  20.  He  can  as  soon  forget  himself,  as 
forget  his  people,  Ps.  lxxvii.  9,  10.  The  bride  shall  sooner  forget  her 
ornaments,  and  the  mother  shall  sooner  forget  her  sucking  child,  Isa. 
liv.  7-10,  and  the  wife  shall  sooner  forget  her  husband,  Isa.  lxii.  3-5, 
than  the  Lord  shall  forget  his  people.  Though  Sabinus  in  Seneca 
could  never  in  all  his  life-time  remember  those  three  names  of  Homer, 
Ulysses,  and  Achilles,  yet  God  always  knows  and  remembers  his  people 
by  name,  Gen.  viii.  1  ;  xix.  29-31  ;  1  Sam.  i.  9  ;  Jonah  iv.  9-11,  &c. 
Therefore  be  silent,  hold  thy  peace;  thy  God  hath  not  forgotten  thee, 
though  for  the  present  he  hath  delayed  thee. 

(4.)  Fourthly,  God's  time  is  always  the  bed  time  :  God  always  takes 
the  best  a nd  fdtest  seasons  to  do  us  good.  Isa.  xlix.  8,  '  Thus  saith  the 
Lord,  In  an  acceptable  time  have  I  heard  thee,  and  in  a  day  of  salva- 
tion have  I  helped  thee.'  I  could  have  heard  thee  before,  and  have 
helped  thee  before,  but  I  have  taken  the  most  acceptable  time  to  do 
both.  To  set  God  his  time  is  to  limit  him,  Ps.  lxxviii.  41  ;  it  is  to 
ourselves  above  him,  as  if  we  were  wiser  than  God.  Though  we  are 
not  wise  enough  to  improve  the  times  and  seasons  which  God  hath  set 
us,  to  Berve  and  honour  him  in,  yet  we  are  apt  to  think  that  we  are  wise 
enough  to  sel  God  his  time,  when  to  hear,  and  w  hen  to  save,  and  when 
liver.  To  circumscribe  God  to  our  time,  and  to  make  ourselves 
lords  of  time  ;  what  is  this  but  to  divest  God  of  his  royalty  and  sove- 

t.  xxxii.  36  ;  iron  hit,  Heb.  x.  37  ;  Exod.  xii.  17,  41,  42,  51. 


PS.  XXXIX.  9.]  UNDER  THE  SMARTING  ROD.  387 

reignty  of  appointing  times'?  Acts  i.  7,  xvii.  26.  It  is  but  just  and 
equal,  that  that  God  that  hath  made  time,  and  that  hath  the  sole  power 
to  appoint  and  dispose  of  time,  that  he  should  take  his  own  time  to  do 
his  people  good.  We  are  many  times  humorous,1  preposterous,  and 
hasty,  and  now  we  must  have  mercy  or  we  die,  deliverance  or  we  are 
undone  ;  but  our  impatience  will  never  help  us  to  a  mercy,  one  hour, 
one  moment,  before  the  time  that  God  hath  set.  The  best  God  will 
always  take  the  best  time  to  hand  out  mercies  to  his  people.  There  is 
no  mercy  so  fair,  so  ripe,  so  lovely,  so  beautiful,  as  that  which  God  gives 
out  in  his  own  time.  Therefore  hold  thy  peace ;  though  God  delays 
thee,  yet  be  silent,  for  there  is  no  possibility  of  wringing  a  mercy  out  of 
God's  hand,  till  the  mercy  be  ripe  for  us,  and  we  ripe  for  the  mercy, 
Eccles.  iii.  11. 

[5.]  Fifthly,  The  Lord  in  this  life  will  certainly  recompense,  and 
make  his  children  amends  for  all  the  delays  and,  put-offs  that  he  exer- 
cises them  with  in  this  world,2  as  he  did  Abraham  in  giving  him  such 
a  son  as  Isaac  was,  and  Hannah  in  giving  her  a  Samuel.  He  delayed 
Joseph  long,  but  at  length  he  changes  his  iron  fetters  into  chains  of 
gold,  his  rags  into  royal  robes,  his  stocks  into  a  chariot,  his  prison  into 
a  palace,  his  bed  of  thorns  into  a  bed  of  down,  his  reproach  into  honour, 
and  his  thirty  years  of  suffering  into  eighty  years  reigning  in  much 
grandeur  and  glory.  So  God  delayed  David  long,  but  when  his  suffer- 
ing hours  were  out,  he  is  anointed,  and  the  crown  of  Israel  is  set  upon 
his  head,  and  he  is  made  very  victorious,  very  famous  and  glorious  for 
forty  years  together,  2  Sam.  i.  Well !  Christians,  God  will  certainly  pay 
you  interest  upon  interest  for  all  the  delays  that  you  meet  with ;  and 
therefore  hold  your  peace.     But, 

[6.]  Sixthly  and  lastly,  The  Lord  never  delays  the  giving  in  of  this 
mercy,  or  that  deliverance,  or  the  other  favour,  but  wpon  great  andj 
weighty  reason  ;  and  therefore  hold  thy  peace. 

Quest.  But  what  are  the  reasons  that  God  doth  so  delay  and  put  off 
his  people  from  time  to  time,  as  we  see  he  doth  ? 

Ans.  [1.]  First,  for  the  trial  of  his  people,  and  for  the  differencing 
and  distinguishing  of  them  from  others?  As  the  furnace  tries  gold, 
so  delays  will  try  what  metal  a  Christian  is  made  of.  Delays  will  try 
both  the  truth  and  the  strength  of  a  Christian's  graces.  Delays  are  a 
Christian  touchstone,  a  lapis  Lydius,  that  will  try  what  metal  men  are 
made  of,  whether  they  be  gold  or  dross,  silver  or  tin,  whether  they  be 
sincere  or  unsound,  whether  they  be  real  or  rotten  Christians.  As  a 
father,  by  crossing  and  delaying  his  children,  tries  their  dispositions, 
and  makes  a  full  discovery  of  them,  so  that  he  can  say,  that  child  is  of 
a  muttering  and  grumbling  disposition,  and  that  it  is  of  an  humorous 
and  wayward  disposition,  but  the  rest  are  of  a  meek,  sweet,  humble,  and 
gentle  disposition  :  so  the  Lord,  by  the  delaying  and  crossing  of  his 
children,  discovers  their  different  dispositions.  The  manner  of  the 
Psylli,  which  are  a  kind  of  people  of  that  temper  and  constitution  that 
no  venom  will  hurt  them,  is,  that  if  they  suspect  any  child  to  be  none 
of  their  own,  they  set  an  adder  upon  it  to  sting  it,  and  if  it  cry,  and  the 

1  Given  to  '  humours,'  or  capricious. — G. 

2  Ps.  xc.  15,  and  the  first  and  last  chapters  of  Job  compared. 

3  Mat.  xv.  21-29  ;   I  Peter  i.  7  ;  Job  xxiii.  8-10;  Deut.  viii.  2 


388  THE  MUTE  CHRISTIAN  [Ps.  XXXIX.  9. 

flesh  swell,  they  oust  it  away  as  a  spurious  issue,  but  if  it  do  not  cry,  if 
it  do  not  so  much  as  quatch,1  nor  do  not  grow  the  worse  for  it,  then 
they  account  it  for  their  own,  and  make  very  much  of  it  ;2  so  the  Lord 
l'V  delays,  which  are  as  the  stinging  of  the  adder,  tries  his  children; 
it'  they  patiently,  quietly,  and  sweetly  can  bear  them,  then  the  Lord 
will  own  them,  and  make  much  of  them,  as  those  that  are  near  and 
dear  unto  him;  but  if  under  delays  they  fall  a-crying,  roaring,  storm- 
ing, vexing,  and  fretting,  the  Lord  will  not  own  them,  but  reckon  them 
as  bastards,  and  no  sons,  Heb.  xii.  8. 

[2.]  Secondly,  That  they  may  have  the  greater  experience  of  his 
poiver,  grace,  love,  and  mercy  in  the  clove.  Christ  loved  Martha,  and 
her  sister,  and  Lazarus,  yet  he  defers  his  coming  for  several  days,  and 
Lazarus  must  die,  be  put  in  the  grave,  and  lie  there  till  he  stinks. 
And  why  so,  but  that  they  might  have  the  greater  experience  of  his 
power,  grace,  and  love  towards  them  ?  John  xi.  3,  5,  6,  17. 

[3.]  Thirdly,  To  sharpen  his  children's  a ppet  ite,  and  to  put  a  greater 
edge  upon  their  desires  ;  to  make  them  cry  out  as  a  woman  in  travail, 
or  as  a  man  that  is  in  danger  of  drowning,  Cant.  iii.  1-4  ;  Isa.  xxvi. 
8,  9,  16.  God  delays,  that  his  people  may  set  upon  him  with  greater 
strength  and  importunity  ;  he  puts  them  off,  that  they  may  put  on  with 
more  life  and  vigour ;  God  seems  to  be  cold,  that  he  may  make  us  the 
more  hot;  he  seems  to  be  slack,  that  he  may  make  us  the  more  earnest; 
he  seems  to  be  backward,  that  he  may  make  us  the  more  forward  in 
pressing  upon  him.  The  father  delays  the  child,  that  he  may  make 
him  the  more  eager,  and  so  doth  God  his,  that  he  may  make  them  the 
more  divinely  violent.  When  Balaam  had  once  put  off  Balak,  'he  sent 
again,'  saith  the  text,  'certain  princes  more,  and  more  honourable  than 
they/  Num.  xxii.  15.  Balaam's  put-offs  did  but  make  Balak  the  more 
importunate,  it  did  but  increase  and  whet  his  desires.  This  is  that  that 
God  aims  at  by  all  his  put-offs,  to  make  his  children  more  earnest,  to 
whet  up  their  spirits,  and  that  they  may  send  up  more  and  yet  more 
honourable  prayers  after  him,  that  they  may  cry  more  earnestly,  strive 
more  mightily,  and  wrestle  more  importunately  with  God,  and  that 
they  may  take  heaven  with  a  more  sacred  violence.  Anglers  draw  back 
the  hook,  that  the  fish  may  be  the  more  forward  to  bite  ;  and  God 
sometimes  seems  to  draw  back,  but  it  is  only  that  we  may  press  the 
more  on.  And  therefore,  as  anglers,  when  they  have  long  waited,  and 
perceive  that  the  fish  do  not  so  much  as  nibble  at  the  bait,  yet  do  they 
not  impatiently  throw  away  the  rod,  or  break  the  hook  and  line,  but 
pull  up,  and  look  upon  the  bait  and  mend  it,  and  so  throw  it  in  again, 
and  then  the  fish  bites  :  so  when  a  Christian  prays,  and  prays,  and  yet 
catches  nothing,  God  seems  to  be  silent,  and  heaven  seems  to  be  shut 
against  him  ;  yet  let  him  not  east  off  prayer,  but  mend  his  prayer;  pray 
more  believingly,  pray  more  affectionately,  and  pray  more  fervently,  ami 
then  the  fish  will  bite,  then  mercy  will  come,  and  comfort  will  come, 
and  deliverance  will  come.      But, 

[4.]  Fourthly,  Ood  delays  am/  puts  off  his  people  many  limes,  that 
he  may  make  a  fuller  discovery  of  themselves  to  themselves.     Few 

-  Betray,'  viz   the  pain  suffered. — G. 
-  Pliny,  lib.  vii.  2.     Cf.  also  Luoan,  Pharaalia,  lib.  ix.  1.  890,  et  seq. ;  and  (Elian,  Hist. 
Am  m,  lib.  i.  c.  57,  and  lib.  xvi.  c.  27,  28. — (i. 


PS.  XXXIX.  9.]  UNDER  THE  SMARTING  ROD.  389 

Christians  see  themselves  and  understand  themselves.  By  delays 
God  discovers  much  of  a  man's  sinful  self  to  his  religious  self ;  much  of 
his  worser  part  to  his  better  part,  of  his  ignoble  part  to  his  most  noble 
part.  When  the  fire  is  put  under  the  pot,  then  the  scum  appears  ;  so 
when  God  delays  a  poor  soul,  Oh !  how  doth  the  scum  of  pride,  the 
scum  of  murmuring,  the  scum  of  quarrelling,  the  scum  of  distrust,  the 
scum  of  impatience,  the  scum  of  despair,  discover  itself  in  the  heart  of 
a  poor  creature  ?  Ezek.  xxiv.  6.  I  have  read  of  a  fool,  who  being  left 
in  a  chamber,  and  the  door  locked  when  he  was  asleep  ;  after  he  awakes, 
and  finds  the  door  fast  and  all  the  people  gone,  he  cries  out  at  the  win- 
dow, 0  myself,  myself,  O  myself !  So  when  God  shuts  the  door  upon 
his  people,  when  he  delays  them,  and  puts  them  off,  Ah  !  what  cause 
have  they  to  cry  out  of  themselves,  to  cry  out  of  proud  self,  and  worldly 
self,  and  carnal  self,  and  foolish  self,  and  froward  self,  &c.  ?  We  are  very 
apt,  saith  Seneca,  utimur  perspicillis  magis  quam  speculis,  to  use 
spectacles  to  behold  other  men's  faults,  rather  than  looking-glasses  to 
behold  our  own  ;  but  now  God's  delays  are  as  a  looking-glass,  in  which 
God  gives  his  people  to  see  their  own  faults,  Ps.  lxxiii.  11,  12.  Oh  ! 
that  baseness,  that  vileness,  that  wretchedness,  that  sink  of  filthiness, 
that  gulf  of  wickedness,  that  God  by  delays  discovers  to  be  m  the  hearts 
of  men !     But, 

[5.]  Fifthly,  God  delays  and  puts  off  his  people  to  enhance,  to 
raise  the  price  of  mercy,  the  price  of  deliverance.  We  usually  set  the 
highest  price,  the  greatest  esteem  upon  such  things  that  we  obtain  with 
greatest  difficulty.  What  we  dearly  buy,  that  we  highly  prize,  Acts 
xxi.  8,  Cant.  iii.  4.  The  more  sighs,  tears,  weepings,  waitings,  watch- 
ings,  strivings,  and  earnest  longings,  this  mercy  and  that  deliverance, 
and  the  other  favour  costs  us,  the  more  highly  we  shall  value  them. 
When  a  delayed  mercy  comes,  it  tastes  more  like  a  mercy,  it  sticks 
more  like  a  mercy,  it  warms  more  like  a  mercy,  works  more  like  a 
mercy,  and  it  endears  the  heart  to  God  more  like  a  mercy  than  any 
other  mercy  that  a  man  enjoys. 

This  is  the  child,  said  Hannah, — after  God  had  long  delayed  her, — for 
which  I  prayed,  and  the  Lord  hath  given  me  my  petition  which  I  asked 
of  him,  1  Sam.  i.  27.  Delayed  mercy  is  the  cream  of  mercy  ;  no  mercy 
so  sweet,  so  dear,  so  precious  to  a  man,  as  that  which  a  man  hath  gained 
after  many  put-offs.  Mr  Glover,  the  martyr,  sought  the  Lord  earnestly 
and  frequently  for  some  special  mercies,  and  the  Lord  delayed  him 
long ;  but  when  he  was  even  at  the  stake,  then  the  Lord  gave  in  the 
mercies  to  him  ;  and  then,  as  a  man  overjoyed,  he  cries  out  to  his  friend, 
'  He  is  come,  he  is  come.'1     But, 

[6  ]  Sixthly,  The  Lord  delays  his  people,  that  he  may  pay  them  home 
in  his  oivn  coin.  God  sometimes  loves  to  retaliate,  Prov.  i.  23,  33. 
The  spouse  puts  off  Christ :  Cant.  v.  3,  'I  have  put  off  my  coat,  how 
can  I  put  it  on  ?'  &c. ;  and  Christ  puts  her  off,  ver.  5-8.  Thou  hast  put 
off  God  from  day  to  day,  from  month  to  month,  yea,  from  year  to  year; 
and  therefore,  if  God  put  thee  off  from  day  to  day,  or  from  year  to  year, 
hast  thou  any  cause  to  complain  1  Surely  no.  Thou  hast  often  and 
long  put  off  the  motions  of  his  Spirit,  the  directions  of  his  word,  the 
offers  of  his  grace,  the  entreaties  of  his  Son  ;  and  therefore  what  can  be 

1  See  ante. — G. 


390  THE  MUTE  CHRISTIAN  [Ps.  XXXIX.  9. 

more  just  than  that  God  should  delay  thee  for  a  time,  aDd  put  thee  off 
for  a  season,  who  hast  delayed  him.  and  put  off  him  days  without  num- 
ber ?  Jf  God  serves  thee  as  thou  hast  often  served  him,  thou  hast  no 
reason  to  complain.     But, 

[7.]  Seventhly,  and  lastly,  The  Lord  delays  his  people,  that  heaven 
may  he  the  more  sweet  to  them  at  last.  Here  they  meet  with  many 
delays  and  with  many  put-offs  ;  but  in  heaven  they  shall  never  meet 
with  "'lie  put-off,  with  one  delay  ;  here  many  times  they  call  and  cry, 
and  can  get  no  answer  ;  here  they  knock  and  bounce,1  and  yet  the  door 
of  grace  and  mercy  opens  not  to  them  ;  but  in  heaven  they  shall  have 
mercy  at  the  first  word,  at  the  first  knock.  There,  whatever  heart  can 
wish  shall  without  delay  be  enjoined.2  Here  God  seems  to  say  some- 
times, Souls!  you  have  mistaken  the  door,  or  I  am  not  at  leisure,  or 
others  must  be  served  before  you,  or  come  some  other  time,  &c.  But  in 
heaven  God  is  always  at  leisure,  and  all  the  sweetness  and  blessedness 
and  happiness  of  that  state  presents  itself  every  hour  to  the  soul  there. 
God  hath  never,  God  will  never,  say  to  any  of  his  saints  in  heaven,  Come 
to-morrow.  Such  language  the  saints  sometimes  hear  here,  but  such 
language  is  noway  suitable  to  a  glorified  condition  ;  and  therefore, 
seeing  that  the  Lord  never  delays  his  people,  but  upon  great  and 
weighty  accounts,  let  his  people  be  silent  before  him,  let  them  not 
mutter  nor  murmur,  but  be  mute.  And  so  I  have  done  with  the  objec- 
tions. 

I  shalljcome  now  in  the  last  place  to  propound  some  helps  and  direc- 
tions  that  may  contribute  to  the  silencing  and  stilling  of  your  souls 
under  the  greatest  afflictions,  the  sharpest  trials,  and  the  saddest  pro- 
vidences that  you  meet  with  in  this  world  ;  and  so  close  up  this  dis- 
course. 

(1.)  First,  All  the  afflictions  that  come  upon  the  saints,  they  are  the 
fruits  of  divine  love  :3  Rev.  iii.  19,  'As  many  as  I  love,  I  rebuke  and 
chasten  :  be  zealous  therefore,  and  repent ;'  Heb.  xii.  6,  '  For  whom  the 
Lord  loveth  he  chasteneth,  and  scourgeth  every  son  whom  he  receiveth;' 
Job  v.  17,  'Behold!  happy  is  the  man  whom  God  correcteth  ;  therefore 
despise  not  thou  the  chastening  of  the  Almighty;'  chap.  vii.  17,  18, 
'  What  is  man,  that  thou  shouldest  magnify  him  ?  and  that  thou 
shouldest  set  thine  heart  upon  him  ?  And  that  thou  shouldest  visit 
him  every  morning,  and  try  him  every  moment  ?'  Isa.  xlviii.  10,  'Be- 
hold, I  have  refined  thee,  but  not  with  silver ;  I  have  chosen  thee  in 
the  furnace  of  affliction.'  When  Munster  lay  sick,  and  his  friends  asked 
him  how  he  did,  and  how  he  felt  himself,  he  pointed  to  his  sores  and 
ulcers,  whereof  he  was  full  and  said,  These  are  God's  gems  and  jewels 
wherewith  he  decketh  his  best  friends,  and  to  me  they  are  more  precious 
than  all  the  gold  and  silver  in  the  world.  A  gentleman  highly  prizes 
his  hawk,  he  feeds  her  with  his  own  hand,  he  carries  her  upon  his  fist, 
lie  takes  a  great  deal  of  delight  and  pleasure  in  her ;  and  therefore  he 
[nits  vervels  upon  her  legs,  and  a  hood  upon  her  head  ;  he  hoodwinks 
her,  and  fetters  her,  because  he  loves  her,  and  takes  delight  in  her  ;  BO 
the  Lord  by  afflictions  hoodwinks  and  fetters  his  children,  but  all  is 
because  he  loves  them,  and  takes  delight  ami  pleasure  in  them.  There 
■  iiinnt  be  agreater  evidence  of  God's  hatred  and  wrath,  than  his  refusing 
1  '  Swell,'  boast.— G.  2  Qu.  «  enjoyed  '?— Ed.  3  Prov.  ii.  12,  Jer.  x.  7. 


PS.  XXXIX.  9.]  UNDER  THE  SMARTING  ROD.  391 

to  correct  men  for  their  sinful  courses  and  vanities.  .  '  Why  should  you 
be  smitten  any  more  ?  you  will  revolt  more  and  more,'  Isa.  i.  5.  Where 
God  refuses  to  correct,  there  God  resolves  to  destroy ;  there  is  no  man 
so  near  the  axe,  so  near  the  flames,  so  near  hell,  as  he  whom  God  will 
not  so  much  as  spend  a  rod  upon.  God  is  most  angry  where  he  shews 
no  anger.  Jerome,  writing  to  a  sick  friend,  hath  this  expression,  I 
account  it  a  part  of  unhappinesss  not  to  know  adversity;  I  judge  you  to 
be  miserable,  because  you  have  not  been  miserable.  Nothing,  saith 
another  [Demetrius],  seems  more  unhappy  to  me,  than  he  to  whom  no 
adversity  hath  happened.1  God  afflicts  thee,  O  Christian,  in  love  ;  and 
therefore  Luther  cries  out,  Strike,  Lord  ;  strike,  Lord,  and  spare  not. 
Who  can  seriously  muse  upon  this,  and  not  hold  his  peace,  and  not  be 
silent  under  the  most  smarting  rod  ? 

(2.)  Secondly,  Consider,  that  the  trials  and  troubles,  the  calamities 
and  miseries,  the  crosses  and  losses  that  you  meet  with  in  this  vjorld, 
is  all  the  hell  that  ever  you  shall  have.  Here  you  have  your  hell ;  here- 
after you  shall  have  your  heaven.  This  is  the  worst  of  your  condition, 
the  best  is  to  come.  Lazarus  had  his  hell  first,  his  heaven  last ;  but 
Dives  had  his  heaven  first,  and  his  hell  at  last,  Luke  xvi.  24-31.  Thou 
hast  all  thy  pangs,  and  pains,  and  throes  here  that  ever  thou  shaft 
have  ;  thy  ease,  and  rest,  and  pleasure  is  to  come.  Here  you  have  all 
your  bitter,  your  sweet  is  to  come ;  here  you  have  your  sorrows,  your 
joys  are  to  come  ;  here  you  have  all  your  winter  nights,  your  summer 
days  are  to  come  ;  here  you  have  your  passion-week,  your  ascension-day 
is  to  come  ;  here  you  have  your  evil  things,  your  good  things  are  to 
come.  Death  will  put  a  period  to  all  thy  sins,  and  to  all  thy  sufferings  ; 
and  it  will  be  an  inlet  to  those  joys,  delights,  and  contents  that  shall 
never  have  end ;  and  therefore  hold  thy  peace,  and  be  silent  before  the 
Lord.2 

(3.)  Thirdly,  Get  an  assurance  that  Christ  is  yours,  and  pardon  of 
■sin  yours,  and  divine  favour  yours,  and  heaven  yours  ;  and  the  sense 
of  this  will  exceedingly  quiet  and  silence  the  soul  under  the  sorest  and 
■sharpest  trials  a  Christian  can  meet  with  in  this  world,.  He  that  is 
assured  that  God  is  his  portion,  will  never  mutter  nor  murmur  under 
his  greatest  burden  ;  he  that  can  groundedly  say,  '  Nothing  shall  sepa- 
rate me  from  the  love  of  God  in  Christ,'  he  will  be  able  to  triumph  in 
the  midst  of  the  greatest  tribulations,  Rom.  viii.  33-39  ;  he  that  with 
the  spouse  can  say,  '  My  beloved  is  mine,  and  I  am  his,'  Cant.  ii.  1G, 
will  bear  up  quietly  and  sweetly  under  the  heaviest  afflictions.  In  the 
time  of  the  Marian  persecution  there  was  a  gracious  woman,  who  being 
convened  before  bloody  Bonner,  then  bishop  of  London,  upon  the  trial 
of  religion,  he  threatened  her  that  he  would  take  away  her  husband 
from  her.  Saith  she,  Christ  is  my  husband.  I  will  take  away  thy 
child.  Christ,  saith  she,  is  better  to  me  than  ten  sons.  I  will  strip 
thee,  saith  he,  of  all  thy  outward  comforts.  Yea,  but  Christ  is  mine, 
saith  she,  and  you  cannot  strip  me  of  him.  Oh !  the  assurance  that 
Christ  was  hers  bore  up  her  heart,  and  quieted  her  spirit  under  all.3 

• 

1  Nihil  est  infeliciua  co  cui  nil  unquam  contigit  adversi. — Seneca.  [De  Providentia. — G.] 

2  See  my  treatise  called  '  Heaven  on  Earth.'     [In  Vol.  II.  of  these  "Works. — G.] 

8  [Foxe]  Act.  and  Mon.  So  John  Noyes,  Alice  Driver,  Mr  Bradford,  Mr  Taylor,  and 
Justin  Martyr,  with  many  more, 


392  THE  MUTE  CHRISTIAN  [Ps.  XXXIX.  !•. 

You  may  take  away  my  life,  saith  Basil,  but  you  cannot  take  away  my 
comfort ;  my  head,  but  not  my  crown.  Yea,  quoth  he,  had  I  a  thousand 
lives,  I  would  lay  them  all  down  for  my  Saviour's  sake,  who  hath  done 
abundantly  more  for  me.  John  Ardley  professed  to  Bonner,  when  he 
told  him  of  burning,  and  how  ill  he  could  endure  it,  that  if  he  had  as 
many  lives  as  he  had  hairs  on  his  head,  he  would  lose  them  all  in  the 
fire  before  he  would  lose  his  Christ.1  Assurance  will  keep  a  man  from 
muttering  and  murmuring  under  the  sorest  afflictions.  Henry  and 
John,  two  Augustine  monks,  being  the  first  that  were  burnt  in  Ger- 
many, and  Mr  Rogers,  the  first  that  was  burnt  in  Queen  Mary's  days, 
did  all  sing  in  the  flame.  A  soul  that  lives  in  the  assurance  of  divine 
favour,  and  in  its  title  to  glory,  cannot  but  bear  up  patiently  and  quietly 
under  the  greatest  sufferings  that  possibly  can  befall  it  in  this  world. 
That  scripture  is  worth  its  weight  in  gold,  '  The  inhabitants  of  Sion 
shall  not  say,  I  am  sick;  the  people  that  dwell  therein  shall  be  forgiven 
their  iniquity,'  Isa.  xxxiii.  24.  He  doth  not  say  they  were  not  sick. 
No.  But  though  they  were  sick,  yet  they  should  not  say  they  were  sick. 
But  why  shoiild  they  forget  their  sorrows,  and  not  remember  their  pains, 
nor  be  sensible  of  their  sickness  ?  Why !  the  reason  is,  because  the  Lord 
had  forgiven  them  their  iniquities.  The  sense  of  pardon  took  away  the 
sense  of  pain  ;  the  sense  of  forgiveness  took  away  the  sense  of  sickness. 
Assurance  of  pardon  will  take  away  the  pain,  the  sting,  the  trouble  of 
every  trouble  and  affliction  that  a  Christian  meets  with.  No  affliction 
will  daunt,  startle,  or  stagger  an  assured  Christian.  An  assured  Chris- 
tian will  be  patient  and  silent  under  all,  Ps.  xxiii.  1,  4-7.  Melancthon 
makes  mention  of  a  godly  woman,  who,  having  upon  her  deathbed 
been  in  much  conflict,  and  afterward  much  comforted,  brake  out  into 
these  words :  Now,  and  not  till  now,  I  understand  the  meaning  of  these 
words,  '  Thy  sins  are  forgiven ;'  the  sense  of  which  did  mightily  cheer 
and  quiet  her.  He  that  hath  got  this  jewel  of  assurance  in  his  bosom, 
will  be  far  enough  off  from  vexing  or  fretting  under  the  saddest  dispen- 
sations that  he  meets  with  in  this  world. 

(4.)  Fourthly,  If  you  would  be  quiet  and  silent  under  your  present 
troubles  and  trials,  then  dwell  much  upon  the  benefit,  the  profit,  the 
advantage  that  hath  redounded  to  your  souls  by  former  troubles  and 
afflictions  that  have  been  upon  you.2  Eccles.  vii.  14,  '  In  the  day  of 
adversity  consider.'  Oh  !  now  consider,  how  by  former  afflictions  the 
Lord  hath  discovered  sin,  prevented  sin,  and  mortified  sin  :  consider 
how  the  Lord  by  former  afflictions  hath  discovered  to  thee  the  impo- 
tency,  the  mutability,  the  insufficiency,  and  the  vanity  of  the  world, 
and  all  worldly  concernments  :  consider  how  the  Lord  by  former  afflic- 
tions hath  melted  thy  heart,  and  broken  thy  heart,  and  humbled  thy 
heart,  and  prepared  thy  heart  for  clearer,  fuller,  and  sweeter  enjoyments 
of  himself :  consider  what  pity,  what  compassion,  what  bowels,  what 
tenderness,  and  what  sweetness  former  afflictions  have  wrought  in  thee 
towards  others  in  misery :  consider  what  room  former  afflictions  have 
made  in  thy  soul  for  God,  for  his  word,  for  good  counsel,  and  for  divine 

1  Clarke's  '  Martyrologio,'  as  before,  pp.  452,  453. — G. 

•  There  was  a  good  man  that  had  got  so  much  good  by  his  afflictions,  that  he  counted 
it  his  greatest  affliction  to  want  an  affliction  ;  and  therefore  he  would  sometimes  cry 
out,  0  my  friends,  I  have  lost  an  affliction,  I  have  lost  au  affliction  ! 


PS.  XXXIX.  9.]  UNDER  THE  SMARTING  ROD.  393 

comfort :  consider  how  by  former  afflictions  the  Lord  hath  made  thee 
more  partaker  of  his  Christ,  his  Spirit,  -his  holiness,  his  goodness,  &c. : 
consider  how  by  former  afflictions  the  Lord  hath  made  thee  to  look  towards 
heaven  more,  to  mind  heaven  more,  to  prize  heaven  more,  and  to  long 
for  heaven  more,  &c.  Now,  who  can  seriously  consider  of  all  that  good 
that  he  hath  got  by  former  afflictions,  and  not  be  silent  under  present 
afflictions  ?  Who  can  remember  those  choice,  those  great,  and  those 
precious  earnings  that  his  soul  hath  made  of  former  afflictions,  and  not 
reason  himself  into  a  holy  silence  under  present  afflictions  thus :  O 
my  soul !  hath  not  God  done  thee  much  .good,  great  good,  special  good, 
by  former  afflictions  ?  Yes.  O  my  soul !  hath  not  God  done  that 
for  thee  by  former  afflictions,  that  thou  wouldst  not  have  to  do  for  ten 
thousand  worlds  ?  Yes.  And  is  not  God,  O  my  soul !  as  powerful  as 
ever,  as  faithful  as  ever,  as  gracious  as  ever,  and  as  ready  and  willing  as 
ever  to  do  thee  good  by  present  afflictions,  as  he  hath  been  to  do  thee 
good  by  former  afflictions  ?  Yes,  yes.  Why,  why  then  dost  thou  not 
sit  silent  and  mute  before  him  under  thy  present  troubles?  0  my 
soul !  It  was  the  saying  of  one,  that  an  excellent  memory  was  needful 
for  three  sorts  of  men  :  First,  for  tradesmen  ;  for  they,  having  many  busi- 
nesses to  do,  many  reckonings  to  make  up,  many  irons  in  the  fire,  had 
need  of  a  good  memory.  Secondly,  great  talkers  ;  for  they,  being  full 
of  words,  had  need  to  have  a  good  storehouse  in  their  heads  to  feed 
their  tongues.  Thirdly,  for  liars ;  for  they  telling  many  untruths,  had 
need  of  a  good  memory,  lest  they  should  be  taken  in  their  lying  con- 
tradictions :  and  I  may  add  for  a  fourth,  viz.,  those  that  are  afflicted, 
that  they  may  remember  the  great  good  that  they  have  gained  by 
former  afflictions,  that  so  they  may  be  the  more  silent  and  quiet  under 
present  troubles. 

(5.)  Fifthly,  To  quiet  and  silence  your  souls  under  the  sorest  afflic- 
tions and  sharpest  trials,  consider,  that  your  choicest,  your  chief  est  trea- 
sure is  safe ;  your  God  is  safe,  your  Christ  is  safe,  your  portion  is 
safe,  your  crown  is  safe,  your  inheritance  is  safe,  your  royal  palace  is 
safe,  and  your  jewels,  your  graces  are  safe  ;  therefore  hold  your  peace, 
2  Tim.  i.  12  ;  iv.  8. 

I  have  read  a  story  of  a  man  that  had  a  suit,  and  when  his  cause 
was  to  be  heard,  he  applied  himself  to  three  friends,  to  see  what  they 
could  do  for  him  :  one  answered,  he  would  bring  him  as  far  on  his 
journey  as  he  could  ;  the  second  promised  him  that  he  would  go  with 
him  to  his  journey's  end ;  the  third  engaged  himself  to  go  with  him 
before  the  judge,  and  to  speak  for  him,  and  not  to  leave  him  till  his 
cause  was  heard  and  determined.  These  three  are  a  man's  riches, 
his  friends,  and  his  graces.  His  riches  will  help  him  to  comfortable 
accommodations  while  they  stay  with  him,  but  they  often  take  leave  of 
a  man  before  his  soul  takes  leave  of  his  body.  His  friends  will  go  with 
him  to  his  grave,  and  then  leave  him ;  but  his  graces  will  accompany 
him  before  God,  they  will  not  leave  him  nor  forsake  him  ;  they  will  go 
to  the  grave,  to  glory,  with  him,  1  Tim.  vi.  18,  19. 

In  that  famous  battle  at  Leuctrum,1  where  the  Thebans  got  a  signal 
victory,  but  their  captain,  Epaminondas,  a  little  before  his  death, 
demanded  whether  his  buckler  were  taken  by  the  enemy,  and  when  he 
1  Rather  Leuctra,  and  to  be  distinguished  from  Leuctrum. — G. 


394  THE  MUTE  CHRISTIAN  [Ps.  XXXIX.  9. 

understood  thai  it  was  safe,  and  that  they  had  not  so  much  as  laid  their 
hands  on  it,  he  died  most  willingly,  cheerfully,  and  quietly.  Well ! 
(  "nristians,  your  shield  of  faith  is  safe,  your  portion  is  aafe,  your  royal 
robe  is  safe,  your  kingdom  is  safe,  your  heaven  is  safe,  your  happiness 
and  blessedness  is  safe;  and  therefore  under  all  your  afflictions  and 
troubles,  in  patience  possess  your  own  souls.     But, 

Sixthly,  It'you  would  be  silent  and  quiet  under  your  sorest  troubles 
and  trials,  then  set  yourselves  in  good  earnest  upon  the  rnortifioation 
of  your  last*.1  It  is  unmortified  lust  which  is  the  sting  of  every  trouble, 
and  which  makes  every  sweet  bitter,  and  every  bitter  more  bitter.  Sin 
unmortified  adds  weight  to  every  burden,  it  puts  gall  to  our  wormwood, 
it  adds  chain  to  chain  ;  it  makes  the  bed  uneasy,  the  chamber  a  prison, 
relaxations  troublesome,  and  everything  vexatious  to  the  soul.  James 
iv.  1,  'From  whenee  come  wars  and  fightings  amongst  you?  come  they 
not  hence,  even  of  your  lusts,  that  war  in  your  members?'  So  say  1, 
from  whence  comes  all  this  muttering,  murmuring,  fretting,  and  vexing, 
&c.,  come  they  not  hence,  even  from  your  unmortified  lusts?  Come  they 
not  from  your  unmortified  pride,  and  unmortified  self-love,  and  unmor- 
tified unbelief,  and  unmortified  passion,  &c.  ?  Surely  they  do.  Oh, 
therefore,  as  ever  you  would  be  silent  under  the  afflicting  hand  of  God, 
labour  for  more  and  more  of  the  grace  of  the  Spirit,  by  which  you  may 
mortify  the  lusts  of  the  flesh,  Rom.  viii.  13.  It  is  not  your  strongest 
resolutions  or  purposes,  without  the  grace  of  the  Spirit,  that  can  over- 
master a  lust.  A  soul-sore,  till  it  be  indeed  healed,  will  run,  though 
we  resolve  and  say  it  shall  not  be.  It  was  the  blood  of  the  sacrifice, 
and  the  oil,  that  cleansed  the  leper  in  the  law  ;  and  that  by  them  was 
meant  the  boood  of  Christ  and  the  grace  of  his  Spirit,  is  agreed  on  all 
hands,  Lev.  xiv.  14-16.  It  was  a  touch  of  Christ's  garment  that  cured 
the  woman  of  her  bloody  issue,  Mark  v.  25,  et  seq.  Philosophy,  saitfa 
Lactantius,  may  hide  a  sin,  but  it  cannot  quench  it ;  it  may  cover 
a  sin,  but  it  cannot  cut  off  a  sin.  Like  a  black  patch  instead  of 
a  plaster,  it  may  cover  some  deformities  in  nature,  but  it  cures  them 
not ;  neither  is  it  the  papists'  purgatories,  watchings,  whippings,  ivc, 
nor  St  Francis  his  kissing  or  licking  of  lepers'  sores,  which  will  cleanse 
the  fretting  leprosy  of  sin.  In  the  strength  of  Christ,  and  in  the  power 
of  the  Spirit,  set  roundly  upon  the  mortifying  of  every  lust.  Oh,  hug 
none,  indulge  none,  but  resolvedly  set  upon  the  ruin  of  all !  One  leak 
in  a  ship  will  sink  it;  one  wound  strikes  Goliah  dead  as  well  as  three- 
and-twenty  did  Csesar ;  one  Delilah  may  do  Samson  as  much  spite  and 
mischief  as  all  the  Philistines;  one  broken  wheel  spoils  all  the  whole 
clock ;  one  vein  bleeding  will  let  out  all  the  vitals  as  well  as  more ;  one 
fly  will  spoil  a  whole  box  of  ointment ;  one  bitter  herb  all  the  pottage. 
By  eating  one  apple  Adam  lost  paradise,  one  lick  of  honey  endangered 
Jonathan's  life,  one  Achan  was  a  trouble  to  all  Israel,  one  Jonah  raises 
a  storm  and  becomes  lading  too  heavy  for  a  whole  ship  ;  so  one  unmor- 
tified lust  will  be  able  to  raise  very  strange  and  strong  storms  and  tem- 
pests  in  the  soul  in  the  days  of  affliction.  And  therefore,  as  you  would 
have  a  blessed  calm  and  quietness  in  your  own  spirits  under  your  sharp- 
est trials*  set  thoroughly  upon  the  work  of  mortification.     Gideon  had 

'  Austin  saith,  If  thou  kill  not  sin  till  it  die  of  itself,  sin  hath  killed  thee,  and  not  thou 
tliy  siu. 


PS.  XXXIX.  9.]  UNDER  THE  SMARTING  ROD.  395 

seventy  sons,  and  but  one  bastard,  and  yet  that  bastard  destroyed  all  his 
seventy  sons,  Judges  viii.  30,  31,  chap.  ix.  1,  2.  Ah,  Christian  !  dost 
thou  not  know  what  a  world  of  mischief  one  unmortified  lust  may  do  ? 
and  therefore  let  nothing  satisfy  thee  but  the  blood  of  all  thy  lusts. 

(7.)  Seventhly,  If  you  would  be  silent  under  your  greatest  afflictions, 
your  sharpest  trials,  then  make  this  consideration  your  daily  companion, 
viz.,  That  all  the  afflictions  that  come  upon  you,  come  upon  you  by 
and  through  that  covenant  of  grace  that  Goal  hath  made  vnth  you.  In 
the  covenant  of  grace,  God  hath  engaged  himself  to  keep  you  from  the 
evils,  snares,  and  temptations  of  the  world  ;  in  the  covenant  of  grace, 
God  hath  engaged  himself  to  purge  away  your  sins,  to  brighten  and 
increase  your  graces,  to  crucify  your  hearts  to  the  world,  and  to  prepare 
you  and  preserve  you  to  his  heavenly  kingdom  ;  and  by  afflictions  he 
effects  all  this,  and  that  according  to  his  covenant  too :  Ps.  lxxxix.  30-34, 
'  If  his  children  forsake  my  law,  and  walk  not  in  my  commandments  ; 
if  they  break  my  statutes,  and  keep  not  my  commandments.'  In  these 
words  you  have  a  supposition  that  the  saints  may  both  fall  into  sins  of 
commission  and  sins  of  omission  ;  in  the  following  words  you  have  God's 
gracious  promise  :  '  Then  will  I  visit  their  transgressions  with  the  rod, 
and  their  iniquities  with  stripes/  God  engages  himself  by  promise  and 
covenant,  not  only  to  chide  and  check,  but  also  to  correct  his  people 
for  their  sins  :  '  Nevertheless,  my  loving-kindness  will  I  not  utterly  take 
from  him,  nor  suffer  my  faithfulness  to  fail.'  Afflictions  are  fruits  of 
God's  faithfulness,  to  which  the  covenant  binds  him.  God  would  be 
unfaithful,  if  first  or  last,  more  or  less,  he  did  not  afflict  his  people. 
Afflictions  are  part  of  that  gracious  covenant  which  God  hath  made 
with  his  people  ;  afflictions  are  mercies,  yea,  covenant  mercies,  Ps.  cxix. 
75.  Hence  it  is  that  God  is  called  the  terrible  God,  keeping  covenant 
and  mercy,  Neh.  i.  5  ;  because,  by  his  covenant  of  mercy,  he  is  bound 
to  afflict  and  chastise  his  people.  God  by  covenant  is  bound  to  preserve 
his  people,  and  not  to  surfer  them  to  perish ;  and  happy  are  they  that 
are  preserved,  whether  in  salt  and  vinegar,  or  in  wine  and  sugar.  All 
the  afflictions  that  come  upon  a  wicked  man  come  upon  him  by  virtue 
of  a  covenant  of  works,  and  so  are  cursed  unto  him  ;  but  all  the  afflic- 
tions that  come  upon  a  gracious  man,  they  come  upon  him  by  virtue  of 
a  covenant  of  grace,  and  so  they  are  blessed  unto  him  ;  and  therefore  he 
hath  eminent  cause  to  hold  his  peace,  to  lay  his  hand  upon  his  mouth. 

(8.)  Eighthly,  If  you  would  be  silent  and  quiet  under  afflictions,  then 
dwell  much  upon  this,  viz.,  That  all  your  afflictions  do  but  reach  the 
tvorser,  the  baser,  and  the  ignobler  part  of  a  Christian,  viz.,  his  body, 
his  outward  man :  '  Though  our  outward  man  decay,  yet  our  inward 
man  is  renewed  day  by  day,'  2  Cor.  iv.  16.  As  Aristarchus  the  heathen 
said,  when  he  was  beaten  by  the  tyrants  :  Beaton;  it  is  not  Aristarchus 
you  beat,  it  is  only  his  shell.  Timothy  had  a  very  healthful  soul  in  a 
crazy  body,  1  Tim.  v.  23  ;  and  Gaius  had  a  very  prosperous  soul  in  a 
weak  distempered  body,  3  Ep.  of  John  2.  Epictetus  and  many  of  the 
more  refined  heathens,  have  long  since  concluded  that  the  body  was  the 
organ  or  vessel,  the  soul  was  the  man  and  merchandise.  Now,  all  the 
troubles  and  afflictions  that  a  Christian  meets  with,  they  do  not  reach 
his  soul,  they  touch  not  his  conscience,  they  make  no  breach  upon  his 
noble  part ;  and  therefore  he  hath  cause  to  hold  his  peace,  and  to  lay 


396  THE  MUTE  CHRISTIAN  [Ps.  XXXIX.  9. 

tiis  band  upon  his  mouth.  The  soul  is  the  breath  of  God,  Heb.  xii.  9, 
Zecli.  xii.  1,  the  beauty  of  man,  the  wonder  of  angels,  and  the  envy  of 
devils  ;  it  is  a  celestial  plant,  and  of  a  divine  offspring  ;  it  is  an  immortal 
spirit.  Souls  are  of  an  angelic  nature  ;  a  man  is  an  angel  clothed  in 
clay  ;  the  soul  is  a  greater  miracle  in  man  than  all  the  miracles  wrought 
amongst  men  ;  the  soul  is  a  demi-semi-God  dwelling  in  a  house  of  clay. 
Now  it  is  not  in  the  power  of  any  outward  troubles  and  afflictions  that 
a  Christian  meets  with  to  reach  his  soul ;  and  therefore  he  may  well  sit 
mute  under  the  smarting  rod. 

(9.)  Ninthly,  If  thou  wouldst  be  silent  and  quiet  under  the  saddest 
providences  and  sorest  trials,  then  keep  up  faith  in  continual  exercise. 
Now  faith,  in  the  exercise  of  it,  will  quiet  and  silence  the  soul,  thus, 

[1.]  By  bringing  the  soul  to  sit  down  satisfied  in  the  naked  enjoy- 
ments of  God,  John  xiv.  8,  Ps.  xvii.  15. 

[2.]  By  drying  up  the  springs  of  pride,  self-love,  impatience,  mur- 
muring, unbelief,  and  the  carnal  delights  of  this  world. 

[3.]  By  presenting  to  the  soul  greater,  sweeter,  and  better  things  in 
Christ,  than  any  this  world  doth  afford,  Heb.  xi.  3,  Philip,  iii.  7,  8. 

[4.]  By  lessening  the  soul's  esteem  of  all  outward  vanities.  Do  but 
keep  up  the  exercise  of  faith,  and  thou  wilt  keep  silent  before  the 
Lord.  No  man  so  mute,  as  he  whose  faith  is  still  busy  about  invisible 
objects. 

(10.)  Tenthly,  If  you  would  keep  silent,  then  keep  humble  before  the 
Lord.  Oh  !  labour  every  day  to  be  more  humble  and  more  low  and 
little  in  your  own  eyes.  Who  am  I,  saith  the  humble  soul,  but  that 
God  should  cross  me  in  this  mercy,  and  take  away  that  mercy,  and  pass 
a  sentence  of  death  upon  every  mercy  ?  I  am  not  worthy  of  the  least 
mercy,  I  deserve  not  a  crumb  of  mercy,  I  have  forfeited  every  mercy, 
I  have  improved  never  a  mercy.  Only  by  pride  comes  contention.  It 
is  only  pride  that  puts  men  upon  contending  with  God  and  men  ;  an 
humble  soul  will  lie  quiet  at  the  foot  of  God,  it  will  be  contented  with 
bare  commons,  Prov.  xiii.  16.  As  you  see  sheep  can  live  upon  the  bare 
commons,  which  a  fat  ox  cannot.  A  dinner  of  green  herbs  relisheth 
well  writh  the  humble  man's  palate,  whereas  a  stalled  ox  is  but  a  coarse 
dish  to  a  proud  man's  stomach.  An  humble  heart  thinks  none  less 
than  himself,  nor  none  worse  than  himself;  an  humble  heart  looks  upon 
small  mercies  as  great  mercies,  and  great  afflictions  as  small  afflictions, 
and  small  afflictions  as  no  afflictions ;  and  therefore  sits  mute  and  quiet 
under  all.  Do  but  keep  humble,  and  you  will  keep  silent  before  the 
Lord.  Pride  kicks,  and  flings,  and  frets,  but  an  humble  man  hath  still 
his  hand  upon  his  mouth.  Every  thing  on  this  side  hell  is  mercy, 
much  mercy,  rich  mercy  to  an  humble  soul;  and  therefore  he  holds  his 
peace.1 

(11.)  Eleventhly,  If  you  would  keep  silence  under  the  afflicting 
hand  of  God,  then  keep  close,  hold  fast  these  soul-silencing  and  soul- 
quieting  maxims  or  principles.     As, 

[1.]  First,  That  the  ivorst  that  God  doth  to  his  people  in  this  world, 
is  in  order  to  tlie  making  of  them  a  heaven  on  earth.  He  brings 
them  into  a  wilderness,  but  it  is,  that  he  may  speak  comfortably  to 

1  Austin  being  asked,  What  was  the  first  grace?  he  answered,  humility;  what  the 
second  ?  humility  ;  what  the  third  ?  humility. 


PS.  XXXIX.  9.]  UNDER  THE  SMARTING  ROD.  397 

them,  Hosea  ii.  14  ;  he  casts  them  into  the  fiery  furnace,  but  it  is,  that 
they  may  have  more  of  his  company  ;  do  the  stones  come  thick  and 
threefold  about  Stephen's  ears,  it  is  but  to  knock  him  the  nearer  to 
Christ,  the  corner-stone,  &c,  Acts  vii. 

[2.]  Secondly,  If  you  would  be  silent,  then  hold  fast  this  principle, 
viz.  That  what  God  wills  is  best,  Heb.  xii.  ]  0.  When  he  wills  sickness, 
sickness  is  better  than  health ;  when  he  wills  weakness,  weakness  is 
better  than  strength  ;  when  he  wills  want,  want  is  better  than  wealth  ; 
when  he  wills  reproach,  reproach  is  better  than  honour ;  when  he  wills 
death,  death  is  better  than  life.  As  God  is  wisdom  itself,  and  so  knows 
that  which  is  best,  so  he  is  goodness  itself,  and  therefore  cannot  do  any- 
thing but  that  which  is  best :  therefore  hold  thy  peace. 

[3.]  Thirdly,  If  thou  wouldst  be  silent  under  thy  greatest  afflictions, 
then  hold  fast  to  this  principle,  viz.  That  the  Lord  will  bear  thee  com- 
pany in  all  thy  afflictions,  Isa.  xli.  10  ;  chap,  xliii.  2  ;  Ps.  xxiii.  4  ;  Ps.  xc. 
15  ;  Dan.  iii.  25  ;  Gen.  xxxix.  20,  21 ;  2  Tim.  iv.  16,  17.  These  scriptures 
are  breasts  full  of  divine  consolation,  these  wells  of  salvation  are  full  ; 
will  you  turn  to  them  and  draw  out,  that  your  souls  may  be  satisfied 
and  quieted  ? 

[4.]  Fourthly,  If  you  would  be  silent  under  your  afflictions,  then 
hold  fast  this  principle,  That  the  Lord  hath  more  high,  more  noble,  and 
more  blessed  ends  in  the  afflicting  of  you  than  he  hath  in  the  afflicting 
of  the  men  of  the  world.  The  stalk  and  the  ear  of  corn  fall  upon  the 
threshing  floor,  under  one  and  the  same  flail,  but  the  one  is  shattered 
in  pieces,  the  other  is  preserved  ;  from  one  and  the  same  olive,  and  from 
under  one  and  the  same  press  is  crushed  out  both  oil  and  dregs ;  but 
the  one  is  turned  up  for  use,  the  other  thrown  out  as  unserviceable  ; 
and  by  one  and  the  same  breath  the  fields  are  perfumed  with  sweetness, 
and  annoyed  with  unpleasant  savours :  so,  though  afflictions  do  befall 
good  and  bad  alike,  as  the  Scripture  speaks,  Eccles.  ix.  2,  yet  the  Lord 
will  effect  more  glorious  ends  by  those  afflictions  that  befall  his  people, 
than  he  will  effect  by  those  that  befall  wicked  men  ;  and  therefore  the 
Lord  puts  his  people  into  the  furnace  for  their  trial,  but  the  wicked  for 
their  ruin  :  the  one  is  bettered  by  affliction,  the  other  is  made  worse  ; 
the  one  is  made  soft  and  tender  by  afflictions,  the  other  is  more  hard 
aud  obdurate  ;  the  one  is  drawn  nearer  to  God  by  afflictions,  the  other 
is  driven  further  from  God,  &c. 

[5.]  Fifthly,  If  you  would  be  silent  under  your  afflictions,  then  you 
must  hold  fast  this  principle,  viz.  That  the  best  way  in  this  world  to 
have  thine  own  will,  is  to  lie  down  in  the  will  of  God,  and  quietly  to 
resign  up  thyself  to  the  good  will  and  pleasure  of  God,  Mat.  xv.  21, 
29.  Luther  was  a  man  that  could  have  anything  of  God,  and  why  ? 
Why !  because  he  submitted  his  will  to  the  will  of  God;  he  lost  his  will 
in  the  will  of  God.  0  soul !  it  shall  be  even  as  thou  wilt,  if  thy  will 
be  swallowed  up  in  the  will  of  God. 

[6.]  Sixthly  and  lastly,  If  thou  wouldst  be  silent  under  the  afflicting 
hand  of  God,  then  thou  must  hold  fast  to  this  principle,  viz.  That  God 
will  make  times  of  afflictions  to  be  times  of  special  manifestations  of 
divine  love  and  favour  to  thee.  Tiburtius  saw  a  paradise  when  he 
walked  upon    hot  burning    coals.     I  could  affirm   this  by  a  cloud  of 


398 


THE  MUTE  CHRISTIAN. 


[PS.  XXXIX.  9. 


witnesses,  but  that  I  am  upon  a  close.1  Ah,  Christians  !  as  ever  you 
would  be  quiet  and  silent  under  the  smarting  rod,  hold  fast  to  these 
principles,  and  keep  them  as  your  lives.     But, 

(12.)  Twelfthly  and  lastly,  To  silence  and  quiet  your  soul  under  the 
afflicting  hand  of  God,  dwell  much  upon  the  brevity  or  shortness  of 
mini's  fife.  Tins  present  life  is  not  vita,  sed  via  ad  vitam,  life,  but  a 
motion,  a  journey  towards  life.  Man's  life,  saith  one,  is  the  shadow  of 
smoke,  yea,  the  dream  of  a  shadow  :  saith  another,  man's  life  is  so  short, 
that  Austin  doubted  whether  to  call  it  a  dying  life  or  a  living  death.2 
Thou  hast  but  a  day  to  live,  and  perhaps  thou  mayest  be  now  in  the 
twelfth  hour  of  that  day  ;  therefore  hold  out  faith  and  patience.  Thy 
troubles  and  thy  life  shall  shortly  end  together;  therefore  hold  thy  peace. 
Thy  grave  is  going  to  be  made  ;  thy  sun  is  near  setting  ;  death  begins  to 
cali  thee  off  the  stage  of  this  world  ;  death  stands  at  thy  back  ;  thou 
must  shortly  sail  forth  upon  the  ocean  of  eternity  ;  though  thou  hast  a 
great  deal  of  work  to  do,  a  God  to  honour,  a  Christ  to  close  with,  a  soul 
to  save,  a  race  to  run,  a  crown  to  win,  a  hell  to  escape,  a  pardon  to  beg, 
a  heaven  to  make  sure,  yet  thou  hast  but  a  little  time  to  do  it  in  ; 
thou  hast  one  foot  in  the  grave,  thou  art  even  going  ashore  on  eternity, 
and  wilt  thou  now  cry  out  of  thy  affliction  ?  Wilt  thou  now  mutter  and 
murmur  when  thou  art  entering  upon  an  unchangeable  condition?  What, 
extreme  folly  and  madness  is  it  for  a  man  to  mutter  and  murmur  when 
he  is  just  a-going  out  of  prison,  and  his  bolts  and  chains  are  just 
a-knocking  off !  Why,  Christian,  this  is  just  thy  case  ;  therefore  hold  thy 
peace.  Thy  life  is  but  short,  therefore  thy  troubles  cannot  be  long  ; 
hold  up  and  hold  out  quietly  and  patiently  a  little  longer,  and  heaven 
shall  make  amends  for  all,  Rom.  viii.  18. 

1  Ps.  xciv.  19  :  Dan.  ix.  19,  24  ;  Acts  xvi.  and  xxvii. ;  Hosea  ii.  14. 

2  Augustine,  Confessions. 


A  STRING  OF  PEAELS. 


NOTE. 

The  'String  of  Pearls'  was  first  published  in  1657,  in  a  particularly  pretty  volume. 
The  title  supplied  by  the  bookseller  for  this  edition,  intended  for  the  back,  was,  'Mr 
Brooks  His  Chain  of  Pearls.'  Our  text  is  taken  from  the  '  second  edition,  corrected.'  Its 
title-page  is  given  below.*  Though  originally  a  private  '  funeral  sermon,'  it  was  im- 
mediately equally  popular  with  its  author's  other  writings,  having  rapidly  passed  through 
numerous  editions.  The  '14th'  bears  the  date  of  1703.  Cf.  Sibbes's  Works,  vol.  i. 
pages  341,  350.  G. 


*  A 
STRING  OF  PEARLS: 

OE, 

The  best  things  reserved  till  last. 

Discovered  in  a  SERMON 
Preached  in  London,  June  8.  1657. 


The  Funeral  of  (that  Triumphant  Saint) 
Mris.  Mary  Blake,  late  Wife  to  (his  Wor- 
thy Friend)  Mr.  Nicholas  Blake,  Mer- 
chant, with  an  Elegy  on  her  Death. 

By  Thomas  Brooks  (her  much  endeared  Friend, 
Spiritual  Father,  Pastor,  and  Brother,  in  the 
Fellowship  of  the  Gospel,  and)  Preacher  of  the 
Word  at  Margarets  New-Fish- street. 

The  Second  Edition  corrected. 

The  Righteous  shall  bee  had  in  everlasting  remembrance,  Psal. 

112.  6. 
Precious  in  the  sight  of  the  Lord  is  the  Death  of  his  Saints, 

Psal.  116.  15. 

London,  Printed  by  R.  /•  for  John  Hancock,  at  the  first  shop 
in  Popes-head-Alley,  neer  the  Exchange.     1660. 


THE  EPISTLE  DEDICATORY. 


To  his  honoured  and  worthily-esteemed  friends,  Mr  Nicholas  Blake, 
merchant,  husband  to  the  late  virtuous  Mrs  Mary  Blake,  deceased  ■ 
and  Mr  Thomas  Matthewes,  merchant,  and  Mrs  Martha  Mat- 
thewes  his  wife,  parents  to  the  late  deceased  gentlewoman ;  and  to 
the  rest  of  his  and  her  relations. 

All  grace  and  peace,  all  consolation  and  supportation  from  God  the 
Father,  through  our  Lord  Jesus  Christ. 

Dear  Friends, — This  little  piece  had  been  sooner  in  your  hands,  but 
that  my  being  in  the  country,  and  some  other  important  business  that 
hath  lain  hard  upon  my  hands,  hath  prevented  it  till  now. 

I  have  read  of  a  certain  painter,  who,  being  to  express  the  sorrow  of 
a  weeping  father,  and  having  spent  his  skill  before  in  setting  forth  of 
the  passions  and  affections  of  his  children,  he  thought  it  best  to  present 
him  upon  his  table  to  the  beholders'  view,  with  his  face  covered,  that 
so  he  might  have  that  grief  to  be  imagined  by  them,  which  he  found 
himself  unable  to  set  out  to  the  full.  I  know  I  am  not  able  to  paint 
out  your  great  grief  and  sorrow  for  the  loss  of  such  a  wife,  of  such  a 
child,  of  such  a  sister,  &c,  and  I  could  wish  that  this  piece,  which  is 
brought  forth  to  satisfy  your  importunity,  may  not  make  the  wound 
to  bleed  afresh.     However,  if  it  doth,  thank  yourselves,  blame  not  me.1 

I  could  heartily  wish  that  you  and  all  others  concerned  in  this  sad 
loss,  were  more  taken  up  in  minding  the  happy  exchange  that  she  hath 
made,  than  with  your  present  loss.  She  hath  exchanged  earth  for 
heaven,  a  wilderness  for  a  paradise,  a  prison  for  a  palace,  a  house  made 
with  hands  for  one  eternal  in  the  heavens,  2  Cor.  v.  1,  2.  She  hath 
exchanged  imperfection  for  perfection,  sighing  for  singing,  mourn  in  «• 
for  rejoicing,  prayers  for  praises,  the  society  of  sinful  mortals  for  the 
company  of  God,  Christ,  angels,  and  the  spirits  of  just  men  made  per- 
fect, Heb.  xii.  22-24  ;  an  imperfect  transient  enjoyment  of  God  for  a 
more  clear,  full,  perfect,  and  permanent  enjoyment  of  God.  She  hath 
exchanged  pain  for  ease,  sickness  for  health,  a  bed  of  weakness  for  a 
bed  of  spices,  a  complete  blessedness.  She  hath  exchanged  her  brass 
for  silver,  her  counters  for  gold,  and  her  earthly  contentments  for 
heavenly  enjoyments. 

1  Mauy  a  man  hath  been  drowned  in  his  own  tears,  2  Cor.  vii.  10. 

VOL.  I.  C  C 


K>2  EPISTLE  DEDICATORY. 

And  as  I  desire  that  one  of  your  eyes  may  be  fixed  upon  her  happi- 
ness, bo  I  desire  that  the  other  of  your  eyes  may  be  fixed  upon  Christ's 
fulness.  Though  your  brook  be  dried  up,  yet  Christ  the  fountain  of 
light,  life,  love,  grace,  glory,  comfort,  joy,  goodness,  sweetness,  and 
satisfaction  is  still  at  hand,  and  always  full  and  flowing,  yea,  overflowing, 
John  i.  16,  Col.  i.  19,  ii.  3.1  As  the  worth  and  value  of  many  pieces  of 
silver  is  contracted  in  one  piece  of  gold,  so  all  the  sweetness,  all  the 
goodness,  aD  the  excellencies  that  are  in  husbands,  wives,  children, 
friends,  &c,  are  contracted  in  Christ;  yea,  all  the  whole  volume  of  per- 
fections which  is  spread  through  heaven  and  earth,  is  epitomised  in 
Christ ;  Ipse  unus  erit  tibi  omnia,  quia  in  ipso  uno  bono,  bona  sunt 
omnia,  saith  Augustine,  one  Christ  will  be  to  thee  instead  of  all  things 
else,  because  in  him  are  all  good  things  to  be  found. 

Dear  friends !  what  wisdom,  what  knowledge,  what  love,  what  ten- 
derness, what  sweetness,  what  goodness  did  you  observe  and  find  in  this 
deceased  and  now  glorified  saint,  that  is  not  eminently,  that  is  not  per- 
fectly, to  be  enjoyed  in  Christ  ?  and  if  so,  why  do  not  you  bear  up 
sweetly  and  cheerfully,  and  let  the  world  know,  and  let  friends  see, 
that  though  you  have  lost  her  corporally,  yet  you  enjoy  her  spiritually 
in  Jesus  ?  The  apostle  Paul  was  so  much  taken  with  Christ,  that  he 
was  ever  in  his  thoughts,  always  near  his  heart,  and  ever  upon  his 
tongue ;  he  names  him  sixteen  or  seventeen  times  in  one  chapter,2 
1  Cor.  i.  Now,  oh  that  your  hearts  and  thoughts  were  thus  busied 
about  Christ,  and  taken  up  with  Christ,  and  with  those  treasures  of 
wisdom,  knowledge,  grace,  goodness,  sweetness,  &c,  that  is  in  him  ;  this 
would  very  much  allay  your  grief  and  sorrow,  and  keep  your  hearts  quiet 
and  silent  before  the  Lord  ;  this  would  be  like  that  tree  which  made 
the  bitter  waters  of  Marah  sweet,  Exod.  xv.  23-25. 

Plutarch,  in  the  life  of  Phocion,  tells  us  of  a  certain  gentlewoman  of 
Ionia,  who  shewed  the  wife  of  Phocion  all  the  rich  jewels  and  precious 
stones  she  had  ;  she  answered  her  again,  All  my  riches  and  jewels  is 
my  husband  Phocion.  So  should  Christians  say,  Christ  is  our  riches, 
our  jewels,  our  treasure,  our  heaven,  our  crown,  our  glory,  our  all.  He 
is  all  comforts  to  us,  and  all  contents  to  us,  and  all  delights  to  us,  and 
all  relations  to  us.  He  is  husband,  wife,  child,  father,  mother,  brother, 
Bister.  He  is  all  these;  yea,  he  is  more  than  all  these  to  us,  2  Cor. 
vi.  10,  Eph.  iii.  8,  Cant.  v.  10. 

I  have  read  of  one  [St  Martin],  who,  walking  in  the  fields  by  himself, 
of  a  sudden  fell  into  loud  cries  and  weeping,  and  being  asked  by  one 
that  passed  by  and  overheard  him,  the  cause  of  that  his  lamentation,  I 
weep,  saith  he,  to  think  that  the  Lord  Jesus  should  do  so  much  for  us 
men,  and  yet  not  one  man  of  a  thousand  so  much  as  minds  him,  or 
thinks  of  him.  But  I  hope  better  things  of  you  ;  yea,  I  hope  and  desire 
that  this  present  counsel  will  take  hold  of  your  hearts,  and  work  as 
counsel  works,  when  it  is  set  home  by  a  hand  of  heaven. 

Again,  friends,  it  is  your  wisdom  and  your  glory  to  mind  more  your 
present  work,  your  present  duty,  than  your  loss,  than  your  present  cala- 
mity. David's  passion  was  got  above  his  wisdom,  his  discretion,  when 
lie  said,  '  O  my  son  Absalom  !  my  son,  my  son  Absalom,  would  God  I 
had  died  for  thee,  0  Absalom,  my  son,  my  son!'  2  Sam.  xviii.  33.    Your 

1  Omnc  bonum  in  summo  bono.  *  Clirysostoin. 


EPISTLE  DEDICATORY.  403 

present  work  is  not  to  cry,  O  my  dear  wife !  0  my  precious  child  !  O 
my  loving  sister  !  but,  0  my  soul,  submit  to  God  !  justify  God,  lie  down 
in  the  will  of  God  ;  say  amen  to  God's  amen.  O  my  soul !  think  well 
of  God,  and  speak  well  of  God,  and  carry  it  well  towards  God,  &c.  This 
is  your  present  work  ;  make  it  but  your  work,  and  then,  though  '  sor- 
row may  abide  for  a  night,  yet  joy  will  come  in  the  morning,'  Ps. 
xxx.  5. 

Again,  Observe  how  other  saints  have  carried  it  under  such  a  dispen- 
sation as  you  are  under,  and  do  you  likewise.1  To  that  purpose  read 
and  compare  these  scriptures  together  :  Gen.  xxiii.  1,  2,  3,  4,  8  ;  Ezek. 
xxiv.  16-18  ;  2  Sam.  xii.  17-22  ;  ]  Sam.  iii.  17-19  ;  2  Sam.  xv.  25-27; 
Job  i.  13-22.  It  is  a  more  excellent,  a  more  blessed  thing  to  be  good 
at  imitating  the  pious  examples  of  others,  than  to  be  good  at  praising 
of  them.  Stories  speak  of  some  that  could  not  sleep  when  they  thought 
of  the  trophies  of  other  worthies  that  went  before  them.2  The  best 
and  highest  examples  should  be  very  quickening  and  provoking.  Pious  ( 
examples  usually  are  more  wakening  than  precepts  ;  and  they  are  more 
convincing  and  more  encouraging ;  and  the  reason  is,  because  we  see  in 
them,  that  the  exercise  of  the  most  difficult  points  of  godliness  is  yet 
possible.  Other  saints'  pious  examples  should  be  looking-glasses  for  us 
to  dress  ourselves  by  ;  and  happy  are  those  that  make  such  an  improve- 
ment of  them.  Oh,  happy  husband  !  oh,  happy  parents  !  oh,  happy 
brethren  and  sisters  !  if  you  write  after  that  blessed  copy,  that  this  glo- 
rified saint,  wife,  child,  sister,  hath  set  before  you  ;  which  that  you  may, 
I  desire  you  seriously  to  dwell  upon  the  following  narrative. 

One  hint  more,  and  then  I  have  done.  Augustine,  in  one  of  his  epis- 
tles, hath  this  relation,  that  the  very  same  day  wherein  Jerome  died, 
he  was  in  his  study,  and  had  got  pen,  ink,  and  paper,  to  write  some- 
thing of  the  glory  of  heaven  to  Jerome.  Suddenly  he  saw  a  light  break- 
ing into  his  study,  and  a  sweet  smell  that  came  unto  him,  and  this  voice 
he  thought  he  heard,  O  Augustine  !  what  dost  thou  ?  Dost  think  to 
put  the  sea  into  a  little  vessel  ?  When  the  heavens  shall  cease  from  their 
continual  motion,  then  shalt  thou  be  able  to  understand  what  the  glory 
of  heaven  is,  and  not  before,  except  thou  come  to  feel  it,  as  I  now  do. 

A  little  before  this  glorified  saint's  translation  from  earth  to  heaven, 
1  had  thoughts  and  resolutions  to  write  to  her  about  this  blessed  state 
to  which  she  was  hastening,  but  was  prevented ;  however,  in  the  follow- 
ing sermon  you  will  find  something  of  that  glorious  state  glimpsed  out 
unto  you,  which  now  she  is  in  possession  of.  Now,  dear  friends,  above 
all  gettings,  get  an  interest  in  that  glory  that  she  is  filled  with,  and 
keep  up  the  sense  of  that  interest  in  your  own  souls  and  consciences  ; 
and  then  you  will  be  happy  in  life,  and  blessed  in  death,  and  assuredly 
meet  her  and  know  her,  and  for  ever  enjoy  her  in  perfect  happiness 
and  blessedness  ;  which,  that  you  may,  is  and  shall  be  the  constant 
desires  and  earnest  prayers  of 

Your  soul's  servant, 

Thomas  Beooks. 

1  Bonus  dux,  bonus  comes,  a  good  leader  makes  a  good  follower,  was  Carus*  the  empe- 
ror's motto.  Pnecepta  docent,  exempla  movent,  precepts  may  instruct,  but  examples  do  per- 
suade.— [*  'Carolus'? — G.] 

2  As  Themistocles  of  Miltiades,  and  Caesar  of  Alexander. — G. 


404  A  STRING  OF  PEARLS. 


A  STRING  OF  PEARLS; 

OR,  THE  BEST  THINGS  RESERVED  TILL  LAST. 


Before  I  name  my  text,  give  me  leave  to  speak  a  few  words  upon 
another  text,  viz.,  the  glorified  saint  deceased,  at  whose  funeral  we  are 
here  met. 

She  was  one  of  those  dear  spiritual  children  that  the  Lord  had  given 
me,  Isa.  viii.  18  ;  she  was  a  precious  seal  of  my  ministry,  she  was  my 
living  epistle,  2  Cor.  iii.  1,  2  ;  my  walking  certificate,  my  letter  testi- 
monial, Philip,  iv.  1,  2.  In  life  she  was  my  joy,  and  in  the  day  of 
Christ  she  will  be  my  crown,  as  Paul  speaks,  1  Thes.  ii.  19,  20,  'For 
what  is  our  hope,  or  joy,  or  crown  of  rejoicing?  Are  not  even  ye  in 
the  presence  of  our  Lord  Jesus  Christ  at  his  coming  ?  For  ye  are  our 
glory  and  joy.'  Her  application  of  those  words  of  the  apostle  to  me 
hath  been  often  a  very  great  refreshing  and  comfort  to  my  soul :  '  For 
though  you  have  ten  thousand  instructors  in  Christ,  yet  have  ye  not 
many  father's  ;  for  in  Christ  Jesus  I  have  begotten  you  through  the 
gospel/  1  Cor.  iv.  15.  The  work  of  grace  upon  her  heart  was  clear, 
powerful,  and  thorough,  as  all  know  that  knew  her  inwardly.  I  should 
tire  both  myself  and  you,  and  frustrate  the  end  of  your  meeting,  which 
is  to  hear  a  sermon,  should  I  give  you  an  exact  and  particular  account 
thereof:  I  shall  therefore  mention  only  a  few  things  among  many  foi 
your  imitation,  satisfaction,  and  supportation  under  this  sad  dispen- 
sation. 

She  was  a  knowing  woman  in  the  things  of  Christ ;  and  her  know- 
ledge  was  inward,  experimental,  growing,  humbling,  transforming,  and 
practical,  Prov.  iii.  18  ;  she  knew  Christ  in  the  mystery  as  well  as  in 
the  history;  in  the  spirit  as  well  as  in  the  letter;  feelingly,  as  well  as 
notionally ;  she  did  not  only  eat  of  the  tree  of  knowledge,  but  also  tasted 
of  the  tree  of  life. 

She  was  as  sincere  and  plain  a  hearted  Christian,  I  think,  as  any 
lives  out  of  heaven  j  for  plain-heartedness  she  was  a  Jacob;  for  up- 
rightness she  was  a  Job.  Sincerity  is  the  shine,  the  lustre,  the  beauty, 
the  glory  of  all  a  Christian's  graces,  and  in  this  she  did  excel.1  A  sin- 
eere  soul  is  like  a  crystal  glass  with  a  light  in  the  midst  of  it,  which 
gives  light  every  way  ;  and  such  a  one  was  she.  A  sincere  soul  is  like 
1  Sinceritas  sereiiitatis  mater,  sincerity  is  the  mother  of  serenity. 


A  STRING  OF  PEARLS.  405 

the  violet,  which  grows  low,  and  hides  itself  and  its  own  sweetness,  as 
much  as  may  be,  with  its  own  leaves  ;  and  such  a  one  was  she.  She 
had  as  many  choice,  visible  characters  of  sincerity  and  uprightness  upon 
her,  as  ever  I  read  upon  any  Christian  that  I  have  had  the  happiness 
to  be  acquainted  with.  But  I  must  not  dwell  on  these  things  ;  I  shall 
only  say  she  was  not  like  the  actor  in  the  comedy,  who  cried  with  his 
mouth,  0  coelum,  0  heaven  !  but  pointed  with  his  finger  to  the  earth. 
Such  professors  there  be,  but  she  was  none  of  them. 

She  was  as  rich  in  spiritual  experiences  as  most  that  I  have  been 
acquainted  with.  Ah !  how  often  hath  she  warmed,  gladded,  and 
quickened  my  spirit,  by  acquainting  me  with  what  the  Lord  hath  done 
for  her  precious  soul.  Experiments1  in  religion  are  beyond  notions  and 
impressions.  A  sanctified  heart  is  better  than  a  silver  tongue  ;  and  she 
found  it  so.  Oh!  the  stories  that  she  was  able  to  tell  of  the  love  of  God, 
the  presence  of  Christ,  the  breathings  of  the  Spirit,  the  exercise  of  grace, 
the  sweetness  of  the  word,  the  deceitfulness  of  sin,  and  the  devices  and 
methods  of  Satan,  &c.  And  though  she  made  use  of  her  experiences, 
as  crutches  to  lean  on,  yet  she  only  made  use  of  the  promises  as  a 
foundation  to  build  on.  As  the  star  led  the  wise  men  to  Christ,  so  her 
experiences  led  her  to  a  higher  and  sweeter  living  upon  Christ ;  her 
experiences  were  her  sauce,  but  Christ  was  still  her  food. 

She  did  drive  a  very  great  private  trade  towards  heaven.  She  was 
much  in  secret  duties,  in  closet  communion  with  God,  and  this  did  very 
much  enrich  her  and  advance  her  in  spiritual  experiences,  when  she 
had  once  found  the  sweetness  of  enjoying  Christ  behind  the  door,  Cant, 
ii.  14,  Mat.  vi.  5,  6.  Oh,  how  inflamedly,  how  abundantly  was  her  soul 
carried  forth  in  secret  duties  !  She  knew  that  Peter  went  up  upon 
the  house-top  to  pray,  and  that  Christ  was  oft  alone,  Acts  x.  9.  As 
secret  meals  make  a  fat  body,  so  she  found  secret  duties  made  a  fat 
soul ;  and  this  made  her  much  in  that  work.  It  was  a  witty  and 
divine  speech  of  Bernard,  That  Christ,  the  soul's  spouse,  is  bashful, 
neither  willingly  cometh  to  his  bride  in  the  presence  of  a  multitude  ;  and 
is  it  not  so  with  the  bride  in  her  actings  towards  her  bridegroom,  Christ  ? 

She  was  many  times  in  the  school  of  temptation,  which  God  made  to 
her  the  school  of  instruction.2  The  Lord  did  usually  so  help  her  to 
handle  the  shield  of  faith  and  the  sword  of  the  Spirit,  the  word  of  God, 
that  she  commonly  triumphed  over  Satan's  temptations,  and  led  cap- 
tivity captive.  Though  that  arrow-master,  Satan,  hath  shot  often  at 
her,  yet  her  '  bow  still  abode  in  strength,  her  hands  and  heart  being 
made  strong  by  the  hands  of  the  mighty  God  of  Jacob.'  Augustine 
gave  thanks  to  God  that  the  heart  and  the  temptation  did  not  meet 
together,  and  so  hath  she  many  a  time.  She  was  good  at  withstanding 
the  beginnings  of  a  temptation,  knowing  that  after-remedies  often  come 
too  late.  She  was  a  Christian  all  over.3  She  was  a  Christian  in  pro- 
fession, and  a  Christian  in  practice  ;  a  Christian  in  lip,  and  a  Christian 
in  life ;  a  Christian  in  word,  and  a  Christian  in  work ;  a  Christian  in 
show,  and  a  Christian  in  power  and  spirit.  She  was  not  only  for  the 
general  duties  of  Christianity,  as  hearing,  praying,  &c,  but  also  for  the 

1  '  Experiences.' — G. 

*  2  Cor.  xii.  7-10;  Eph.  vi.  16,  17;  2  Cor.  ii.  14;  Gen.  xlix.  23,  24. 

3  1  Thes.  v.  23 ;  Acts  xiii.  22,  xxiv.  16 ;  Luke  i.  5,  6. 


406  A  STRING  OF  PEARLS. 

relative  duties  of  religion,  as  to  be  a  good  wife,  a  good  mother,  a  good 
child,  a  good  sister,  a  good  mistress,  &c.  Most  sincerity  and  holy  in- 
genuity shines  in  the  relative  duties  of  religion  ;  and  in  those  she  was 
excellent.  She  was  also  very  conscientious  and  constant,  yea,  abundant 
in  the  general  duties  of  religion,  as  hearing,  praying,  &c.  She  did 
duties,  but  durst  not  for  a  world  trust  to  her  duties,  but  to  her  Jesus. 
as  the  dove  made  use  of  her  wings  to  fly  to  the  ark,  but  trusted  not  in 
her  wings,  but  in  the  ark.  In  duty,  she  had  learned  the  holy  art  of 
living  above  duty;  in  the  business  of  acceptation  with  God,  and  justifi- 
cation before  God,  and  reconciliation  to  God,  and  salvation  by  God,  she 
knew  no  duty  but  Jesus.1  She  was  as  happy  in  denying  religious  self 
as  she  was  resolute  in  denying  of  sinful  self. 

She  was,  for  patience  and  cheerfulness  under  her  long  lingering  weak- 
ness, as  exemplary  as  any  that  ever  I  was  acquainted  with,  James  i. 
2-4 ;  v.  10,  J 1.  If  at  any  time  she  groaned,  yet  she  blessed  God,  as 
she  used  to  say,  that  she  did  not  grumble.  Oh  how  quiet,  how  like  a 
lamb  was  she  under  all  her  trials !  Oh  how  well  would  she  speak  of 
God  !  Oh  how  sweetly  did  she  carry  it  towards  God  !  Oh  how  much 
was  she  taken  up  in  justifying  of  God  throughout  her  pining,  wasting 
sicknesses  ! 

Time  and  strength  would  fail  me  should  I  but  tell  you  what  I  could 
concerning  her  faith,  her  love  to  God,  to  Christ,  to  his  ways,  to  his 
people,  whether  poor  or  rich,  weak  or  strong  ;  and  of  her  humility,  low- 
liness, meekness,  wherein  she  hath  left  few  fellows  behind  her.  She 
was  very  high  in  spiritual  worth,  and  as  low  in  heart ;  she  was  clothed 
with  humility  as  with  a  royal  robe,  and  with  '  the  ornament  of  a  meek 
and  quiet  spirit,  which  is  in  the  sight  of  God  of  great  price/  1  Pet.  v.  .">. 
iii.  4.     But  I  must  hasten  to  rny  text,  for  I  see  time  slides  away. 

If  Ezekiel  can  commend  Daniel,  and  match  him  with  Noah  and  Job 
for  his  power  in  prayer,  and  Peter  highly  praise  Paul,  and  if  the  ancient 
church  had  her  diptychs  or  public  tables,  wherein  the  persons  most 
noted  for  piety  were  recorded ;  nay,  if  Plato  called  Aristotle  the  intel- 
ligent reader,  and  Aristotle  set  up  an  altar  in  honour  of  Plato,  then  1 
hope  you  will  not  impute  it  to  me  as  a  transgression  that  I  have  pre- 
sented to  you  the  shining  virtues  of  this  glorified  saint  for  your  imi- 
tation. 

What  eyes  thou  read'st  with,  reader,  know  I  wot, 
Mine  were  not  dry  when  I  this  story  wrote. 


AN  ELEGY 

Upon  the  death  of  the  virtuous,  his  dear  and  never-to-be-forgotten 
friend,  Mrs  Mary  Blake. 

If  that  affection  could  but  make  a  poet, 

Could  grief  and  sorrow  help,  sure  I  should  do  it; 

Mary  is  dead,  a  woman  whom  truth  and  fame, 

With  virtue,  ever  shall  embalm  her  name; 

A  Mary  for  love,  a  Mary  for  weeping, 

A  Mary  for  choice,  a  Mary  for  seeking. 

1  Duties  trusted  to  will  undo  you;  when  trusted  to,  they  prove  but  a  smooth,  a  silken 
way  to  hell. 


A  STRING  OF  PEARLS.  407 

With  Mary  she  had  chosen  the  better  part ; 
With  Mary  she  did  lay  Christ  near'st  her  heart. 
Such  were  her  parts,  her  piety, 
Her  youth  it  was  a  full  maturity. 
Grave  although  young ;  who  in  her  heart  did  prize 
Grace,  truth,  and  Christ  her  only  sacrifice  ; 
Gracious,  religious,  and  sincere  was  she, 
Courteous,  without  all  court-hypocrisy. 

Christ  was  her  study,  his  glory  was  her  aim  ; 

It  was  her  heaven  for  to  advance  the  same. 

Within  the  holy  treasury  of  her  mind 

Were  the  choice  virtues  of  all  womankind ; 

A  knowing  woman,  and  an  humble  too, 

Which  joyed  all  Christians  who  had  with  her  to  do. 

A  praying  woman  and  believing  too, 

Which  did  the  praises  of  other  saints  renew : 

A  holy  woman,  and  a  harmless  too. 

In  saying  this,  I  give  her  but  her  due. 

A  lively  Christian  and  thriving  in  grace  ; 

Few  towards  heaven  did  ever  hold  her  pace. 

The  word  and  ways  of  God  were  her  delight, 

And  in  the  same  she  had  a  great  insight. 

A  fixed  woman,  when  others  staggering  were, 

Which  was  the  fruit  of  holy  pains  and  care  ; 

A  tried  Christian,  whose  trials  were  not  small, 

Yet  faith  and  patience  overcame  them  all ; 

She  lived  the  sermons  which  on  earth  she  heard, 

And  now  receives  the  crown  whieh  was  for  her  prepared  ; 

A  woman  which  had  more  than  common  worth  ; 

I  want  a  tongue,  enough  to  set  it  forth. 

Her  latest  precious  breathings  had  respect 

To  nothing  more  than  divine  dialect ; 

Which  she  committed  to  her  mourning  friends, 

In  exhortations  to  their  better  ends. 

Could  prayers,  tears,  and  sighs  have  kept  her  here, 

She  had  not  died,  you  need  it  not  to  fear ; 

She  lives,  though  dead,  in  th'  memory  of  those, 

Who  knew  her  life,  and  saw  its  holy  close. 

No  golden  letters  half  so  long  as  we, 

Shall  keep  her  precious  worth  in  memory ; 

No  costly  marble  need  on  her  be  spent, 

Her  deathless  worth  is  her  own  monument 

Now,  shall  I  let  you  know  what  you  have  lost  ? 

She  was  a  temple  of  the  Holy  Ghost. 

This  we'll  apply,  that  though  we  lose  her  here, 

Her  soul  doth  shine  in  a  celestial  sphere. 

Mary  is  to  the  celestial  Canaan  gone, 

Where  as  a  star  she  shines  in  perfection. 

Mary  hath  chosen  sure  the  better  part, 

Mary  with  angels  sure  doth  now  partake. 

But  stay,  needs  she  encomiums  ?     Reader,  know, 

She  joys  above,  while  we  here  wail  below. 

But  now,  dear  friends,  let's  mourn  in  hope  and  weep, 

Believing  this  blest  saint  in  Christ  doth  sleep. 

Hark,  don't  you  hear  her  sweet  delightful  voice  ? 

Saying,  Friends,  weep  not,  but  see  that  ye  rejoice 

For  me,  for  now  I  am  perfectly  free, 

From  sorrow,  sin,  death,  and  mortality ; 

Surely  you  cannot  doubt  my  happiness, 

Who  have  beheld  my  faith  and  stedfastness ; 

Oh  then  from  sorrow  see  that  now  ye  cease, 

To  interrupt  my  joy  and  your  own  peace ; 

Surely  our  loss  to  her  was  greatest  gain, 

For  crowned  in  heaven  she  ever  shall  remain ; 


408  A  STRING  OF  PEARLS. 

No  sighs,  no  groans,  now  from  her  do  come, 
But  everlasting  joys  are  in  their  room. 
She  now  without  control,  no  question,  sings 
Eternal  praises  to  the  King  of  kings  ; 
She  now  enjoys  that  ever  blessed  face, 
In  hopes  whereof  she  run  a  happy  race  : 
She  now  hath  chang'd  her  crosses  for  a  crown, 
Her  bed  of  weakness  for  a  royal  throne. 

Farewell!  blessed  saint,  farewell!  to  thee  we'll  haste, 
For  till  we  meet  in  heaven  we  cannot  rest. 


Thomas  Brooks, 
Of  Margaret's,  New-Fish-street. 


A  Word  to  the  Reader. 

Now,  Reader,  if  you  please  to  cast  a  look, 
Or  spend  some  spare-time  on  this  little  book, 
And  in  it  anything  that's  good  do  view, 
Then  challenge  it,  for  it  belongs  to  you  ; 
What's  weak  or  worthless  in  it,  that  decline 
And  pass  it  by,  I  challenge  that  for  mine. 


THE  BEST  THINGS  RESERVED  TILL  LAST. 


To  an  inheritance  incorruptible,  and  undejiled,  and  that  fadeth  not 
away,  reserved  in  heaven  for  you. — 1  Peter  I.  4. 

Beloved, — I  have  chosen  this  text  upon  a  double  ground. 

1.  To  make  a  diversion  of  immoderate  sorrow  and  grief  from  my 
own  spirit  and  yours,  who  are  most  nearly  concerned  in  this  sad  loss. 
And, 

2.  Because  it  will  afford  us  matter  most  suitable  to  the  blessed  state 
and  condition  of  this  glorified  saint,  at  whose  funeral  we  are  here  met. 

In  the  inscription,  verses  1,  2,  you  have  first  a  holy  salutation,  shew- 
ing first  by  whom  this  epistle  was  written,  viz.  Peter,  an  apostle  of 
Jesus  Christ ;  secondly,  to  whom  it  was  written.  Now  they  are  de- 
scribed two  ways  :  first,  by  their  outward  condition,  '  strangers,  scat- 
tered throughout  Pontus,  Galatia,  Cappadocia,  Asia,  and  Bithynia.' 
There  are  divers  opinions  about  these  strangers,  but  the  most  common 
and  received  opinion  among  the  learned  is,  that  Peter  wrote  this  epistle 
to  the  converted  Jews,  scattered  through  the  provinces  in  Asia,  who  met 
with  much  opposition  and  affliction  for  the  gospel's  sake.1  Secondly, 
they  are  described  by  their  spiritual  and  inward  condition,  which  is  set 
forth, 

(1.)  By  the  fundamental  cause  of  it,  to  wit,  election  of  God. 

(2.)  By  the  final  cause,  to  wit,  sanctification  of  the  Spirit  unto 
obedience. 

(3.)  By  the  subservient  cause,  to  wit,  reconciliation,  conferred  in 
obedience  and  sprinkling  of  the  blood  of  Jesus  Christ. 

In  the  third  verse  you  have,  (1.)  A  very  stately  proem,  and  such  as 
can  hardly  be  matched  again,  '  Blessed  be  the  God  and  Father  of  our 
Lord  Jesus  Christ/  (2.)  You  have  regeneration  or  effectual  calling 
described,  and  that 

[1.]  First,  By  the  principal  efficient  cause  thereof,  which  is,  'God  the 
Father  of  our  Lord  Jesus  Christ/ 

[2.]  By  the  impulsive  cause  thereof,  the  mercy  of  God,  which  is 
described  by  the  quantity  of  it,  '  abundant.' 

[3.]  By  the  immediate  effect  thereof,  a  '  lively  hope/  the  singular 

1  Pareus.  Compare  the  2d  of  the  Acts,  the  8th  of  the  Acts,  and  the  11th  of  the  Acts, 
with  the  1st  and  2d  verses  of  this  chapter. 


410  A  STRING  OF  PEARLS.  [1  PETER  I.  4. 

cause  whereof  La  shewed  to  be  the  resurrection  of  Jesus  Christ  from  the 
dead,  1  John  iii.  2,  3.1     Now  hope  is  called  a  lively  hope, 

[1.]  Because  it  makes  a  man  lively  and  active  for  God  and  goodness. 

[2.]  Because  it  cheers,  comforts,  and  revives  the  soul.  It  brings,  it 
breeds,  it  feeds,  it  preserves  spiritual  life  in  the  soul.  This  lively  hope 
is  Like  Myrtilus  his  shield,  which  after  the  use  he  had  of  it  in  the  field, 
having  it  with  him  at  sea,  and  suffering  shipwreck,  it  served  him  for  a 
boat  to  waff8  him  to  shore,  and  so  preserved  his  life.3  This  lively  hope 
is  a  shield  ashore,  and  an  anchor  at  sea. 

[3.]  It  is  called  a  lively  hope,  in  opposition  to  the  fading,  withering, 
dying  hopes  of  hypocrites,  and  profane  persons,  '  Whose  hope  is  as  a 
spider's  web,'  '  the  crackling  of  thorns  under  a  pot,'  and  '  the  giving  up 
of  the  ghost.'4 

A  Christian's  hope  is  not  like  that  of  Pandora,  which  may  fly  out  of 
the  box,  and  bid  the  soul  farewell ;  no,  it  is  like  the  morning  light :  the 
least  beam  of  it  shall  commence  into  a  complete  sunshine  ;  it  is  aurora 
gaud  ii,  and  it  shall  shine  forth  brighter  and  brighter  till  perfect  day ; 
but  the  hypocrite's  hope,  the  presumptuous  sinner's  hope  is  like  a  cloud, 
or  the  morning  dew. 

Now,  in  my  text  you  have  the  object  about  which  this  '  lively  hope' 
is  exercised;  and  that  is, 'an  inheritance  incorruptible,  and  undefined, 
and  that  fadeth  not  away'  [What  these  words  import  I  shall  shew  you 
when  I  open  that  doctrine  which  I  intend  to  stand  upon  at  this  time], 
'reserved  in  heaven  for  you.' 

There  are  three  heavens :  the  first  is  caelum  aerium,  the  airy  heaven, 
where  the  fowls  of  heaven  do  fly;  the  second  is  caelum  astriferum, 
where  the  stars  of  heaven  are ;  the  third  is  caelum  beatorum,  the  heaven 
of  the  blessed,  where  God  appears  in  eminency,  and  where  Christ  shines 
in  glory ;  and  this  is  the  heaven  the  text  speaks  of. 

The  text  Avill  afford  several  points,  but  I  shall  only  name  one,  which 
I  intend  to  stand  on  at  this  time,  and  that  is  this, 

Doct.  That  God  reserves  the  best  and  greatest  favours  and  blessings 
for  believers  till  they  come  to  heaven. 

Now,  I  shall  prove  this  proposition  by  an  induction  of  particulars ; 
and  then  give  you  the  reasons  of  it.  I  will  begin  with  the  inheritance 
spoken  of  in  the  text. 

I.  The  best  inheritance  is  reserved  for  believers  till  they  come  to 
heaven.  This  is  clear  and  fair  in  the  text,5  yet  I  shall  make  this  fur- 
ther out  to  you  thus : 

(1.)  First,  The  inheritance  reserved  for  believers  till  they  come  to 
heaven,  is  a  pure,  undefiled,  and  incorruptible  inheritance.  It  is  an 
inheritance  that  cannot  be  defiled  nor  blemished  with  abuse  one  way  or 
another.  Other  inheritances  may,  and  often  are,  with  oaths,  cruelty, 
blood,  deceit,  &c.  The  Greek  word  d^lavrog  signifies  a  precious  stone, 
which,  though  it  be  never  so  much  soiled,  yet  it  cannot  be  blemished 
nor  defiled ;  yea,  the  oftener  you  cast  it  into  the  fire, and  take  it  out,  the 
more  clear,  bright,  and  shining  it  is.6     All  earthly  inheritances  are  true 

1  Corpus  spirando,  anima  sperando  vivit,  as  the  body  lives  by  breathing,  so  the  soul  by 
hoping.  «  The  early  form  of  '  waft '?— G. 

3  The  giver  of  its  name  to  the  Myrtoan  sea. — G. 

4  Job  viii.  13,  14,  xi.  20,  xxvii.  8 ;  Prov.  xi.  7.  b   Vide  Zanchium. 
6  tyuam  sordet  mihi  terra,  cum  calum  mtueor. — Adrian. 


1  Peter  I.  4.]  a  string  of  pearls.  411 

gardens  of  Adonis,  where  we  can  gather  nothing  but  trivial  flowers,  sur- 
rounded with  many  briers,  thorns,  and  thistles,  Gen.  iii.  18,  Isa.  xxiii.  9. 
Oh  the  hands,  the  hearts,  the  thoughts,  the  lives  that  have  been  defiled, 
stained,  and  polluted  with  earthly  inheritances!  Oh  the  impure  love, 
the  carnal  conscience,  the  vain  boastings,  the  sensual  joys,  that  earthly 
inheritances  have  filled  and  defiled  poor  souls  with!  All  earthly  in- 
heritances, they  are  no  better  than  the  cities  which  Solomon  gave  to 
Hiram,  which  he  called  Cabul,  1  Kings  ix.  13,  that  is  to  say,  displeasing 
or  dirty.     The  world  doth  but  dirt  and  dust  us.     But, 

(2.)  Secondly,  It  is  a  sure,  a  secure,  inheritance :  '  To  an  inherit- 
ance reserved  in  heaven  for  you.'  See  the  text.  The  Greek  word  that 
is  here  rendered  'reserved,'  is  from  ryota,  tereo,  which  signifies  to  keep 
solicitously,  to  keep  as  with  watch  and  ward.  This  inheritance  is  kept 
and  secured  to  us  by  promise,  by  power,  by  blood,  by  oath  ;  and  there- 
fore must  needs  be  sure.1  It  is  neither  sin,  nor  Satan,  nor  the  world 
that  can  put  a  Christian  by  his  inheritance.  Christ  hath  already  taken 
possession  of  it  in  their  names  and  in  their  rooms ;  and  so  it  is  secure 
to  them.  If  weakness  can  overcome  strength,  impotency  omnipotency. 
then  may  a  Christian  be  kept  out  of  his  inheritance,  but  not  till  then. 
But  earthly  inheritances  they  are  not  sure,  they  are  not  secure.  How 
often  doth  might  overcome  right,  and  the  weakest  go  to  the  wall! 
How  many  are  kept  out,  and  how  many  are  cast  out,  of  their  inherit- 
ances, by  power,  policy,  craft,  cruelty.  It  was  a  complaint  of  old,  our 
inheritance  is  turned  to  strangers,  our  houses  to  aliens,  James  v.  2. 

(3.)  Thirdly,  It  is  a  permanent,  a  lasting,  inheritance  :2  '  To  an 
inheritance  incorruptible,  undefiled,  and  that  fadeth  not  away.'  The 
Greek  word  apagavTog  is  the  proper  name  of  a  flower,  which  is  still  fresh 
and  green  after  it  hath  a  long  time  hung  up  in  the  house.  It  is  an  in- 
heritance that  shall  continue  as  long  as  God  himself  continues.  Of  this 
inheritance  there  shall  be  no  end.  Though  other  inheritances  may 
be  lasting,  yet  they  are  not  everlasting ;  though  sometimes  it  be  long- 
before  they  have  an  end,  yet  they  have  an  end.  Where  is  the  glory  of 
the  Chaldean,  Persian,  Grecian,  and  Roman  kingdoms  ?  Sic  transit 
gloria  mundi ;  but  the  glory  of  believers  shall  never  fade  nor  wither ; 
it  shall  never  grow  old  nor  rusty :  J  Pet.  v.  4,  '  And  when  the  chief 
Shepherd  shall  appear,  ye  shall  receive  a  crown  of  glory,  which  fadeth 
not  away.'  A  believer's  inheritance,  his  glory,  his  happiness,  his  bless- 
edness, shall  be  as  fresh  and  flourishing  after  he  hath  been  many  thou- 
sand thousands  of  years  in  heaven  as  it  was  at  his  first  entrance  into  it. 
Earthly  inheritances  are  like  tennis-balls,  which  are  bandied  up  and 
down  from  one  to  another,  and  in  time  wore  out,  1  Tim.  vi.  17.  The 
creature  is  all  shadow  and  vanity ;  it  is  filia  noctis,  like  Jonah's  gourd. 
Man  can  sit  under  its  shadow  but  a  little,  little  while ;  it  soon  decays 
and  dies  ;  it  quickly  fades  and  withers.  There  is  a  worm  at  the  root 
of  all  earthly  inheritances,  that  will  consume  them  in  time.  All  earthly 
comforts  and  contents  are  but  like  a  fair  picture  that  is  drawn  upon 
the  ice,  which  continueth  not ;  or  like  the  morning  cloud,  that  soon 
passeth  away ;  but  a  believer's  inheritance  endureth  for  ever.     When 

1  Heb.  vi.  12-20 ;  Rom.  viii.  33,  39  ;  Eph.  ii.  6 ;  John  xiv.  1-3,  x.  27-30.  If  this  in- 
heritance were  not  kept  for  us,  it  might  haply  go  the  same  way  paradise  did. 

2  Daniel  ii.  44,  vii.  27  ;  Heb.  xii.  27,  28 ;  2  Peter  i.  11. 


412  A  STRING  OF  PEARLS.  [1  PETER  I.  4. 

this  world  shall  be  no  more,  when  time  shall  be  no  more,  the  inherit- 
ance of  the  saints  shall  be  fresh,  flourishing,  and  continuing.  Nescio 
quid  erit,  quod,  ista  vita  non  erit,  ubi  lucet,  quod  non  capiat  locus, 
ubi  sonat,  quod  non  rapit  tempus,  ubi  olet,  quod  non  spargit  flatus, 
ubi  sap>it,  quod  non  minuit  edacitas,  ubi  hceret,  quod  non  divellit 
ceternitas,  said  Augustine  ;  what  will  that  life  be,  or  rather  what  will 
not  that  life  be,  since  all  good  either  is  not  at  all,  or  is  in  such  a  life  ? 
Light,  which  place  cannot  comprehend;  voices  and  music,  which  time 
cannot  ravish  away;  odours,  which  are  never  dissipated;  a  feast,  which 
is  never  consumed;  a  blessing,  which  eternity  bestoweth,  but  eternity 
si  i  all  never  see  at  an  end.  So  this,  all  this,  is  the  heritage  of  all  God's 
Jacobs. 

(4.)  Fourthly,  It  is  the  freest  inheritance.  It  is  an  inheritance  that 
is  free  from  all  vexation  and  molestation.  There  shall  be  no  sin  to 
molest  the  soul,  nor  no  devil  to  vex  the  soul.  '  There  shall  be  no 
pricking  brier  nor  grieving  thorn  unto  the  house  of  Israel/  Ezek.  xxviii. 
24 ;  there  shall  be  no  Jebusites  to  be  '  as  pricks  in  your  eyes,  and  thorns 
in  your  sides,'  Num.  xxxiii.  55.  There  shall  be  no  crying,  Oh  my 
bones  !  oh  my  bowels  !  oh  the  deceit  of  this  man  !  oh  the  oppression  of 
that  man !  &c.  No  ;  they  shall  have  a  crown  without  thorns,  a  rose 
without  prickles,  and  an  inheritance  without  the  least  encumbrance. 
This  inheritance  flows  from  free  love,  and  is  freely  offered,  though  the 
soul  hath  neither  money  nor  money-worth.  There  is  nothing,  there  is 
not  the  least  thing  about  this  inheritance  that  is  purchased  or  paid  for 
by  us,  Isa.  lv.  1,  2.  It  is  all  frank,  it  is  all  free,  it  is  all  of  grace.  Here 
is  such  an  inheritance  that  no  eye  ever  saw,  that  no  mortal  ever  pos- 
sessed ;  and  that  for  nothing.1  It  is  freely  offered,  and  it  is  freely  given : 
Acts  xx.  32,  '  And  now,  brethren,  I  commend  you  to  God,  and  to  the 
word  of  his  grace,  which  is  able  to  build  you  up,  and  to  give  you  an 
inheritance  among  all  them  which  are  sanctified.'  All  is  mercy,  all  is 
of  free  mercy,  that  God  alone  may  have  the  glory.  Other  inheritances 
they  have  their  encumbrances.  Oh  the  vexations,  the  molestations 
that  do  attend  them  !  Oh  the  debates,  the  disputes,  the  law-suits  that 
are  about  earthly  inheritances,  such  as  have  made  many  a  man  to  go 
with  a  heavy  heart,  an  empty  purse,  and  a  thread-bare  coat ;  which 
made  Themistocles  profess,  that  if  two  ways  were  shewed  him,  one  to 
hell,  and  the  other  to  the  bar,  he  would  decline  that  which  did  lead  to 
the  bar,  and  choose  that  which  went  to  hell.2 

(5.)  Fifthly,  It  is  an  inheritance  that  is  universally  communicable  ;3 
to  Jews,  to  Gentiles ;  to  bond,  to  free ;  to  rich,  to  poor ;  to  high,  to  low ; 
to  male,  to  female :  Gal.  iii.  28,  29,  '  There  is  neither  Jew  nor  Greek, 
there  is  neither  bond  nor  free,  there  is  neither  male  nor  female,  for  ye 
are  all  one  in  Christ  Jesus ;'  '  And  if  ye  be  Christ's,  then  are  ye  Abra- 
ham's seed,  and  heirs  according  to  the  promise,'  Rom.  viii.  17.  Among 
men,  all  sons  and  daughters  be  not  heirs,  yet  all  God's  children,  be  they 
sons,  be  they  daughters,  be  they  bond  or  free,  &c,  they  are  all  heirs, 
without  exception.     Jehoshaphat  gave  his  younger  sons  '  great  gifts  of 

1  Rom.  vii.  25;  Isa.  lxiv.  4 ;  1  Cor.  ii.  9.  *  Plutarch,  Themislocks.—G. 

3  Acts  x.  36;  1  Cor.  xii.  13.  Oh  that  excellent  inheritance,  saith  Bernard,  Non  anys- 
tior  mvltitudine  kceredum,  whose  portions  are  not  scanted  by  reason  of  the  number  and 
multitude  of  co-heirs. 


\ 


I  Peter  I.  4.]  a  string  of  pearls.  413 

silver  and  gold,  and  of  precious  things,  with  fenced  cities,  but  the  king- 
doms gave  he  to  Jehoram,  because  he  was  the  first-born,'  2  Chron.  xxi. 
3.  And  Abraham  gave  gifts  to  the  rest  of  his  sons,  but  Isaac  only  had 
the  inheritance,  Gen.  xxv.  5,  6.  In  some  countries  all  children  be  not 
heirs,  but  sons  only;  and  in  other  countries  not  all  sons,  but  the  eldest 
son  alone.  Usually  men  divide  their  earthly  inheritances.  If  all  the 
sons  be  heirs,  some  inherit  one  place,  others  others;  but  here  the  whole 
inheritance  is  enjoyed  by  every  child;  here  every  child  is  an  heir  to  all, 
and  hath  right  to  all.  In  earthly  inheritances,  the  more  you  divide, 
the  less  is  every  one's  part;  but  this  inheritance  is  not  diminished  by 
the  multitude  of  possessors,  nor  impaired  by  the  number  of  co-heirs;  it 
is  as  much  to  many  as  to  a  few,  and  as  great  to  one  as  to  all.  Not  a 
room,  not  a  mansion,  not  a  walk,  not  a  flower,  not  a  jewel,  not  a  box  of 
myrrh,  but  what  is  common  to  all;  not  a  smile,  not  a  good  word,  not  a 
sweet  look,  not  a  robe,  not  a  dish,  not  a  delicate,  not  a  pleasure,  not  a 
delight,  but  is  universally  communicable,  and  universally  fit  for  all  the 
thousands  millions  of  thousands  that  are  heirs  of  this  inheritance.  If 
there  be  a  thousand  together,  every  one  sees  as  much  of  the  sun,  hears 
as  much  of  the  sound,  smells  as  much  of  the  sweet,  as  he  should  do  if 
there  were  no  more  than  himself  alone ;  so  here. 

(b\)  Sixthly,  arid  lastly,  It  is  a  soul-satisfying  inheritance.  He 
that  hath  it  shall  sit  down  and  say,  I  have  enough,  I  have  all.1  As  one 
master  satisfies  the  servant,  and  as  one  father  satisfies  the  child,  and  as 
one  husband  satisfies  the  wife,  so  one  God,  one  Christ,  one  inheritance, 
satisfies  the  believing  soul :  Ps.  xvi.  5,  6,  '  The  Lord  is  the  portion  of 
mine  inheritance,  and  of  my  cup  :  thou  maintainest  my  lot.  The  lines 
are  fallen  unto  me  in  a  pleasant  place ;  yea,  I  have  a  goodly  heritage.' 
Will  an  inheritance  of  glory  satisfy  them  ?  Why  !  this  they  shall  have, 
1  John  iii.  3,  Col.  iii.  4.  Will  an  inheritance  of  power  and  dominion 
satisfy  them  ?  Why,  this  they  shall  have,  1  Cor.  iii.  21,  'All  things 
are  yours,'  &c.  Mat.  xix.  28,  1  Cor.  vi.  2,  3,  &c.  Will  Abraham's 
bosom  satisfy  you  ?  Why !  this  you  shall  have,  Luke  xvi.  22. 2 
The  bosom  is  the  place  where  love  lodges  all  her  children  ;  the  bosom 
is  the  place  of  delight  and  satisfaction,  and  this  you  shall  have  ;  nay, 
you  shall  have  a  better,  a  choicer,  a  sweeter  bosom  to  solace  your  souls 
in  than  Abraham's,  to  wit,  the  bosom  of  Jesus  Christ,  which  will  be 
a  paradise  of  pleasure  and  delight  to  you.  Will  Christ's  best  robe,  will 
his  own  signet  put  upon  you,  satisfy  you  ?  Why!  this  you  shall  have. 
Will  it  satisfy  you  to  be  where  Christ  is,  and  to  fare  as  Christ  fares,  and 
wear  as  Christ  wears,  and  enjoy  as  Christ  enjoys  ?  Why  !  this  you  shall 
have  :  John  xii.  26,  '  Where  I  am,  there  shall  also  my  servant  be  ;  if 
any  man  serve  me,  him  will  my  Father  honour.'  If  all  these  things 
will  satisfy  souls,  then  surely  the  inheritance  reserved  in  heaven  for 
them  will  satisfy  them  ;  for  that  inheritance  takes  in  these  things,  and 
many  more.  The  good  things  that  this  inheritance  is  made  up  of  are 
so  many,  that  they  exceed  number;  so  great,  that  they  exceed  measure; 
so  precious,  that  they  are  above  all  estimation  ;  and  therefore  it  must 

1  Habet  omnia  qui  hahet  halentem  omnia. — Augustine.  Gen.  xxxiii.  11,1  have  enough, 
saith  Jacob,  ^3  17,  Li  ckol,  I  have  all. 

*  Si  aliud propter  Deum  habeo,  nee  aliud plene possideo  nee  Deum.  Deus  qui  non  deficit,  solus 
mihi  sufficit.  — Eusebius,  Nuremb. 


414  A  STRING  OF  PEABLS.  [1  PeTEB  T.  4. 

needs  be  a  soul-satisfying  inheritance.1  But  now  all  other  inheritances 
they  cannot  satisfy  the  heart  of  man  :2  Eccles.  v.  10,  '  He  that  loveth 
silver,  shall  not  be  satisfied  with  silver;  nor  he  that  loveth  abundance, 
with  increase  :  this  is  also  vanity.'  If  you  please,  you  may  read  the 
words  nearer  the  original  thus:  'He  that  loveth  silver,  shall  not  be 
satisfied  with  silver;  and  be  that  loveth  it,  in  the  multitude  of  it,  shall 
not  have  fruit.'  It  is  the  love  of  silver  that  is  the  mischief  of  it ;  it  is 
the  love  of  silver  that  makes  men  unsatisfied  with  silver.  Such  a  man 
will  still  be  adding  house  to  house,  land  to  land,  bag  to  bag,  and  heap 
to  heap,  and  yet  after  all  be  still  unsatisfied.  Bernard3  compareth  such 
a  man  to  one  that,  being  very  hungry,  gapeth  continually  for  wind,  with 
which  he  may  be  puffed,  but  cannot  be  filled  and  satisfied  ;  and  so  the 
same  author  elsewhere  saith  well,  Anima  rationalis  cceteris  omnibus 
occupari  potest,  impleri  non  potest,  the  reasonable  soul  may  be  busied 
about  other  things,  but  it  cannot  be  filled  with  them  ;  they  can  no 
more  fill  up  the  soul  than  a  drop  of  water  can  fill  up  the  huge  ocean  ; 
they  can  no  more  satisfy  the  desires  of  the  soul  than  a  few  drops  of 
water  can  the  thirst  of  a  man  inflamed  with  a  violent  fever  ;  nay,  as  oil 
increases  the  flame  of  the  fire,  so  the  more  a  man  hath  of  the  world,  the 
more  his  heart  is  inflamed  after  it.4  When  Alexander  had  conquered 
the  known  part  of  the  world,  say  some,  he  sat  down  and  wished  for 
another  world  to  conquer.  Charles  the  Fifth,  emperor  of  Germany, 
whom  of  all  men  the  world  judged  most  happy,  cried  out  with  detesta- 
tion to  all  his  honours,  pleasures, trophies, riches,  Abite  hinc,  cthite  longe; 
get  you  hence,  let  me  hear  no  more  of  you.  They  could  not  satisfy 
him,  they  could  not  quiet  him.  Such  things  that  a  fancy,  a  conceit,  an 
ungrounded  fear  will  rob  a  man  of  the  comfort  of,  can  never  satisfy  him ; 
but  such  are  all  worldly  enjoyments,  2  Kings  vii.  6,  7.  One  man  will 
not  live  because  his  Delilah  will  not  love  ;  another  with  Ahab  will  be 
sick,  and  die  because  he  cannot  get  his  neighbour's  inheritance,  1  Kings 
xxi.  ;  another  wishes  himself  dead  because  his  commodities  lie  dead  on 
his  hands  ;  another  with  Haman  can  find  no  sweetness  in  all  his  enjoy- 
ments, because  Mordecai  sits  at  the  king's  gate,  Esther  v.  9-14  ;  as  those 
things  which  delude  a  man  can  never  satisfy  him.  But  the  world  de- 
ludes a  man,  and  puts  cheats  upon  him;  it  promises  a  man  pleasure, 
and  pays  him  with  pain  ;  it  promises  profit — '  all  this  will  I  give  thee  ' 
— and  pays  him  with  loss  ;  loss  of  God,  of  Christ,  of  peace  of  conscience,  of 
comfort,  of  heaven,  of  happiness,  of  all;  it  promises  contentment,  and  fills 
him  with  torment  ; — and  therefore  can  never  satisfy  the  soul  of  man,  &c. 

But  the  inheritance  reserved  in  heaven,  that  will  satisfy ;  it  will 
afford  nothing  that  may  offend  the  soul,  it  will  yield  everything  that 
may  delight  the  soul,  that  may  quiet  and  satisfy  the  soul ;  by  all  which 
it  is  most  evident,  that  the  best  inheritance  is  reserved  for  the  saints 
till  they  come  to  heaven.     But, 

II.  Secondly,  As  the  best  inheritance,  so  the  best  is  reserved  for  be- 
lievers till  they  come  to  heaven.  This  life  is  full  of  trials,  full  of  troubles, 
and  full  of  changes.     Sin  within,  and  Satan  and  the  world  without,  will 

1  August,  de  Triplici.  hahitu.  cap.  iv. 

2  This  the  great  caliph  of  Babylon,  Charles  the  Fifth,  and  others,  found  by  ex- 
perience. 

Bernard,  Tract,  de  diligendo  Devm,  cap.  iii.  *  Bernard,  Horn.  Mat.  xix.  17. 


1  Peter  I.  4.]  A  string  of  pearls.  4 1 5 

keep  a  Christian  from  rest,  till  he  comes  to  rest  in  the  bosom  of  Christ. 
The  life  of  a  Christian  is  a  race  ;  and  what  rest  have  they  that  are  still 
a-running  their  race  ?  The  life  of  a  Christian  is  a  warfare  ;  and  what 
rest  have  they  that  are  still  engaged  in  a  constant  warfare  ?  The  life 
of  a  Christian  is  the  life  of  a  pilgrim  ;  and  what  rest  hath  a  pilgrim,  who 
is  still  a-travelling  from  place  to  place  V-  A  pilgrim  is  like  Noah's 
dove,  that  conld  find  no  rest  for  the  sole  of  her  foot.  The  fears,  the 
snares,  the  cares,  the  changes,  &c,  that  attends  believers  in  this  world, 
are  such  that  will  keep  them  from  taking  up  their  rest  here.  A  Chris- 
tian hears  that  word  always  sounding  in  his  ears,  'Arise,  for  this  is  not 
thy  resting-place/  Micah  ii.  10.  A  man  may  as  well  expect  to  find 
heaven  in  hell,  as  expect  to  find  rest  in  this  world.  It  was  the  com- 
plaint of  Ambrose,  Quid  in  liac  vita  non  experimur  adversi  ?  Quas 
non  procellas  tempestatesque  perpetirnur?  Quibus  non  exagitamur 
incommodisf  Cujus  parcitur  meritis  P  What  misery  do  we  not 
undergo  in  this  life  ?  What  storms  and  tempests  do  we  not  endure  ? 
with  what  troubles  are  we  not  tossed  ?  whose  worth  is  spared  ?  Man's 
sorrows  begin  when  his  days  begin,  and  his  sorrows  are  multiplied  as 
his  days  are  multiplied  ;  his  whole  life  is  but  one  continued  grief ; 
labour  wears  him,  care  tears  him,  fears  toss  him,  losses  vex  him,  dangers 
trouble  him,  crosses  disquiet  him,  nothing  pleases  him  ;  in  the  day  he 
wishes,  Would  God  it  were  night,  and  in  the  night,  Would  God  it  were 
day ;  before  he  rises  he  sighs  ;  before  he  washes  he  weeps ;  before  he 
feeds  he  fears  ;  under  all  his  abundance  he  is  in  wants,  and  '  in  the 
midst  of  his  sufficiency  he  is  in  straits,'  Job  xx.  22  ;  his  heart,  as 
Gregory  Nyssene  speaks,3  Non  tantum  gaudet  in  Us  quce  habet,  quan- 
tum tristatur  ob  ea  quce  desunt,  is  not  so  much  quieted  in  those  things 
which  it  hath,  as  it  is  tormented  for  those  things  which  it  hath  not. 
In  a  word,  all  the  rest  we  have  in  this  world,  is  but  a  very  short  nap, 
to  that  glorious  rest  that  is  reserved  in  heaven  for  us  :  Heb.  iv.  9,  10, 
'There  remaineth  therefore  a  rest  to  the  people  of  God.  For  he  that 
is  entered  into  his  rest,  he  also  hath  ceased  from  his  own  works,  as  God 
did  from  his.'  There  remains  a  rest  to  the  people  of  God,  or  as  the 
Greek  hath  it,  a  sabbatism,  a  celestial  rest,  an  eternal  rest,  a  Sabbath 
that  shall  never  have  end.4  When  God  had  made  man,  we  read  that 
the  next  day  he  rested  ;  and  why  is  this  set  down,  saith  Anselm, 
Nisi  per  hoc  vellet  innuere,  quod  ilium  post  cujus  creationem  requie- 
vit,  ad  requiem  fecit  ?  but  that  the  Spirit  of  God  would  shew  unto  us, 
that  God  made  him  for  rest,  after  the  making  of  whom  God  is  said  to 
have  rested  ?5  Rest  is  a  jewel  very  desirable  on  earth,  but  we  shall  not 
wear  it  in  our  bosoms  till  we  come  to  heaven.  Ambrose  well  observes,6 
that  sex  diebus  mundus  est  /actus,  septimo  requietum  est  die;  ultra 
mundum  ergo  est  quies,  ultra  mundum  etiam  fructus  quietis,  in  six 
days  the  world  was  made,  on  the  seventh  day  there  was  rest ;  it  is  be- 
yond this  world,  therefore,  that  rest  is,  and  it  is  beyond  this  world  that 
the  fruit  of  rest  is  to  be  had. 

1  Heb.  xii.  1 ;  2  Tim.  iv.  7,  8  ;  Isa.  xl.  2;  2  Cor.  x.  4  ;  1  Tim.  i.  18 ;  Ps.  cxix.  54  ; 
Heb.  xi.  13  ;  1  Peter  ii.  11. 

2  Ambrose  defide  resurrectionis.  s  Gregor.  Nyssen.  in  Eccles.  Horn.  7. 

4  tra[i[iari<rf*h,  a  sabbatizing. 

5  Estius — and  others — understands  this  text  of  a  celestial  rest,  &c. 

6  Ambrose  in  Evangel.  Lu.  c.  ix. 


41 G  A  STRING  OF  PEARLS.  [1  PETER  I.  4. 

I  shall  shew  you,  observing  brevity,  the  excellency  of  that  rest  that 
is  reserved  for  believers  in  heaven.     As, 

(1.)  First,  It  is  a  superlative  rest ;  a  rest  that  infinitely  exceeds  all 
earthly  rest.  All  other  rest  is  not  to  be  named  in  the  day  wherein 
this  rest  is  spoken  of.  Some  have  purchased  rest,  for  a  time,  with 
silver  and  gold,  but  this  is  a  rest  that  all  the  gold  and  silver  in  the 
world  can  never  purchase.  Over  this  rest  is  written,  not  the  price  of 
gold,  but  the  price  of  blood,  yea,  the  price  of  the  best  and  noblest  blood 
that  ever  run  in  veins.  That  rest  we  have  here  must  needs  be  a  poor, 
low-priced  rest,  ubi  multa  cautela  custoditur  salus  corporis,  custodita 
etiam  amittitur,  amissa  cum  gravi  labore  reparatur,  et  tamen  repa- 
rata  in  dubio  semper  est,1  where  the  health  of  the  body  is  preserved 
with  much  watchfulness,  being  preserved,  is  also  lost ;  being  lost,  is 
recovered  with  much  labour ;  and  yet  being  recovered,  is  always  in 
danger  and  doubtfulness,  what  will  become  of  it.  Our  estate  in  this 
world  is  not  a  fixed  estate  ;  what  then  is  our  rest  ?  Our  very  living  is 
but  a  passing  away  ;  our  lives  are  full  of  troubles,  and  they  fill  our  souls 
full  of  unquietness.  After  the  Trojans  had  been  tossing  and  wander- 
ing in  the  Mediterranean  Sea,  as  soon  as  they  espied  Italy,  they  cried 
out  with  exulting  joy,  'Italy!  Italy!'  and  so  when  saints,  after  all  their 
tossings  and  restlessness  in  this  world,  shall  come  to  heaven,  then,  and 
not  till  then,  they  will  cry  out,  Rest,  rest,  no  rest  to  this  rest.     But, 

(2.)  Secondly,  The  rest  reserved  in  heaven  for  believers,  it  is  an 
universal  rest,  Rev.  xiv.  13,  a  rest  from  all  sin  and  a  rest  from  all  sorrow  ; 
a  rest  from  all  afflictions  and  a  rest  from  all  temptations  ;  a  rest  from  all 
oppression  and  a  rest  from  all  vexations  ;  a  rest  from  all  labour  and 
pains,  from  all  trouble  and  travail,  from  all  aches,  weaknesses,  and 
diseases.  There  is  no  crying  out,  O  my  bones !  O  my  back !  O  my 
bowels  !  O  my  sides  !  O  my  head  !  0  my  heart !  Our  rest  here  is  only 
in  part  and  imperfect ;  here  we  have  rest  in  one  part  and  pain  in 
another,  quiet  in  one  part  and  torment  in  another.  Sometimes  when 
the  head  is  well,  the  heart  is  sick  ;  and  sometimes  when  there  is  peace 
in  the  conscience,  there  is  pain  in  the  bones.  Here  many  return  us 
hatred  for  our  love,  aud  this  hinders  our  rest  ;2  here  we  are  apt  to  create 
cares  and  fears  to  ourselves,  rather  than  we  will  want  them,  and  this 
hinders  our  rest ;  here  we  are  very  apt  to  give  offence,  and  as  apt  to 
take  offence,  though  none  be  given,  and  this  hinders  our  rest,  1  Cor.  x. 
32.  Sometimes  we  have  rest  abroad  and  none  at  home ;  sometimes  rest 
at  home  and  none  abroad,  Job  vii.  13-16.  Our  rest  here  is  imperfect 
and  incomplete,  but  our  rest  in  heaven  shall  be  most  perfect  and  com- 
plete ;  there  the  inward  and  the  outward  man  shall  be  both  at  rest,  &c. 
But, 

(3.)  Thirdly,  It  is  an  uninterrupted  rest ;  it  is  a  rest  that  none  can 
interrupt.3  Here  sometimes  sin  interrupts  our  rest,  sometimes  tempta- 
tions interrupts  our  rest,  sometimes  divine  withdrawings  interrupts  our 
rest,  sometimes  the  sudden  changes  and  alterations  that  God  makes  in 
our  conditions  interrupts  our  rest;  sometimes  the  power,  and  sometimes 
the  policy,  and  sometimes  the  cruelty  of  wicked  men  interrupts  our  rest. 
sometimes  the  crossness  of  friends,  sometimes  the  deceitfulness  of  friends. 

1  Greg.  Mor.  1.  xi.  c.  26.  *  Ps.  xxxviii.  20,  cix.  4,  Mat.  vi.  25-34. 

3  Ps.  xl.  12  ;  2  Cor.  xii.  7-9  ;  Ps.  xxx.  6,  7  ;  Cunt.  iii.  5  ;  Job  iii.  25,  26,  &c. 


]  Peter  I.  4.]  a  string  of  pearls.  417 

sometimes  the  loss  of  friends,  and  sometimes  the  death  of  friends 
interrupts  our  rest ;  one  thing  or  another  is  still  interrupting  our  rest.1 
Oh !  but  in  heaven  there  shall  be  no  sin,  no  devil,  no  sinner,  no  false 
Mends  ;  there  shall  be  nothing,  there  shall  not  be  the  least  thing  that 
may  interrupt  a  saint's  rest ;  indeed,  heaven  could  not  be  heaven,  did 
it  admit  of  anything  that  might  interrupt  a  saint's  rest.  .  Heaven  is 
above  all  winds  and  weather,  storms  and  tempests,  earthquakes  and 
heartquakes.  There  is  only  that  which  is  amiable  and  desirable ;  there 
is  nothing  to  cloud  a  Christian's  joy,  or  to  interrupt  a  Christian's  rest. 
When  once  a  soul  is  asleep  in  the  bosom  of  Abraham,  none  can  awake 
him,  none  can  molest  or  disturb  him.  Here  is  joy  without  sorrow, 
blessedness  without  misery,  health  without  sickness,  light  without  dark- 
ness, abundance  without  want,  beauty  without  deformity,  honour  with- 
out disgrace,  ease  without  labour,  and  peace  without  interruption  or 
perturbation.  Here  shall  be  eyes  without  tears,  hearts  without  fears, 
and  souls  without  sin.  Here  shall  he  no  evil  to  molest  the  soul ;  here 
shall  be  all  good  to  cheer  the  soul,  and  all  happiness  to  satisfy  the  soul ; 
and  what  then  can  possibly  interrupt  the  rest  of  the  soul  ?     But, 

(4.)  Fourthly,  As  it  is  an  uninterrupted  rest,  so  it  is  a  peculiar  rest; 
it  is  a  rest  peculiar  to  sons,  to  saints,  to  heirs,  to  beloved  ones :  Ps. 
cxxvii.  2,  '  So  he  gives  his  beloved  rest/  or  as  the  Hebrew  hath  it, 
dearling,  or  dear  beloved,  quiet  rest,  without  care  or  sorrow.2  The 
Hebrew  word  *UW,  Shena,  is  written  with  N,  a  quiet  dumb  letter,  which 
is  not  usual,  to  denote  the  more  quietness  and  rest.  This  rest  is  a  crown 
that  God  sets  only  upon  the  head  of  saints  ;  it  is  a  gold  chain  that  he 
only  puts  about  his  children's  necks;  it  is  a  jewel  that  he  only  hangs 
between  his  beloveds'  breasts  ;  it  is  a  flower  that  he  only  sticks  in  his 
darlings'  bosoms.  This  rest  is  a  tree  of  life  that  is  proper  and  peculiar 
to  the  inhabitants  of  that  heavenly  country  ;  it  is  children's  bread,  and 
shall  never  be  given  to  dogs.  Here  wicked  men  have  their  good  things  ; 
their  peace,  their  rest,  their  quiet,  &c,  their  heaven,  whilst  the  people 
of  God  are  troubled  and  disquieted  on  every  side  f  but  the  day  is 
a-coming  wherein  the  saints  shall  have  rest,  and  sinners  shall  never 
have  a  good  day  more,  never  have  an  hour's  rest  more ;  their  torments 
shall  be  endless  and  ceaseless.  The  old  world  had  their  resting-time, 
but  at  last  patience  and  justice,  tired  and  abused,  put  a  period  to  their 
rest,  by  washing  and  sweeping  them  to  hell  with  a  flood  ;  and  then 
Noah,  and  those  righteous  souls  that  were  with  him,  had  their  time  of 
rest  and  peace  ;  and  so  shall  it  be  with  sinners  and  saints  at  last,  &c 
But, 

(5.)  Fifthly,  The  rest  reserved  for  the  saints  in  heaven,  as  it  is  a 
peculiar  rest,  so  it  is  a  rest  that  is  universally  communicable  to  all  the 
sons  and  daughters  of  God.  '  And  to  you  who  are  troubled,  rest  with 
us/  saith  the  apostle  Paul  ;  '  rest  with  us/  with  us  apostles,  with  us 
saints,  and  with  all  the  family  of  heaven  together,  2  Thess.  i.  6,  7. 
Here  some  saints  are  at  liberty,  when  others  are  in  prison  ;  here  some 

1  Quid  est  aliud  hie  nasci,  nisi  ingredi  laboriosam  vilam  ?  What  is  it  else  to  be  born 
here,  than  to  enter  into  a  troublesome  life  ? — Augustine. 

2  ITT?,  it  is  an  allusion  to  Solomon's  name,  Jedidiah,  2  Sam.  xii.  25. 

3  Luke  xvi.  25 ;  Ps.  lxxiii.  3-21 ;  Job  xxi.  7-14. 

VOL.  I.  D  d 


418  A  STRING  OF  PEARLS.  [1  PCTER  1/4. 

sit  under  their  own  vines  and  drink  the  blood  of  the  grape,  whilst  others 
have  their  blood  poured  out  as  water  upon  tin*  ground,  &c. ;  but  in  heaven 
they  shall  all  have  rest  together,  the  believing  husband  and  the  believ- 
ing wile  shall  rest  together,  and  believing  parents  and  believing  chil- 
dren shall  rest  together.  Here  one  relation  hath  rest,  when  the  other 
hath  not,  but  there  they  shall  all  rest  together.  There  the  painful1 
preacher  and  the  diligent  hearer  shall  rest  together  ;  there  the  gracious 
master  and  the  pious  servant  shall  rest  together,  &c.  :  Isa.  lvii.  2,  '  He 
shall  enter  into  peace,  they  shall  rest  in  their  beds,  each  one  walking 
in  his  uprightness  ;  they  shall  rest  in  their  beds,'  or  as  some  read  it, 
they  shall  rest  in  their  bee-hives,  expressing  theaHebrew  by  the  Latin  ; 
cub  He  signifies  a  bee-hive,  as  well  as  a  couch  or  bed.  Look,  as  the 
poor  wearied  bees  do  rest  all  together  in  their  bee-hives,  in  their  honey- 
houses,  so  all  the  saints  shall  rest  together  in  heaven,  which  is  their 
bee-hive,  their  honey-house ;  and  oh  what  a  happy  rest  will  that  be, 
when  all  the  saints  shall  rest  together !     But, 

(6.)  Sixthly  and  lastly,  It  is  a  permanent,  a  constant  rest.  Of  this 
rest  there  shall  be  no  end.  It  is  a  rest  that  shall  last  as  long  as  heaven 
lasts  ;  yea,  as  long  as  God  himself  shall  continue.  Time  shall  be  no 
more,  and  this  world  shall  be  no  more,  but  this  rest  shall  remain  for 
ever,  Rev.  x.  6,  2  Pet.  iii.  10,  et  seq.  The  rest  of  the  people  of  God  in  this 
world  is  transient,  it  is  inconstant.  Now  they  have  rest,  and  anon  they 
have  none  ;  now  a  calm,  presently  a  storm  ;  now  all  is  in  quiet,  anon 
all  is  in  an  uproar.  Their  rest  in  this  world  is  like  a  morning  cloud 
and  the  early  dew,  which  is  soon  dried  up  by  the  beams  of  the  sun, 
Hosea  vi.  4.  Since  God  hath  cast  man  out  of  paradise,  out  of  his  first 
rest,  he  can  find  but  little  rest  in  this  world  ;  sometimes  the  unfitness 
of  the  creature  troubles  him,  sometimes  the  fickleness  of  the  creature 
vexes  him,  sometimes  the  treachery  of  the  creature  enrages  him,  and 
sometimes  the  want  of  the  creature  distracts  him.  When  in  his  heart 
he  saith,  Now  I  shall  have  rest,  now  I  shall  be  quiet,  then  troubles  and 
changes  come,  so  that  his  whole  life  is  rather  a  dreaming  of  rest  than  an 
enjoying  of  rest.  Oh  !  but  in  heaven  the  rest  of  the  saints  shall  have  no 
end  ;  there  shall  be  nothing  that  can  put  a  period  to  their  rest,  there 
shall  be  everything  that  may  conduce  to  the  perpetuating  of  their  rest. 
Heaven  would  be  but  a  poor  low  thing,  did  it  not  afford  a  perpetual  rest. 

III.  Thirdly,  As  the  best  rest,  so  the  best  sight  and  knowledge  of  God 
is  reserved  for  believers  till  they  come  to  heaven.  I  readily  grant  that 
even  in  this  world  the  saints  do  know  the  Lord,  inwardly,  spiritually, 
powerfully,  feelingly,  experimentally,  transformingly,  practically  ;  but 
yet,  notwithstanding  all  this,  the  best  knowledge  of  God  is  reserved  for 
heaven,  which  I  shall  evidence  by  an  induction  of  particulars,  thus  : 

(1.)  First,  They  shall  have  the  clearest  knowledge  and  revelation  of 
God  in,  heaven.2  Here  our  visions  of  God  are  not  clear;  and  this  makes 
many  a  child  of  light  to  sit  and  sigh  in  darkness.  Lam.  iii.  44.  God 
veils  himself,  he  covers  himself  with  a  cloud.  Man,  when  he  is  silent 
concerning  God,  seemeth  to  be  something,  bul  when  he  begins  to  speak 
of  God,  it  plainly  appears  that  he  is  nothing. 

Simonides  being  asked  by  Hiero,  the  tyrant,  what  God  was,  craved 

1  •  Painstaking.' — G.  '  Nihil  notum  in  terra,  nihil  ignotum  in  ccclo. 


1  Peter  I.  4]  a  string  of  pearls.  419 

a  day  for  to  deliberate  about  an  answer ;  but  the  more  he  sought  into 
the  nature  of  God,  the  more  difficult  he  found  it  to  express  ;  there- 
fore, the  next  day  after  being  questioned,  he  asked  two  days,  the  third 
day  he  craved  four,  and  so  from  that  time  forth  doubled  the  number  ; 
and  being  asked  why  he  did  so,  he  answered,  that  the  more  he  studied, 
the  less  he  was  able  to  define  what  he  was,  so  incomprehensible  is  his 
nature.1 

Our  visions  of  God  here  are  dark  and  obscure.  Augustine,  asking 
the  question,  what  God  is  ?  gives  in  this  answer,2  Oerte  hie  est,  de  quo 
et  quum  dicitur,  non  potest  dici;  quum  cestimatur,  non  potest  cesti- 
mari;  quum  comparatur,  non  potest  comparari;  quum  definitur,  ipse 
sua  dejinitione  crescit :  surely  it  is  he,  who  when  he  is  spoken  of  can- 
not be  spoken  of,  who  when  he  is  considered  of  cannot  be  considered  of, 
who  when  he  is  compared  to  any  thing  cannot  be  compared,  and  when 
he  is  defined,  groweth  greater  by  defining  of  him.  It  is  observable, 
that  it  was  not  the  Lord  which  the  prophet  Ezekiel  saw,  it  was  only  a 
vision,  Ezek.  i.  28.  In  the  vision  it  was-  not  the  glory  of  the  Lord  which 
he  saw,  but  the  likeness  of  it  ;  nay,  it  was  not  the  likeness  of  it,  but 
the  appearance  of  the  likeness  of  the  glory  of  the  Lord,  that  made  him 
to  fall  on  his  face,  as  not  being  able  to  behold  it.  Sin  hath  so  weak- 
ened, dazzled,  and  darkened  the  eye  of  our  souls,  that  we  cannot  bear 
the  sight  of  the  glory  of  the  Lord,  nor  the  likeness  of  it,  no !  nor  the 
appearance  of  the  likeness  of  it. 

In  the  Psalms  the  Lord  is  said  to  ride  upon  a  cherub,  Ps.  xviii.  10  ; 
upon  which  words  one  saith  thus,  Cherub  quippe  plenitudo  scientice 
dicitur,  proinde  super  plenitudinem  scientice  ascendisse  perhibetur, 
quia  majestatis  ejus  plenitudinem  scientia  nulla  comprehendit,  a 
cherub  is  so  called,  as  being  a  fulness  of  knowledge  ;  and  therefore  is 
God  said  to  ascend  above  the  fulness  of  knowledge,  because  no  know- 
ledge comprehendeth  the  fulness  of  his  majesty.4 

But  when  believers  come  to  heaven,  then  they  shall  have  a  more  clear 
vision  and  sight  of  God:  J  Cor.  xiii.  12,  'For  now  we  see  through  a 
glass,  darkly  ;  but  then  face  to  face  :  now  I  know  in  part ;  but  then 
shall  I  know  even  as  also  I  am  known/4  Now  we  see  him  obscurely, 
as  in  a  glass,  but  then  we  shall  see  him  distinctly,  clearly,  immediately  ; 
we  shall  then  apprehend  him  clearly,  though,  even  then,,  we  cannot 
comprehend  him  fully.6  Some  sense  those  words,  I  shall  know  even  as 
I  am  known,  thus :  Look,  as  God  knoweth  me  after  a  manner  agreeable  to 
his  infinite  excellency,  so  shall  I  know  God  according  to  my  capacity, 
not  obscurely,  but  perfectly,  as  it  were,  face  to  face ;  and  this  is  the 
greatest  height  of  blessedness  and  happiness,  Now  all  veils  shall  be 
taken  off;  and  we  shall  have  a  clear  prospect  of  God's  excellency  and 
glory,  of  his  blessedness  and  fulness,  of  his  loveliness  and  sweetness.6 
Now  all  masks,  clouds,  and  curtains,  shall  be  drawn  for  ever,  that  saints 
may  clearly  see  the  breadth,  length,  depth,  and  height  of  divine  love, 
and  that  they  may  clearly  see  into  the  mystery  of  the  Trinity,  the  mys- 
tery of  Christ's  incarnation,  the  mystery  of  man's  redemption,  the  mys- 

1  Cicero,  de  natura  deor.  1.  i.  2  Augustine  defide  cont.  Arrian.  c.  vi. 

3  Gregory  Mor.  1.  vii.  c.  15.  4  ev  amy  pan,  in  a  riddle. 

5  In  this  life,  saith  Bernard,  erit  mira  serenitas,  plena  securitas,  ceterna  fcelicitas,  there 
will  be  wonderful  serenity,  full  security,  eternal  felicity.    6  Visio  clara  no7i  comprehensiva. 


120  A  STRING  OF  PEARL*  [1  PETER  I.  4. 

tery  of  providences,  the  mystery  of  prophesies  ;  and  all  those  mysteries 
that  relate  to  the  nature,  substances,  offices,  orders,  and  excellencies  of 
the  angels,  those  princes  of  glory,  who  still  keep  their  standings  in  the 
court  of  heaven  ;  and  all  those  mysteries  that  concern  the  nature,  ori- 
ginal, immortality,  spirituality,  excellency,  and  activity  of  our  own  souls, 
beside  a  world  of  other  mysteries  that  respect  the  decrees  and  counsels 
of  God,  the  creation  of  the  world,  the  fall  of  Adam,  and  the  fall  of  angels. 
Now  the  most  knowing  men  in  the  world  are  much  in  the  dark  about 
these  things  ;  but  when  we  come  to  heaven,  we  shall  have  a  close  and 
a  clear  sight  and  knowledge  of  them.  ISTow  we  shall  know,  as  we  are 
known  ;  now  we  shall  see  God  face  to  face.  0  beata  visio,  videre  Regent 
angelorwm,  sanctum  sanctorum,  Deurn  coeli,  Rectorem  terms,  patrem, 
viventiv/m, !  Oh  blessed  sight!  to  behold  the  King  of  angels,  the  holy 
of  holies,  the  God  of  heaven,  the  Ruler  of  the  earth,  the  Father  of  the 
living  !'  0  beata  visio,  videre  Dewm  in  seipso,  videre  i/n  nobis,  el  no$ 
i a  i'o.  Oh  blessed  vision  and  contemplation,  wherein  we  shall  see  God 
in  himself,  God  in  us,  and  ourselves  in  God  \2     But, 

(±)  Secondly,  As  in  heaven  they  shall  have  the  clearest  knowledge 
of  God,  so  in  heaven  they  shall  have  the  fullest  knowledge  of  God.  Here 
our  knowledge  of  God  is  weak,  as  well  as  dark,  but  in  heaven  it  shall 
be  full  and  complete.  '  Here  we  know  but  in  part;  but  there  we  shall 
know  as  we  are  known,'  1  Cor.  xiii.  12.  As  the  apostle  speaks,  here  we 
are  able  to  take  in  but  little  of  God,  either  sin  or  Satan,  or  else  fears, 
doubts,  and  scruples,  or  else  the  pleasures  or  profits,  the  comforts  or 
contents  of  this  wrorld  doth  so  defile  the  soul,  and  so  fill  the  soul,  that  it 
is  able  to  take  in  but  very  little  of  God.  '  How  little  a  portion/  saith 
Job,  '  is  heard  of  him  !'  Job  xxvi.  14.  It  is  but  a  portion,  a  little  por- 
tion, that  we  can  conceive  of  him.  The  Hebrew  is  ^°^,  shemets,  par- 
ti en  lam,  a  little  bit,  nay,  it  is  said,  *12"1  ¥»C?  shemets  dabar,  particulam 
verbi,  a  little  piece  of  a  word,  or  particulam  alicnjus,  a  little  piece  of 
something,  that  we  do  hear  of  him.  'I  have  many  things  to  say  unto  you,' 
sai  th  Christ, '  but  ye  cannot  bear  them  now,'  John  xvi.  ]  2.3  Man  is  a  poor, 
Low,  weak  creature,  and  is  not  able  to  bear  an}'  great  or  full  discoveries  of 
God.  As  weak  shoulders  cannot  bear  heavy  burdens,  nor  weak  sto- 
machs digest  strong  meats;  no  more  were  they  able  to  bear  the  revela- 
tion of  many  high,  spiritual,  precious,  and  glorious  truths,  that  Christ 
was  willing  to  discover  to  them.  Those  that  have  weak  eyes,  or  that 
have  a  blemish  in  their  eyes,  cannot  discern  things  aright.  Now  we 
have  all  weak  eyes,  we  have  all  one  blemish  or  another  in  our  eye, 
which  hinders  us  from  a  full  sight  and  knowledge  of  God,  and  of  his 
excellency  and  glory.  Oh  !  but  now  in  heaven,  we  shall  have  a  full  and 
perfect  knowledge  of  God;  there  shall  be  no  sore  eyes,  no  clouds,  no 
mists  to  hinder  us  from  a  full  sight  of  the  Sun  of  righteousness.4  Here 
our  understandings  shall  be  full  of  the  knowledge  of  God,  our  minds 
full  of  the  wisdom  of  God,  our  wills  full  of  the  righteousness  and  holi- 
ness of  God,  and  our  affections  full  of  the  love  and  delights  of  God. 

1  Augustine,  W>.  </<■  spir.,  .jr.  c.  lvii.  2  Bernard,  Meditat.  c.  iv. 

1   I  (or.  iii.  1-:?  ;   Eeb.  v.  12-14. 

4  Our  knowledge  of  God  now  is  rather  negative  than  positive;  we  know  not  so  well 
what  God  is,  as  what  he  is  not ;  as  that  he  is  not  a  man,  as  that  lie  is  not  changeable,  & 
Now  it  is  ohserved  to  our  hand,  ex puris  negativis  nihil  coticluditur,  that  from  pure  ueg 
tivea  there  can  be  no  certain  conclusion  made. 


1  Peter  1. 4.]  a  string  of  pearls.  421 

Here  we  have  but  weak  and  shallow  apprehensions  of  God,  but  there, 
as  Bernard  speaks  sweetly,  Deus  implebit  animam  rationcdem  sapii  n- 
tia,  concupiscibilem  justitia,  irascibilem  perfecta  tranquillitate,  God 
will  fill  the  soul  with  light  of  wisdom,  the  concupiscible  faculty  with 
righteousness,  the  irascible  with  perfect  tranquillity. 

If  a  man  did  dwell  within  the  body  of  the  sun,  surely  he  would  be 
full  of  light ;  if  a  man  did  dwell  in  the  midst  of  a  fountain,  surely  he 
would  be  rilled  with  that  fountain  ;  so  when  the  saints  come  to  heaven, 
they  shall  dwell  as  it  were  in  the  body  of  the  Sun  of  righteousness;  and 
therefore  they  cannot  be  but  full  of  light;  they  shall  dwell  in  the  midst 
of  the  fountain  of  life  ;  and  therefore  they  shall  sure  be  full  of  the 
fountain.     But, 

(3.)  Thirdly,  The  sight  and  knowledge  that  we  shall  have  of  God  in 
heaven,  will  be  immediate,  1  Cor.  xiii.  12.  Here  our  knowledge  of  God 
is  mediate ;  here  we  see  him,  but  it  is  either  through  the  glass  of  his 
word,  or  the  glass  of  his  works.1  Sometimes  through  the  glass  of  his 
word  God  shews  himself;  sometimes  through  the  glass  of  prayer  God 
gives  some  representation  of  himself  to  his  people;  sometimes  through 
the  glass  of  the  Lord's  supper  he  discovers  some  rays  and  beams  of  his 
glory.  All  the  sight  and  knowledge  that  we  have  of  God  in  this  world 
is  through  some  cdass  or  other.  Now  there  is  a  vast  difference  between 
seeing  an  object  directly,  immediately,  and  in  its  own  proper  colours, 
and  beholding  it  through  a  glass.  The  sight  of  an  object  through  a 
glass  is  very  weak  and  unsatisfying.  One  direct  view  of  the  Lord,  one 
immediate  sight  of  God,  will  infinitely  transcend  all  those  sights  and 
views  that  we  have  had  in  this  world,  either  through  the  glass  of  his 
word,  or  the  glass  of  his  works,  either  through  the  glass  of  ordinances, 
or  the  glass  of  the  promises,  or  the  glass  of  providences,  Mat.  v.  8.  One 
real  direct  sight  of  a  friend  or  relation,  doth  more  cheer,  quiet,  and 
satisfy  us,  than  a  thousand  representations  of  them  in  glasses,  or  by 
their  pictures.  In  heaven  we  shall  see  God  face  to  face,  without  the 
interposition  of  men  or  means  ;  and  this  direct  and  immediate  sight  of 
God,  is  that  which  makes  heaven  to  be  heaven  to  the  saints.  All  the 
glory  of  heaven  would  be  but  a  poor  low  thing  in  the  eye  of  a  saint,  had 
he  not  a  direct  and  immediate  sight  of  God  there.  In  heaven  all 
mediums  shall  be  removed,  all  glasses  shall  be  broken,  and  the  glorified 
saint  shall  behold  God  with  open  face  ;  all  curtains  being  for  ever  with- 
drawn from  between  God  and  the  soul.  Good  souls  in  heaven  are  like 
good  angels,  who  are  still  beholding  the  face  of  God,  Mat.  xviii.  10. 
As  God  is  still  a-looking  upon  them  as  the  jewels  of  his  crown,  so  they 
are  still  crying  and  looking  upon  God  as  their  heaven,  yea,  as  their 
great  all,  and  that  by  a  direct  and  immediate  act  of  their  souls.     But, 

(4.)  Fourthly  and  lastly,  The  sight  and  knowledge  that  they  shall 
have  of  God  in  heaven,  shall  be  permanent  and  constant.  Now  saints 
have  a  happy  sight  of  God,  and  anon  they  have  lost  it ;  this  hour  they 
have  a  precious  sight  of  God  in  the  mount,  and  the  next  hour  they  have 
lost  this  sight.  '  Behold,  he  that  should  comfort  my  soul  stands  afar 
off,'  Lam.  i.  16  ;  and  'he  hath  covered  himself  with  a  cloud,  that  our 
prayers  cannot  pass  through,'  Lam.  iii.  44.     Our  visions  of  God  here  are 

1  God  is  a  supersubstantial  substance,  an  understanding  not  to  be  understood,  a  word 
never  to  be  spoken. — Dionys.  Areop.  de  divin.  Nom  c.  1. 


422 


A  STRING  OF  PEARLS. 


[1  Peter  I.  4. 


transient  and  vanishing.  The  visions,  the  glimpses  of  majesty  and 
glory  which  Moses  and  Peter  saw  in  the  mount,  were  not  permanent 
but  transient  ;  their  sun  was  quickly  clouded,  and  both  of  them  soon 
after  wire  found  walking  in  the  dark;1  and  therefore  well  s;iith 
Augustine,  Beatitude  hie  pa/ra/ri  potest,  possideri  non  potest,2  happiness 
may  be  obtained  here,  but  here  we  cannot  have  the  plenary  and  take 
pi  (ssessiou  thereof  Oh  but  in  heaven,  our  sight  of  God,  our  knowledge  of 
God  shall  be  permanent,  it  shall  be  lasting;  there  shall  be  no  sin,  no 
cloud,  no  mist,  no  curtain,  to  hinder  as  from  a  constant  sight  and  vision 
of  God  ;  there  we  shall  see  God  clearly,  fully,  eternally.  The  spouse's 
question,  'Did  you  see  him  whom  my  soul  loves?'  Cant.  iii.  3,  shall 
novel-  be  heard  in  heaven,  because  God  shall  be  always  in  their  eye,  and 
still  upon  their  hearts;  nor  Job's  complaint,  'Behold,  I  go  forward,  but 
he  is  not  there  ;  and  backward,  but  I  cannot  perceive  him  :  on  the  left 
hand,  where  he  doth  work,  but  I  Gannot  behold  him  :  he  hideth  himself 
on  the  right  hand,  that  I  cannot  see  him,'  Job  xxiii.  8,  9.  Heaven 
would  not  be  heaven,  were  it  not  always  day  with  the  soul;  did  not  the 
soul  live  in  a  constant  sight  and  apprehension  of  God,  all  the  glory  of 
heaven  could  not  make  a  heaven  to  a  glorified  soul.     But, 

IV.  Fourthly,  As  the  best  sight  and  knowledge  of  God  is  reserved 
till  last,  so  the  best  and  choicest  'presence  of  God  and  Christ  is  reserved 
till  last;  and  this  I  shall  thus  make  good. 

(1.)  First,  In  heaven  saints  shall  have  the  greatest  and  the  fullest 
presence  of  God?  No  man  in  this  world  hath  so  complete  and  full  a 
presence  of  God  but  he  may  have  a  fuller;  but  in  heaven  the  presence 
of  God  shall  be  so  full  and  complete,  as  that  nothing  can  be  added  to  it 
to  make  it  more  complete.  Sometimes  sin,  sometimes  Satan,  sometimes 
the  world,  sometimes  resting  in  duties,  sometimes  the  weakness  of  our 
graces,  hinder  us  from  enjoying  a  full  presence  of  God  here ;  but  in 
heaven  there  shall  be  nothing  to  interpose  between  God  and  us ;  there 
shall  be  nothing  to  hinder  us  from  enjoying  a  full  and  complete  presence 
of  God.  It  is  this  full  presence  of  God  that  is  the  heaven  of  heaven, 
the  glory  of  all  our  glory.  An  imperfect  and  incomplete  presence  of 
God  in  heaven  would  darken  all  the  glory  of  that  state.  It  is  the  full 
and  perfect  presence  of  God  in  heaven  that  is  the  most  sparkling  diamond 
in  the  ring  of  glory;  and  this  you  shall  have.     But, 

(2.)  Secondly,  They  shall  have  a  soid-satixfi/hn/  presence  of  God  in 
h  aven.  They  shall  be  so  satisfied  with  the  presence  of  God  in  heaven, 
that  they  shall  say,  We  have  enough,  we  have  all,  because  we  enjoy 
that  presence  that  is  virtually  all,  that  is  eminently  all,  that  is  all  light, 
all  life,  all  love,  all  heaven,  all  happiness,  all  comforts,  all  contents,  &c  :* 
Pa  xvii.  1."),  'As  for  me,  I  will  behold  thy  face  in  righteousness;  I  shall 
be  satisfied,  when  I  awake,  with  thy  likeness.'  Though  the  spiritual 
and  gracious  presence  of  God  with  the  saints  in  this  world  doth  much 
iheej  and  comfort  them,  yet  it  doth  not  satisfy  them.  They  are  still 
crying  out,  More  of  this  blessed  presence !  oh  more  of  this  presence  ! 
Lord,  less  money  will  serve,  so  we  may  but  have  more  of  thy  presence  ! 

1  Exod.  xxxiii.,  Mat.  xvii.  1-4.  s  Serm.  xlvi.  de  Sanctis. 

s  Ps.  xvi.  11.     Ipse  units  eril  tibi  omnia,  quia  in  ipso  uno  bono,  bona  sunt  omnia. — Augus- 
tiue.  *  Omne  bunvm  in  sunmo  bono,  all  goud  id  iu  the  chiefest  good. 


1  Peter  I.  4.]  a  string  of  pearls.  423 

less  of  the  creature  will  serve,  so  we  may  have  but  more  of  thy  presence ! 
Ps.  xlii.  1,  2,  xxxvii.  1-3.  As  the  king  of  Sodom  said  unto  Abraham, 
'  Give  me  the  persons,  and  take  the  goods  to  thyself,'  Gen.  xiv.  21,  so 
say  gracious  souls,  Give  us  more  and  more  of  the  presence  of  God,  and 
let  the  men  of  the  world  take  the  world  and  divide  it  amongst  them- 
selves. Divine  presence  is  very  inflaming ;  a  soul  that  hath  but  tasted 
the  sweetness  of  it  cannot  but  long  for  more  of  it ;  as  those  that  had 
tasted  of  the  grapes  of  Canaan  longed  to  be  in  Canaan,  and  as  the  Gauls, 
who,  when  they  had  tasted  of  the  sweet  wine  that  was  made  of  the 
grapes  that  grew  in  Italy,  they  were  very  eager  after  Italy,  crying  out, 
'O  Italy!  Italy!'1  so  precious  souls  that  have  experienced  the  sweet- 
ness of  divine  presence,  they  cannot  be  satisfied  with  a  little  of  it,  but 
in  every  prayer  this  is  the  language  of  their  souls,  Lord  !  more  of  thy 
presence  !  and  in  every  sermon  they  hear,  Lord  !  let  us  have  more  of  thy 
presence !  and  in  every  sacrament  they  receive,  Lord  !  vouchsafe  to  us 
more  of  thy  presence  ! 

Nay,  this  gracious  presence  of  God  that  they  enjoy  here  makes  them 
very  earnest  in  their  desires  and  longings  after  a  celestial,  a  glorious 
presence  of  God  and  Christ  in  heaven,  which  presence  alone  can  satisfy 
their  souls.2  Look,  as  the  espoused  maid  longs  for  the  marriage  day, 
the  apprentice  for  his  freedom,  the  captive  for  his  ransom,  the  traveller 
for  his  inn,  and  the  mariner  for  his  haven,  so  do  souls  that  are  under  the 
power  and  sweet  of  God's  gracious  presence  long  for  to  enjoy  his  glorious 
presence  in  heaven,  which  alone  can  fill  and  satisfy  their  immortal  souls. 
As  Monica,  Austin's  mother,  a  precious  godly  woman,  who  enjoyed  much 
of  the  gracious  presence  of  Christ,  with  her  spirit  she  cried  out,  Quid 
hie  faciemus  ?  cur  non  ocyus  migramus  ?  cur  non  hinc  avolamus  ? 
What  do  we  here  %  why  depart  we  not  swifter  ?  why  fly  we  not  hence  ? 

So  saith  another  [Bernard],  As  what  I  have,  if  offered  to  thee, 
pleaseth  not  thee  without  myself,  so,  0  Lord  !  the  good  things  we  have 
from  thee,  though  they  refresh  us,  yet  they  satisfy  us  not  without  thy- 
self.    Lord !  I  am  willing  to  die,  to  have  a  further  discovery  of  thyself. 

And  so  saith  another  [Augustine],  Thou  hast  made  us,  0  Lord,  for 
thyself,  and  our  hearts  are  unquiet  till  they  come  unto  thee. 

And  so  when  Modestus,  the  emperor's  lieutenant,3  threatened  to  kill 
Basil,  he  answered,  If  that  be  all,  I  fear  not;  yea,. your  master  cannot 
more  pleasure  me  than  in  sending  me  unto  my  heavenly  Father,  to 
whom  I  now  live,  and  to  whom  I  desire  to  hasten. 

And  saith  another  [Augustine],  Let  all  the  devils  in  hell  beset  me 
round,  let  fasting  macerate  my  body,  let  sorrows  oppress  my  mind,  let 
pains  consume  my  flesh,  let  watchings  dry  me,  or  heat  scorch  me,  or 
cold  freeze  me ;  let  all  these,  and  what  can  come  more,  happen  unto  me, 
so  I  may  enjoy  my  Saviour. 

Austin  wishing  that  he  might  have  seen  three  things,  Rome  flourish- 
ing, Paul  preaching,  and  Christ  conversing  with  men  upon  the  earth, 
Bede  comes  after,  and  correcting  this  last  wish,  saith,  Yea,  but  let  me 
see  the  King  in  his  beauty,  Christ  in  his  heavenly  kingdom  ;  by  all 
which  you  see  that  it  is  not  a  spiritual  presence,  but  the  glorious  pre- 
sence of  God  and  Christ  in  heaven,  that  can  satisfy  the  souls  of  the 

1  Plutarch,  in  vita  Oarnilli.  2  2  Cor.  v.  1-8  ;  Philip,  i.  23  ;  Cant.  viii.  14. 

3  Cf.  (fall.  iii.  9.     Macrob.    Saturn  i.  4,  10,  16.— G. 


*24  A  STRING  OF  PEARLS.  [1  PETER  I.  4. 

saints.  It  was  a  great  mercy  for  Christ  to  be  with  Paul  on  earth,  but 
it  was  a  greater  mercy,  and  a  more  satisfying  mercy,  for  Paul  to  be 
with  Christ  in  heaven,  Philip,  i.  23.  They  enjoy  much  who  enjoy  the 
presence  of  God  on  earth,  but  they  enjoy  more  who  enjoy  the  presence 
of  God  in  heaven;  and  no  presence  helow  t  his  presence  cau  satisfy  a 
believing  soul.     But, 

(3.)  Thirdly,  As  they  shall  enjoy  a  satisfying  presence  of  God  in  heaven, 
so  they  shall  enjoy  a  constant,  a  permanent  presence  of  God  in  heaven. 
Here  God  comes  and  goes,  he  is  often  a  removing  court,  but  in  heaven 
the  King  of  glory  will  be  always  present:  1  Thes.  iv.  17,  18,  'Then  we 
which  are  alive  and  remain  shall  be  caught  up  together  with  them 
in  the  clouds,  to  meet  the  Lord  in  the  air,  and  so  shall  we  be  ever  with 
the  Lord.  Wherefore  comfort  one  another  with  these  words/  It  is 
the  constant  presence  of  God  in  heaven,  that  makes  a  heaven  of  com- 
fort to  blessed  souls.  Should  this  sun  ever  set,  should  this  presence 
ever  fail,  heaven  would  be  as  dark  as  hell,  yea,  heaven  would  be  another 
hell.  Here  Jonah  complains  that  he  was  cast  out  of  God's  presence, 
and  the  church  complains,  that  he  that  should  comfort  her  soul,  stands 
afar  off.1  No  saint  enjoys  the  gracious  presence  of  God  at  all  times 
alike.  They  that  enjoy  most  of  this  presence  may  say  of  it,  as  Jacob 
spake  of  Laban's  countenance,  I  see,  said  he,  your  Father's  countenance 
is  not  towards  me  as  before,  Gen.  xxxi.  5  ;  so  may  they  say,  Oh  we  see, 
Oh  we  feel,  that  the  presence  of  God  is  not  with  us  as  before !  Oh 
what  a  warming,  what  a  cheering,  what  a  quickening,  what  an  enliven- 
ing, what  a  comforting,  what  a  melting,  what  an  encouraging,  what  an 
assisting  presence  of  God  had  we  once  !  Oh  but  it  is  not  so  now  with 
us  !  we  that  used  always  to  be  upon  Christ's  knee,  or  in  his  arms,  are 
now  at  a  distance  from  him  ;  he  that  used  to  lie  day  and  night  as  a 
bundle  of  myrrh  betwixt  our  breasts,  hath  now  covered  himself  with  a 
cloud,  Cant.  i.  13.  Oh  we  cannot  see  his  face,  we  cannot  hear  his  voice,  as 
in  the  days  of  old  !  &c.  But  now  in  heaven  saints  shall  enjoy  a  constant 
presence  of  God  ;  there  shall  not  be  one  moment  to  all  eternity,  wherein 
they  shall  not  enjoy  the  glorious  presence  of  God ;  and,  indeed,  it  is 
this  constant  presence  of  God  in  heaven,  that  puts  a  glory  upon  all  the 
saints'  glory.  Heaven,  without  this  constant  presence  of  God,  would  be 
but  as  a  court  without  a  king,  or  as  the  firmament  without  the  sun. 
And  thus  you  see  that  the  best  and  choicest  presence  of  God  and  Christ 
is  reserved  for  heaven.     But, 

V.  Fifthly,  The  perfection  of  grace  is  reserved  for  glory.2  Though 
our  graces  be  our  best  jewels,  yet  they  are  imperfect,  and  do  not  give 
out  their  full  lustre  ;  they  are  like  the  moon,  which  Avhen  it  shineth 
brightest,  hath  a  dark  spot :  1  Cor.  xiii.  9,  10,  '  For  we  know  in  part, 
and  we  prophesy  in  part.  But  when  that  which  is  perfect  is  come,  then 
that  which  is  in  part  shall  be  done  away.'  Here  '  we  are  all  as  an 
unclean  thing,  and  all  our  righteousnesses  are  as  filthy  rags,'  Isa. 
lxiv.  6.  Oh  the  stains,  the  spots,  the  blots,  the  blemishes  that  attend 
our  choicest  graces  and  services  !  Our  best  personal  righteousness  is 
stained  with  much  unrighteousness,  perfection  of  grace  and  holiness  is 

1  Jonah  ii.  4  ;  Lam.  i.  16 ;  Ps.  xxx.  6,  7  ;  Isa.  viii.  17  ;  Micali  vii.  7-9. 

2  Per/ectum  id  est  cui  nihil  deest. 


1  Peter  I.  4.]  a  string  of  pearls.  425 

reserved  for  heaven,  Eph.  v.  25-27  ;  Jude  24  ;  Eph.  iv.  13.  In  the 
work  of  conversion,  God  lays  the  foundation  of  grace  in  the  souls  of  his 
people,  but  the  putting  on  the  top-stone  is  reserved  for  heaven.  Grace 
here  is  but  a  king  in  the  cradle,  but  in  heaven  it  will  be  a  king  upon 
its  throne. 

For  the  making  this  truth  more  fully  out,  I  will  only  instance  in  the 
joy  of  the  saints,  and  that  thus  : 

[1.]  First,  The  joy  of  the  saints  in  heaven  shall  be  pure  joy.  Here 
our  joy  is  mixed  with  sorrow,  our  rejoicing  with  trembling,  Ps.  ii.  11  : 
Mat.  xxviii.  8,  '  The  women  departed  from  the  sepulchre  with  fear  and 
great  joy.'  This  composition  of  two  contrary  passions  is  frequently 
found  in  the  best  hearts.  Here  the  best  have  sorrow  with  their  joy, 
water  with  their  wine,  vinegar  with  their  oil,  pain  with  their  ease, 
winter  with  their  summer,  and  autumn  with  their  spring,  &c.  But  in 
heaven,  Rev.  vii.  17,  they  shall  have  joy  without  sorrow,  light  without 
darkness,  sweetness  without  bitterness,  summer  without  winter,  health 
without  sickness,  honour  without  disgrace,  glory  without  shame,  and 
life  without  death  :  Rev.  xxi.  4,  '  And  God  shall  wipe  away  all  tears 
from  their  eyes  ;  and  there  shall  be  no  more  death,  neither  sorrow,  nor 
crying,  neither  shall  there  be  any  more  pain  :  for  the  former  things  are 
passed  away/     But, 

[2.]  Secondly,  As  they  shall  have  in  heaven  pure  joy,  so  they  shall 
have  in  heaven  plenitudAnem  gaudii,  fulness  of  joy.  Here  all  joy  is 
at  an  ebb,  but  there  is  the  flood  of  joy,  there  is  fulness  of  joy  :  Ps. 
xvi.  11,  'In  his  presence  is  fulness  of  joy,  and  at  his  right  hand  are 
pleasures  for  evermore.'  Here  shall  be  gaudium  super  gaudium,  joy 
above  joy,  joy  surmounting  all  joy.  Here  shall  be  such  great  joys,  as 
no  geometrician  can  measure  ;  so  many  joys,  as  no  arithmetician  can 
number  ;  and  so  wonderful,  as  no  rhetorician  can  utter,  had  he  the 
tongue  of  men  and  angels.1  Here  shall  be  joy  within  thee,  and  joy 
without  thee,  and  joy  above  thee,  and  joy  beneath  thee,  and  joy  about 
thee.  Joy  shall  spread  itself  over  all  the  members  of  your  bodies,  and 
over  all  the  faculties  of  your  souls.  In  heaven,  your  knowledge  shall 
be  full,  your  love  full,  your  visions  of  God  full,  your  communion  with 
God  full,  your  fruition  of  God  full,  and  your  conformity  to  God  full, 
and  from  thence  will  arise  fulness  of  joy.  If  all  the  earth  were  paper, 
and  all  the  plants  of  the  earth  were  pens,  and  all  the  sea  were  ink,  and 
if  every  man,  woman,  and  child,  had  the  pen  of  a  ready  writer,  yet  were 
they  not.  able  to  express  the  thousandth  part  of  those  joys  that  saints 
shall  have  in  heaven.2  All  the  joy  we  have  here  in  this  world,  is  but 
pensiveness  to  that  we  shall  have  in  heaven ;  all  pleasure  here  to  that 
but  heaviness,  all  sweetness  here  to  that  but  bitterness.     But, 

[3.]  Thirdly,  The  joy  of  the  saints  in  heaven  shall  be  a  lasting  joy, 
an  uninterrupted  joy.  Here  their  joy  is  quickly  turned  into  sorrow, 
their  singing  into  sighing,  their  dancing  into  mourning.  Our  joy  here 
is  like  the  husbandman's  joy  in  harvest,  which  is  soon  over,  and  then 
we  must  sow  again  in  tears,  before  we  can  reap  in  joy.     David's  joy  was 

1  If  one  drop  of  the  joys  of  heaven  should  fall  into  hell,  it  would  swallow  up  all  the 
bitterness  of  hell. — Augustine. 

2  A  reminiscence  of  the  old  poem  commencing  'Could  we  with  ink  the  ocean  fill,'  on 
which  see  various  curious  articles  in  '  Notes  and  Queries,'  First  Series. — G. 


426  A  STRING  OF  PEARLS.  [1  PETEB  I.  4. 

soon  interrupted:  'In  my  prosperity  I  said,  I  should  never  be  removed  ; 
liut  thou  didst  hide  thy  face,  and  I  was  troubled,'  Ps.  xxx.  G,  7-  Now 
David  had  the  oil  of  joy  and  gladness,  and  by  and  by  the  spirit  of 
heaviness  and  sadness:  'Restore  to  me  the  joy  of  thy  salvation,' Ps. 
li.  1 2.  Jacob  had  much  joy  at  the  return  of  his  sons  with  corn  from  Egypt; 
but  this  joy  was  soon  interrupted  by  his  parting  with  his  dear  Benjamin. 

I  might  shew  you  this  truth  in  other  instances,  as  in  Abraham,  Job, 
and  other  saints;  but  surely  there  is  no  believer  but  finds  that  some- 
times sin  interrupts  his  joy,  and  sometimes  Satan  disturbs  his  joy,  and 
sometimes  afflictions  and  sometimes  desertions  eclipse  his  joy;  some- 
times the  cares  of  the  world,  and  sometimes  the  snares  of  the  world,  and 
sometimes  the  fears  of  the  world,  mars  our  joy;  sometimes  great  crosses, 
sometimes  near  losses,  and  sometimes  unexpected  changes,  turns  a 
Ghrisl  ian's  harping  into  mourning,  and  his  organ  into  the  voice  of  them 
that  weep.1 

Some  say  of  Rhodes,  that  there  is  not  one  day  in  the  year  in  which 
the  sun  shines  not  clearly  on  them.  Surely  there  is  hardly  one  day  in 
the  year,  yea,  I  had  almost  said  one  hour  in  the  day,  wherein  something 
or  other  doth  not  fall  in  to  interrupt  a  Christian's  joy. 

But  now  in  heaven  the  joy  of  the  saints  shall  be  constant;  there  shall 
nothing  fall  in  to  disturb  or  to  interrupt  their  joy  :  Ps.  xvi.  11,  'In  thy 
presence  is  fulness  of  joy,  and  at  thy  right  hand  is  pleasures  for  ever 
more.'  Mark,  for  quality,  there  are  pleasures  ;  for  quantity,  fulness  ; 
for  dignity,  at  God's  right  hand  ;  for  eternity,  for  evermore.  And 
millions  of  years  multiplied  by  millions,  make  not  up  one  mmute  to 
this  eternity  of  joy  that  the  saints  shall  have  in  heaven.  In  heaven 
there  shall  be  no  sin  to  take  away  your  joy,  nor  no  devil  to  take  away 
your  joy,  nor  no  man  to  take  away  your  joy:  John  xvi.  22,  'Your  joy  no 
man  taketh  from  you.'  The  joy  of  the  saints  in  heaven  is  never  ebbing, 
but  always  flowing  to  all  contentment.  The  joys  of  heaven  never  fade, 
never  wither,  never  die,  nor  never  are  lessened  nor  interrupted.  The  joy 
of  the  saints  in  heaven  is  a  constant  joy,  an  everlasting  joy,  in  the  root 
and  in  the  cause,  and  in  the  matter  of  it  and  in  the  objects  of  it.  JEterna 
erit  exultcdio,  quce  bono  lodatur  ceterno,  their  joy  lasts  for  ever  whose 
objects  remains  for  ever.2  Isa.  xxxv.  10,  'And  the  redeemed  of  the  Lord 
shall  return, and  come  to  Zion  with  songs.aud  everlasting  joys  upon  their 
heads;  they  shall  obtain  joy  and  gladness,  and  sorrow  and  sighing  shall 
fly  away.'  In  this  world  not  only  the  joy  of  hypocrites  and  the  joy  of 
profane  persons,  but  also  the  joy  of  the  upright,  is  oftentimes  'as  the 
crackling  of  thorns  under  a  pot,'  or  as  the  blaze  of  a  brush  faggot,  now  all 
on  a  flame,  and  as  suddenly  out  again;  or  as  the  beast  ephemeron,  that 
dieth  on  the  day  it  is  born;3  but  the  joy  of  believers  in  heaven  shall  be 
like  the  fire  on  the  altar,  that  never  went  out.  When  Caesar  was  sad,  he 
used  tosay  to  himself,  Cogitate  G cesarean  esse,  think  thou  art  Caesar;  so  when 
your  hearts  are  sad  and  sorrowful,  oh  !  then  think  of  these  everlasting  joys 
that  you  shall  have  in  heaven.    But  I  must  hasten  ;  and  therefore  in  the 

1  Job  xxx.  26-31.  Some  worm  or  other  i3  still  a-gnawing  at  the  very  root  of  our  joy, 
like  the  worm  that  made  Jonah  his  gourd  to  wither. 

'l  In  quibus  operamur,  in  illis  et  gaudemus,  saith  Tertullian  :  in  what  things  or  persons  we 
act,  in  those  things  we  rejoice. 

3  iipjj'jttffo,-,  =  living  but  a  day,  rather  than  a  particular  '  boast '  as  above ;  applied  to 
men,  'ofi/ju^oi,  creatures  of  a  day. — U. 


1  Peter  I.  4.]  A  string  of  pearls.  427 

VI.  Sixth  place,  As  the  best  joys,  so  the  best  society,  the  best  company, 
is  reserved  till  last  It  is  reserved  till  believers  come  to  heaven :  Heb. 
xii.  22-24,  '  But  ye  are  come  unto  mount  Sion,  and  unto  the  city  of  the 
living  God,  the  heavenly  Jerusalem,  and  to  an  innumerable  company  of 
angels,1  to  the  general  assembly  and  church  of  the  first-born,  which 
are  written  in  heaven,  and  to  God  the  Judge  of  all,  and  the  spirits  of 
just  men  made  perfect,  and  to  Jesus  the  Mediator  of  the  new  covenant, 
and  to  the  blood  of  sprinkling,  that  speaketh  better  things  than  that  of 
Abel.'  Here  erimus  cives  cceli,  socii  angelorum,  cohceredes  Christi, 
we  shall  be  citizens  of  heaven,  fellows  of  angels,  co-heirs  with  Christ, 
citizens  with  saints,  and  of  the  household  of  God.  0  beafa  visio,  videre 
Regem  angelorum,  sanctum  sanctorum,  Deum  cceli,  Rectorem  terrce, 
Patrem  viventium  !2  Oh  blessed  sight,  to  behold  the  King  of  angels, 
the  holy  of  holies,  the  God  of  heaven,  the  Ruler  of  the  earth,  the  Father 
of  the  living !  Woe  to  me,  saith  one,  which  am  not  where  the  holy 
saints  be;  for  their  life  is  out  of  all  gun-shot  and  danger  of  death,  their 
knowledge  without  error,  their  love  without  offence,  and  their  joy  with- 
out any  annoy.  The.  dignity  and  diversity  of  the  inhabitants  of  heaven 
doth  much  set  forth  the  glory  of  heaven.  This  earth,  this  world,  is  full 
of  sinners,  but  heaven  is  full  of  saints;  this  world  is  full  of  men,  but 
heaven  is  full  of  angels;  this  world  is  full  of  friends  and  enemies,  but 
in  heaven  there  shall  be  only  friends  and  sons.  Here  the  nobility  and 
majesty  of  the  guest  casts  a  great  deal  of  honour  and  splendour  upon 
the  royal  palace  where  they  meet.  No  company  so  noble,  so  sweet,  so 
desirable,  so  delightsome,  so  comfortable,  so  suitable. as  this. 

[l.J  First,  Here  all  shall  be  of  one  mind,  of  one  judgment  In 
heaven  there  shall  be  no  discord,  no  wrangling,  no  quarrelling,  no 
dividing.  Here  all  shall  think  the  same  things,  and  speak  the  same 
things,  and  do  the  same  -things.  Now,  Turks  and  pagans  can  agree, 
and  bears  and  lions,  wolves  and  tigers,  can  agree;  nay,  a  legion  of  devils 
can  better  agree  in  one  body,  than  a  handful  of  saints  can  agree  in  one 
city,  in  one  nation,  &c.3  There  was  a  temple  of  Concord  among  the 
heathen ;  and  yet  how  rare  is  it  to  find  a  temple  of  concord  among  them 
that  are  the  temple  of  the  Holy  Ghost  ?  Whilst  there  was  a  contest 
among  the  birds  about  a  rose  found  in  the  way,  a  mischievous  owl  came 
in  the  night  and  carried  the  flower  away  ;  you  know  how  to  apply  it. 
But  now  in  heaven  there  shall  be  no  heats,  no  contests,  no  debates,  no 
disputes,  but  as  the  curtains  of  the  tabernacle  were  all  looped  together, 
so  all  the  saints  in  heaven  shall  be  all  looped  together  in  one  mind,  in 
one  judgment,  and  in  one  way. 

[2.]  Secondly,  All  the  saints  in  heaven  shall  be  of  a  sweet  golden 
disposition.4"  Here  the  different  dispositions  of  saints  doth  much  hin- 
der that  sweetness  of  communion  which  otherwise  would  be  amongst 
them.  Here  some  are  of  a  sour  disposition,  and  of  a  cross  and  rugged 
temper,  but  in  heaven  all  saints  shall  be  of  a  sweet,  a  soft,  a  silken  dis- 

1  ftvptitnv,  to  the  myriads,  or  many  ten  thousands,  of  angels. 

*  Aug.  Lib.  de  Spir.,  &e„  cap,  57 

*  Strigelius  desired  to  die,  to  be  freed  from  the  implacable  strife  of  divines.  [Victo- 
rinus  Strigelius,  one  of  The  Reformers.  Died,  1569.  His  Ttv^v^ara,  in  omnes  libros 
Nov.  Text.,  15G5,  2  vols.,  and  other  exegetical  writings,  were  favourites  with  the  Puritans. 
His  '  Psalms'  of  Pavid  were  early  translated  by  Rich.  Robinson.     1582-96. — G.] 

4  Grace  in  a  cross  unhewn  nature  is  like  a  diamond  set  in  iron. 


1-28  A  STRING  OF  PEARLS.  [1  PETER  I.  4. 

position,  which  will  exceedingly  sweeten  that  royal  communion.     Here 

grace  in  a  man  of  an  untoward  crooked  disposition  is  like  a  brass  ring 
UpOD  a  leprous  linger  ;  and  grace  in  a  man  of  a  sweet  disposition  is  like 
a  gold  ring  upon  an  alabaster  hand.      Now  in  heaven  all  (he  saints  shall 

be  of  a  golden  disposition,  yea,  of  a  God-bike  disposition,  which  is  the 
Sweetest,  the  noblest,  the  choicest.     But, 

| .'!  |  Thirdly,  In  heaven  the  saints  shall  have  a  constant  enjoyment 
of  one  another.  As  they  shall  ever  be  with  the  Lord,  so  they  shall  ever 
he  one  with  another.  Here  they  meet  and  part,  but  in  heaven  they 
shall  meet  and  never  part.  Now  it  is  their  life  to  meet  and  their  death 
to  pari  ;  now  it  is  their  heaven  to  meet,  and  their  hell  to  part  ;  but  in 
heaven  they  shall  be  always  in  one  another's  eye,  in  one  another's  arms. 
or  upon  one  another's  knees,  1  Thes.  iv.  17,  18. 

Themistocles,1  having  a  piece  of  ground  to  sell,  appointed  the  crier 
to  proclaim,  that  whosoever  would  buy  it,  should  have  a  good  neigh- 
bour ;  the  saints  in  heaven  shall  be  always  sure  of  good  neighbourhood, 
they  shall  never  want  good  company.  In  this  world  Abraham  and  Lot 
must  live  asunder,  but  there  they  shall  always  live  together.  The  cynic 
(Diogenes]  of  old  was  fain  to  look  for  an  honest  man  with  a  candle, 
because  of  the  scarcity  of  them ;  but  heaven  shall  be  always  full  of 
such  saints,  as  shall  shine  as  so  many  stars,  yea,  as  so  many  suns  in 
glory. 

[4.]  Fourthly  and  lastly,  The  saints  shall  have  a  real,  a  personal,  a 
particular  knowledge  of  one  another  in  heaven.  Here  we  know  but 
a  few  saints,  but  in  heaven  we  shall  know  all ;  in  ccelo  nullus  erit 
alienus,  there  shall  be  no  stranger  in  heaven.  Now  this  truth  I  shall 
make  good  by  some  arguments  brought  to  hand,  and  by  the  addition 
of  others.     Take  them  thus  : — 

(1.)  First,  Adam,  when  he  was  in  his  innocency,  knew  Eve  to  be 
bone  of  his  bone,  and  flesh  of  his  flesh,  as  soon  as  he  saiv  her,  though 
fie  had  never  seen  her  before,  Gen.  ii.  23.  Now  certainly  our  know- 
ledge in  heaven  shall  be  more  ample,  full,  and  perfect,  than  ever  Adam's 
was  in  innocency.  Therefore  without  all  peradventure,  the  saints  shall 
know  one  another  in  heaven.  Luther,  the  night  before  he  died,  dis- 
coursing with  his  Christian  friends,  the  question  was  put,  Whether  the 
saints  should  know  one  another  in  heaven  ?  Luther  held  the  affirma- 
tive, and  this  was  one  of  the  reasons  he  gave  to  prove  it,  that  Adam 
knew  Eve  as  soon  as  ever  he  saw  her,  and  that  not  by  discourse,  but 
by  divine  revelation,  and  so  shall  all  the  saints  know  one  another  in 
heaven.2     But, 

(2.)  Secondly,  The  disciples,  Peter,  James,  and  John,  being  in  the 
mount  at  Christ's  transfiguration,  though  they  had  but  a  taste,  a 
glimpse  of  the  glory  of  heaven,  yet  they  knew  Moses  and  Elias,  though 
they  were  dead  many  hundred  years  before,  Mat.  xvii.  1-4.  Now  if  the 
disciples,inan  unglorified  condition,  knew  Moses  and  Elias,  then  certainly 
when  saints  shall  be  in  a  full  glorified  condition,  they  shall  know  them 
and  all  the  rest  of  that  royal  family.  Here  they  knew  Moses  from 
Elias,  and  Elias  from  Moses,  whom  they  never  saw  before,  and  both 

1  Plutarch  in  vita  Themistoclis. 

*  Melch.  Adam.     [The  great  authority  on  Reformation  biography.     His  'Lives'  have 
paBsed  through  many  editions. — G.j 


1  Peter  I.  4.]  a  string  of  pearls.  429 

from  Christ ;  and  therefore  we  need  not  doubt  but  in  that  state  of 
blessedness,  wherein  God  shall  be  all  in  all,  and  wherein  we  shall  know 
as  we  are  known,  we  shall  have  a  particular  and  personal  knowledge  of 
one  another.  Chrysostom  saith,  that  in  heaven  we  shall  point  out  the 
saints,  and  say,  Lo,  yonder  is  Peter,  and  that  is  Paul  ;  lo,  yonder  is 
Abraham,  the  great  believer,  and  yonder  is  Jacob,  who  as  a  prince  pre- 
vailed with  God  ;  lo,  yonder  is  Moses,  who  was  the  meekest  man  in  all 
the  world,  and  there  is  Job,  that  was  the  patientest  man  in  all  the 
world  ;  lo,  there  is  Joshua  and  Caleb,  that  followed  the  Lord  fully,  and 
there  is  Jeremiah,  that  was  once  in  the  dungeon;  lo,  there  is  Jonah, 
that  was  once  in  the  whale's  belly,  and  there  is  Daniel,  that  was  once 
in  the  lions'  den  ;  lo,  yonder  is  John  the  beloved  disciple,  that  used  to 
lie  in  the  bosom  of  Christ ;  and  there  is  Mary  that  hath  chosen  the 
better  part.     But, 

(3.)  Thirdly,  The  saints  shall  rise  with  the  same  bodies  thai  now 
they  lay  clown  in  the  grave;  and  if  so,  then  doubtless  they  shall  knovj 
one  another  in  heaven  :  the  husband  the  wife,  the  wife  the  husband  ; 
the  father  the  child,  and  the  child  the  father ;  the  pastor  his  people, 
and  the  people  their  pastor ;  the  master  his  servant,  and  the  servant 
his  master.  Now  that  the  saints  shall  rise  with  the  very  same  indivi- 
dual body  is  clear :  Job  xix.  25,  26,  '  For  I  know  that  my  Redeemer 
liveth,  and  that  he  shall  stand  at  the  latter  day  upon  the  earth  :  and 
though  after  my  skin  worms  destroy  this  body,  yet  in  my  flesh  shall  I 
see  God :  whom  I  shall  see  for  myself,  and  mine  eyes  shall  behold,  and 
not  another;  though  my  reins  be  consumed  within  me.'  In  these  words 
we  see  that  Job  useth  the  word  my,  '  and  my  eyes  shall  behold  ;'  as  it 
were  pointing  to  it  with  his. finger,  adding  not  only  positively,  but 
exclusively,  this  and  no  other.  Job  did  fully  believe  that  the  same 
numerical2  body,  at.  which  he  pointed,  should  rise  again  ;  and  Paul 
saith,  not  a  mortal,  a  corruptible  body  at  large,  but  hoc,  '  This  corrup- 
tible must  put  on  incorruption,  and  this  mortal  must  put  on  immor- 
tality,' 1  Cor.  xv.  53.  The  apostle  did,  as  it  were,  lay  his  hand  upon 
his  own  body  ;  and  then  saith  he,  this  corruptible  body,  and  not  another, 
this  mortal,  and  not  another,  shall  be  raised  when  the  trumpet  sounds. 
It  cannot  stand  with  the  unspotted  justice  and  holiness  of  God,  that 
one  body  should  sow,  and  another  body  should  reap  that  never  sowed  ; 
that  one  body  should  labour,  toil,  sweat,  suffer,  and  another  body  that 
hath  done  none  of  this  should  carry  the  reward.  Tertullian  saith,  that 
he  will  pray  that  the  same  body  may  rise  again,  for  the  resurrection  is 
not  of  another  body,  but  of  the  same  that  falleth.;  not  a  new  creation, 
but  a  raising  up  ;  the  self-same  body  shall  certainly  rise  again,  else 
were  it  a  raising  up  of  a  new,  rather  than  a  raising  again  of  the  old. 
It  cannot  stand  with  equity  and  right,  that  one  body  should  sin  and 
another  body  should  suffer.  No  righteous  judge  will  suffer  a  victorious 
person  to  die,  and  another  that  never  struck  stroke  to  have  the  crown 
of  his  deservings.  It  is  but  justice  that  those  very  eyes  that  have 
dropped  many  a  tear  before  God,  should  be  wiped  by  God  ;  I  say  those 

1  1  Cor.  xv.  42-45  ;  Acts  iv.  2,  xvii.  18,  xxiii.  6  ;  Mat.  xxii.  32  ;  Ezek.  xxxvii. 

2  Even  down  to  South  this  term  was  in  use;  e.g.,  'We  may  contemplate  upon  his 
supernatural,  astonishing  works ;  particularly  in  the  resurrection  and  reparation  of  the 
same  numerical  body,  by  a  reunion  of  all  the  scattered  parts.'    Vol.  I.,  Sermon  1st. — G. 


430  A  STRING  OF  PEARLS.  [1  PETER  I.  4. 

very  eyes,  and  not  another  pair  of  new-made  eyes ;  it  is  but  justice 
that  that  very  tongue  that  hath  blessed  God,  should  be  blessed  by  God ; 
it  is  but  justice  that  those  very  hands  that  have  been  much  in  doing 
for  Christ,  and  those  very  lips  that  have  been  much  in  praising  of 
Christ,  and  those  very  backs  that  have  been  laded  with  many  heavy 
burdens  for  Christ,  and  those  very  feet  that  have  been  in  the  stocks  for 
(  In  ist,  and  that  have  run  in  the  ways  of  Christ,  should  at  last  be  raised 
and  crowned  by  Christ.  And  this  truth  you  may  see  clear  in  the  glorious 
resurrection  of  Christ  from  the  dead;  that  very  same  body  that  was 
wounded,  crucified,  and  slain,  that  very  same  body  did  rise  again. 
Christ  could  very  easily,  if  he  had  pleased,  in  three  days,  nay,  in  three 
hours,  ay,  in  three  moments,  have  cured  his  wounds,  but  he  would  not; 
to  confirm  his  disciples,  and  to  shew  that  he  had  the  very  same  body 
which  was  wounded  and  crucified  for  their  sins,  for  their  sakes;  and 
therefore  he  bids  Thomas  to  reach  his  finger,  and  behold  his  hands,  and 
to  reach  his  hand  to  thrust  it  into  his  side,  John  xx.  27 ;  Luke  xxiv. 
36-47 ;  whereby  Christ  made  it  evident,  that  that  very  same  body  of 
his  which  was  wounded,  crucified,  and  buried,  was  raised,  and  not 
another ;  and  therefore  as  in  the  head  the  same  body  which  died  rose 
again,  so  shall  it  be  with  all  his  members  in  the  great  day  of  the  resur- 
rection. Now  seeing  that  we  shall  rise  again  with  the  very  same  indi- 
vidual or  numerical  bodies  that  we  lay  down  in  the  grave,  we  need  not 
question  but  that  we  shall  know  one  another  in  heaven.     But, 

(4.)  Fourthly,  That  knowledge  which  may  most  increase  the  joy  and 
comfort  of  the  saints,  shall  certainly  be  in  heaven,  but  that  is  a  per- 
fect personal  knowledge  of  each  other;  therefore  there  shall  be  a  parti- 
cular  personal  knowledge  of  one  another  in  heaven;  the  husband 
shall  know  the  wife,  the  wife  the  husband,  the  father  the  child,  and 
the  child  the  father,  &C: 

I  have  read  a  story  of  Austin,  how  that  a  widow  grieving  for  the  loss 
of  her  husband,  to  comfort  her,  he  told  her  that  it  was  but  a  short  time 
that  they  were  parted,  and  that  of  all  persons  she  should  enjoy  her  hus- 
band most  in  heaven;  nay,  saith  he,  thou  shalt  not  only  know  thy 
husband,  but  all  the  elect  shall  know  thee,  and  thou  shalt  know  all 
them.  The  personal  knowledge  of  the  saints  on  earth,  doth  exceedingly 
increase  our  joy  and  comfort;  it  makes  this  wilderness  to  be  a  paradise. 
'They  that  fear  thee  will  be  glad  when  they  see  me,'  saith  the  Psalmist, 
Ps.  cxix.  74 ;  yea  Seneca,  the  heathen,  saw  so  much  excellency  that 
morality  put  upon  a  man,  that  he  saith,  that  ipse  aspect  us  boni  vi/ri 
delectat,  the  very  looks  of  a  good  man  delight  one.  Ah  !  how  often 
are  the  saints  delighted,  warmed,  and  gladded  by  hearing  well  of  other 
saints,  whose  facts  they  have  never  seen !  and  when  God  gives  them 
the  honour  to  see  their  faces,  and  to  enjoy  their  persons,  their  presence, 
oh  how  doth  this  advance  their  joy,  and  increase  their  comfort.  "What 
a  heaven  doth  this  make  on  this  side  heaven  to  their  souls  !  Oh,  then, 
what  tongue  can  express,  what  heart  can  conceive,  what  pen  can 
describe,  the  unspeakable  joy  and  comfort  that  will  be  raised  in  the 
hearts  of  the  saints,  upon  that  perfect,  particular,  personal  knowledge 
that  the  saints  shall  have  one  of  another  in  heaven  ?  Heaven  would 
be  but  an  uncomfortable  place,  if  the  saints  there  should  be  strangers 
one  to  another.     The  faces,  the  words,  the  ways,  the  works  of  strangers, 


1  Peter  I.  4.]  a  string  of  pearls.  431 

are  very  little  pleasing  and  delightful  to  us  here;  what  would  they  then 
be  in  heaven  ?     But, 

(5.)  Fifthly,  The  saints,  in  the  great  day  of  account,  shall  know  the 
persons  of  wicked  men,  who  shall  be  indicted,  arraigned,  condemned, 
and  judged  by  Jesus  Christ,  and  all  his  saints  about  him.1  This 
great  day  will  be  a  declaration  of  the  just  judgment  of  God.  In  this 
great  day,  every  wicked  work,  and  every  wicked  worker,  shall  be  brought 
to  light ;  and  indeed  it  would  be  but  in  vain  to  bring  evil  works  to  light, 
if  the  evil  worker  be  not  also  brought  to  the  light.  In  this  great  day 
the  saints  shall  see  and  know  Cain  in  his  person,  they  shall  be  able  to 
point  at  him,  and  say,  Yonder  stands  that  bloody  Cain  who  slew  his 
brother  Abel,  because  he  was  more  righteous  than  he.  And  there 
stands  Pharaoh,  the  great  oppressor  of  God's  Israel,  and  he  that  stood 
it  out  against  heaven  itself;  and  look,  there  stands  bloody  Saul,  who 
lost  his  crown,  his  kingdom,  his  soul,  his  all,  by  disobedience  ;  and  there 
is  Hainan,  who  was  feasted  with  the  king  one  day,  and  made  a  feast 
for  crows  the  next ;  lo,  there  stands  Pilate,  that  condemned  Christ,  and 
there  is  Judas  that  betrayed  Christ.  In  this  great  day  that  word  shall 
be  made  good,  every  man  shall  appear  to  account  for  the  works  that  he 
hath  done  in  his  body,  2  Cor.  v.  10;  so  that  both  wicked  works  and 
wicked  workers  shall  plainly  appear  before  our  Lord  Jesus  and  all  his 
saints,  who  with  him  shall  judge  the  world.  Now  certainly,  if  the  saints 
shall  know  the  wicked  in  that  great  day,  they  shall  then  much  more 
know  one  another  ;  when  they  shall  all  sit  as  fellow-justices  round  about 
Jesus  Christ  the  righteous  judge,  to  pass  a  righteous  sentence  upon  all 
unrighteous  souls.     But, 

(6.)  Sixthly,  Christ  tells  the  Jews  that  they  shall  see  Abraham., 
Isaac,  ami  Jacob,  and  all  the  prophets  in  the  kingdom  of  Cod.2  All 
the  saints  shall-  have  communion  with  Abraham,  Isaac,  and  Jacob,  in 
the  kingdom  of  God  ;  they  shall  have  communion  with  them,  not  only 
as  godly  men,  but  as  Abraham,  Isaac,  and  Jacob.  The  phrase  of  seeing 
Abraham,  Tsaac,  and  Jacob  in  the  kingdom  of  heaven,  doth  doubtless 
import  thus  much,  that  they  shall  be  known  personally  and  distinctly 
from  all  other  persons  in  the  kingdom  of  heaven.  Saints  in  heaven 
shall  be  able  to  point  at  Abraham,  and  say,  There  is  Abraham,  that  was 
the  great  pattern  for  believing;  and  there  is  Isaac,  that  was  a  sweet 
pattern  for  meditating  ;  and  there  is  Jacob,  who  had  the  honour  and 
happiness  of  prevailing  with  God.3  The  saints'  happiness  in  heaven 
shall  be  greatly  increased  by  mutual  communion,  and  by  their  personal 
knowledge  of  one  another  in  that  blessed  state.     But, 

(7.)  Seventhly,  and  lastly,  In  heaven  the  saints  shall  know  as  they  are 
known,  1  Cor.  xiii.  12,  Exod.  xxxiii.  12.  Now  God  knows  all  the  saints, 
personally,  particularly,  corporally,  yea,  he  knows  them  all  by  name  ; 
and  so  doubtless  all  the  saints  in  heaven  shall  know  one  another  per- 
sonally, and  by  name,  else  how  shall  they  know  as  they  are  known  ? 
Here  in  this  world  we  know  one  another  many  times  only  by  report,  or 
by  writing,  or  by  face,  but  in  heaven  we  shall  know  one  another  by 
name.     So  God  knows  us  now,  and  so  we  shall  know  one  another  in 

1  1  Cor.  vi.  1-4;   Rom.  ii.  5  ;  Eccles.  xii.  14  ;  1  John  iii.  12. 

2  Luke  xiii.  28  ;  Mat.  viii.  11     See  Beza  arid  Piscator. 
a  Rom.  iv.  16-23  ;  Gen.  xxiv.  G3  ;  xxxii.  22-30. 


4o2  A  STRING  OF  PEARLS.  [1   PETER.  I.  4. 

heaven  ;  and  this  is  none  of  the  least  parts  of  glory,  that  we  shall  know 
one  another  in  glor}' ;  yea,  that  we  shall  know  one  another  personally, 
and  li\  oame  ;  the  serious  consideration  of  which  may  much  support  us, 
and  comfort  us  under  the  sad  losses  of  our  friends  and  relations  in  the 
Lord.     But  in  the, 


VII.  Seventh  and  hist  place,  As  the  best  society  is  reserved  till  last, 
so  ////■  glorifying  of  our  bodies  is  reserved  I  ill  lost.  I  shall  a  little 
hint  unto  you  the  glory  and  blessedness  of  the  bodies  of  the  saints 
when  they  shall  all  meet  in  heaven.  I  shall  not  stand  upon  the  privative 
blessedness  of  glorified  bodies,  which  consists  in  their  freedom  from  all 
defects,  deformities,  diseases,  and  distempers  which  here  they  are  sub- 
ject to.  Here  our  bodies  stand  in  need  of  clothes  to  cover  them,  food 
to  feed  them,  sleep  to  refresh  them,  physic  to  ease  them,  air  to  breath 
them,  and  houses  to  shelter  them,  from  all  which  glorified  bodies  shall 
be  free,  Rev.  vii.  1(5,  17.  But  I  shall  only  speak  of  the  positive  prero- 
gatives and  heavenly  endowments  that  glorified  bodies  shall  be  invested 
with.     As, 

(1.)  First,  They  shall  be  like  the  glorious  body  of  Christ.  Philip, 
iii.  21,  '  Who  shall  change  our  vile  body,  that  it  may  be  fashioned  like 
unto  his  glorious  body,  according  unto  the  working  whereby  he  is  able 
even  to  subdue  all  things  unto  himself.'  Our  bodies  shall  be  as  lovely 
and  comely,  as  bright  and  glorious,  as  the  body  of  Christ  is.  Chryso- 
stom  saith,  that  the  bodies  of  the  saints  shall  be  septies  clan  ioria  sole, 
seven  times  brighter  than  the  sun.  Certainly  saints  shall  be  as  hand- 
some-bodied and  as  comely-featured  as  Christ  is.  Though  their  bodies 
be  sown  in  dishonour,  yet  they  shall  be  raised  in  glory,  1  Cor  xv.  43. 
If  Stephen's  face  did  shine  as  if  it  had  been  the  face  of  an  angel,  that 
is,  bright  and  glorious,  Acts  vi.  15  ;  and  if  there  were  such  a  lustre  and 
glory  upon  Moses  his  face,  that  the  children  of  Israel  were  afraid  to 
come  near  him,  and  he  forced  to  put  a  veil  upon  it  till  he  had  done 
speaking  with  them,  Exod.  xxxiv.  29-3G  ;  I  say,  if  there  were  such  a 
glory  upon  the  face  of  these  two  mortals,  Oh  then  !  how  will  the  faces 
and  bodies  of  the  saints  glitter  and  shine  when  their  bodies  shall  be 
made  conformable  to  the  glorious  body  of  Jesus  Christ,  Mat.  xiii.  43.1 
Certainly,  as  the  light  and  glory  of  the  sun  doth  far  exceed  the  light 
of  the  least  twinkling  star,  so  much  and  more  shall  the  glory  of  the 
saint's  bodies  excel  that  glory  and  splendour  that  was  upon  the  faces 
of  Moses  and  Stephen.  The  bodies  of  the  saints  in  heaven  shall  be 
surpassingly  comely,  well-favoured,  beautiful,  and  amiable.  Plutarch, 
in  the  life  of  Demetrius,  saith,  That  he  was  so  passing  fair  of  face  and 
countenance,  as  no  painter  was  able  to  draw  him.  1  am  sure  I  am  no 
ways  able  to  paint  out  the  beauty  and  glory  that  shall  be  upon  the 
bodies  of  the  saints  in  that  day  of  glory,  wherein  the  saints  shall  shine 
as  so  many  suns.     But, 

(2)  Secondly,  Tlteir  bodies  shall  in  a  kind  be  spiritual  .-  1  Cor. 
xv.  44,  '  It  is  sown  a  natural  body,  it  is  raised  a  spiritual  body.  There 
is  a  natural  body,  and  there  is  a  spiritual  body.'  Their  bodies  shall  be 
spiritual,  non  substantia?,  sed  qualitatum  respectu,  not  in  regard  of 

1  What  is  a  spark  in  the  chimney,  to  the  sun  in  the  firmament  ? 


1  Peter  I.  4.]  a  string  of  pearls.  433 

(substance,  but  state  and  condition.1  Spiritual  in  the  text  is  not  op- 
posed to  visible,  but  to  natural ;  for  their  bodies,  though  in  a  sense 
they  are  spiritual,  yet  they  shall  be  as  visible  as  the  glorious  body  of 
Christ.  When  I  say  their  bodies  shall  be  spiritual,  you  must  not  think 
that  I  mean  that  their  bodies  shall  be  turned  into  spirits.  Oh  no  !  for 
they  shall  keep  their  bodily  dimensions,  and  be  true  bodies  still.  Look, 
as  in  change  of  old  and  broken  vessels,  the  matter  is  the  same,  only  the 
colour  is  fresher  and  brighter,  and  the  fashion  newer  and  better,  so  in 
the  day  of  glory,  our  bodies  shall  be  the  same  for  substance  that  now 
they  are  ;  they  shall  retain  the  same  flesh,  blood,  and  bones,  and  the 
same  figure  and  members,  that  now  is,  only  they  shall  be  overlaid  or 
clothed  with  spiritual  and  heavenly  qualities  and  prerogatives  ;  their 
bodies  shall  be  glorious,  of  a  due  and  comely  proportion,  of  an  exquisite 
feature  and  stature,  of  a  lively  colour,  of  cheerful  aspect,  and  full  of 
beauty  and  glory,  splendour  and  favour.  Now  the  bodies  of  the  saints 
shall  be  spiritual,  first,  in  respect  of  their  full,  perfect,  and  perpetual 
freedom  from  all  heats,  colds,  hungerings,  thirstings,  sickness,  weak- 
ness, ivants.  Here  one  cries  out,  Oh  my  back,  my  back  !  another.  Oh 
my  belly,  my  belly  !  with  the  prophet,  Hab.  iii.  16  ;  another,  Oh  my 
head,  my  head  !  with  the  Shunamite's  son,  2  Kings  iv.  19  ;  another, 
Oh  my  son,  my  son  !  as  David  for  Absalom,  2  Sam.  xviii.  33  ;  another, 
Oh  my  father,  my  father  !  with  Elisha,  2  Kings  ii.  12.  Every  one  here 
hath  some  ailment  or  other,  some  want  or  other,  some  grief  or  other, 
which  fills  his  eyes  with  tears  and  his  heart  with  sorrow  ;  but  when 
these  natural  bodies,  these  animal  or  soully  bodies,  shall  be  made 
glorious,  then  they  shall  be  fully  and  perpetually  freed  from  all  manner 
of  miseries  and  calamities;  they  shall  be  as  the  angels,  not  subject  to 
any  sickness,  weakness,  or  wants  :  Rev.  vii.  16,  17,  '  They  shall  hunger 
no  more,  neither  thirst  any  more  ;  neither  shall  the  sun  light  on  them, 
nor  any  heat.  For  the  Lamb,  which  is  in  the  midst  of  the  throne,  shall 
feed  them,  and  shall  lead  them  unto  living  fountains  of  water  ;  and 
God  shall  wipe  away  all  tears  from  their  eyes.'  Rev.  xxi.  4,  '  God  shall 
wipe  away  all  tears  from  their  eyes  ;  and  there  shall  be  no  more  death, 
neither  sorrow,  nor  crying,  neither  shall  there  be  any  more  pain  :  for 
the  former  things  are  passed  away  ;'  and  in  this  respect  their  bodies 
may  be  said  to  be  spiritual.  But,  secondly,  they  may  be  said  to  be 
spiritual  in  respect  of  their  spiritual  agility  and  nimbleness.  Now, 
our  bodies  are  gross,  dull,  and  heavy  in  their  motion:  and  by  this  the 
soul  is  many  times  hindered  in  its  lively  operations  ;  for  when  the  soul 
would  mount  up  on  high,  and  busy  herself  about  eternal  objects,  the 
body,  like  a  lump  of  lead,  keeps  it  down  ;  but  now,  in  this  glorious 
state,  the  body  shall  put  off  all  grossness,  dulness,  and  heaviness,  and 
be  exceeding  agile,  light,  and  apt  to  motion,  far  beyond  the  swiftest 
bird  that  flies,  Isa.  xl.  31  ;  1  Thes.  iv.  ]  7. 

I  know  not  by  what  to  set  forth  the  agility  of  glorified  bodies  ;  a 
post,  a  bird,  a  torrent,  are  too  short  to  set  forth  their  agility. 

Luther  saith,  that  a  glorified  body  shall  move  up  and  down  like  a 
thought. 

1  auficc  -^ixix-ov,  an  animal  or  soully  body,  that  is,  actuated  and  animated  by  the  soul 
after  a  natural  way  and  manner,  by  the  intervention  of  natural  helps,  such  as  eating, 
drinking,  sleeping,  and  the  like. 

VOL.  I.  e  e 


434-  A  STRING  OF  PEARLS.  [1  PETER  I.  4. 

And  Austin  saith,  The  body  will  presently  be  here  and  there,  where 
the  soul  would  have  it.1  Certainly  the  speed  and  motion  of  glorified 
bodies  will  be  extraordinary  and  incredible.  A  glorified  saint  desiring 
to  be  in  such  or  such  a  place  a  thousand  miles  off  or  more,  he  will  be 
there  in  such  an  incredible  short  time,  that  one  calls  it  imperceptible, 
hardly  to  be  discerned  :  in  which  respect  their  bodies  may  be  said  to  be 
spiritual.  But,  thirdly  and  lastly,  they  may  be  said  to  be  spiritual, 
because  of  that  perfect,  full,  absolute,  and  complete  subjection  that 
they  shall  delightfully  and  perpetually  yield  to  the  Spirit  of  God. 
Now  they  often  vex  and  grieve,  affront  and  fight  against  the  Spirit  of 
God.  The  members  of  our  bodies,  as  well  as  the  faculties  of  our  souls, 
do  often  make  war  upon  the  Spirit  of  grace,  as  the  apostle  fully  shews 
in  that  Rom.  vi.  '  The  spirit  often  lusts  against  the  flesh,  and  tin? 
flesh  against  the  spirit,'  Gal.  v.  17.  Now  the  body  says  to  the  soul, 
'  Be  not  righteous  over-much  ;  neither  make  thyself  over-wise  :  why 
shouldest  thou  destroy  thyself  V  Eccles.  vii.  16.  Cyprian  readeth  this 
verse  thus,  Noli  esse  mult  um  Justus,  et  noli  argumentari  plus  qvam, 
oportet,  be  not  just  over-much,  and  do  not  argue  and  dispute  more 
than  is  meet.  The  body  is  often  apt  to  say  to  the  soul,  Thou  art  just 
over-much,  O  soul  ;  and  thou  dost  argue  and  dispute  against  this  sin 
and  that  way,  and  this  comfort  and  that  enjoyment,  more  than  is  meet ; 
and  the  soul  seems  to  answer,  ver.  17,  'Be  not  over-much  wicked, 
neither  be  thou  foolish  :  why  shouldest  thou  die  before  thy  time  V 

But  now  in  heaven  the  bodies  of  the  saints  shall  be  fully,  perfectly, 
and  delightfully,  under  the  command,  conduct,  and  guidance  of  the 
spirit ;  and  therefore  may  truly  be  said  to  be  spiritual.  As  the  spirit 
serving  the  flesh  may  not  unfitly  be  called  carnal,  saith  one,2  so  the 
body  obedient  to  the  soul  may  rightly  be  termed  spiritual.  Glorified 
bodies  are  spiritual,  not  in  their  esseuce,  but  in  condition  and  quality, 
as  being  fully  and  perpetually  under  the  government  of  the  Spirit. 
Now  the  tongue  grieves  the  Spirit,  and  now  the  deaf  ear  is  turned  to 
the  voice  of  the  Spirit,  and  now  the  eye  is  rolling,  when  it  should  be 
reading  the  things  of  the  Spirit ;  and  now  the  feet  are  wandering  when 
they  should  be  walking  in  the  ways  of  the  Spirit  ;  and  now  the  hand  is 
idle  that  should  be  diligent  in  the  work  of  the  Spirit,  Eph.  iv.  29-31, 
Isa,  lxiii.  10.  Oh  !  but  now  in  heaven,  the  tongue,  the  eye,  the  ear,  the 
hands,  the  feet,  shall  be  all  brought  into  an  angelical,  willing,  and 
delightful  obedience  to  the  Spirit;  upon  which  account  glorified  bodies 
may  truly  be  termed  spiritual.     But, 

(3.)  Thirdly,  and  lastly,  As  their  bodies  shall  be  spiritual,  so  they  slmJI 
be  immortal,  tiny  shall  be  incorruptible,  1  Cor.  xv.  42,  54.  Here  these 
elementary  bodies  of  ours,  by  reason  of  their  earthly  and  dreggish  com- 
position, are  subject  to  mortality  and  corruption;  and  indeed  man  is  so 
poor  a  piece,  that  he  no  sooner  begins  to  live,  but  he  begins  to  die ;  his 
whole  life  is  but  a  lingering  death.  Death  every  hour  lies  at  the  door  ; 
tli is  sergeant3  constantly  attends  all  men,  in  all  places,  companies, 
changes,  and  conditions.     Petrarch  telleth  of  one,  who  being  invited  to 

1  Aug.  de  Civ.  D  i.  1.  xxii.  c.  30.  Wisdom,  iii.  7,  In  the  time  of  their  visitation  they 
shall  shine,  and  run  to  and  fro  like  sparks  among  the  stuhble.  [Above  is  Brooks's  fourth 
quotation  from  Apocrypha  thus  far. — G.]  2  Aug.  de  civ.  Dei.  1.  xiii.  c.  xx. 

■'  Another  Shakesperian  reminiscence:  'This  fell  sergeant  Death  is  strict.' — Ham- 
let, V.  2.— G. 


1  Peter  I.  4.]  A  string  of  pearls.  435 

dinner  the  next  day,  answered,  Ego  a  multis  annis  crastinum  non 
habui,  I  have  not  had  a  morrow  for  this  many  years.  Many  dangers, 
many  deaths,  every  hour  surround  these  lives  of  ours.  Here,  saith  one, 
accedimus,  we  enter  into  the  world  ;  succedimus,  we  succeed  one  an- 
other in  the  world  ;  decedimus,  we  depart  all  out  of  the  world.  Oh  ! 
but  in  heaven  we  shall  have  immortal  bodies  !  Luke  xx.  36,  '  Neither 
cati  they  die  any  more,  and  are  equal  to  the  angels/  By  the  power, 
presence,  and  goodness  of  God,  their  bodies  shall  be  so  perfumed  and 
embalmed,  that  they  shall  never  corrupt,  nor  be  subject  to  mortality. 
Manna,  by  a  divine  power,  was  kept  many  hundred  years  in  the  golden 
pot  without  putrefying  or  corrupting,  and  so  shall  the  glorified  bodies 
of  the  saints  be  preserved  and  kept  pure  and  immortal.  The  immor- 
tality of  glorified  bodies  shall  far  excel  that  of  Adam's  in  paradise,  for 
they  shall  be  free  from  all  possibility  of  dying  ;  for  they  shall  be  per- 
fectly and  perpetually  freed  from  all  corruptible  and  corrupting  ele- 
ments. Glorified  bodies  shall  have  no  seeds  of  corruption  in  them,  nor 
any  corruptive,  harmful,  malignant,  or  afflictive  passion  attending  them.1 
Adam  in  his  noble  estate  was  in  a  possibility  of  dying,  but  the  saints 
in  their  glorified  condition  are  above  all  possibility  of  dying.  This  is  a 
happiness  that  Adam  could  not  reach  to  in  his  state  of  integrity  ;  the 
greater  obligation  lies  upon  all  that  shall  come  to  glory. 

It  is  reported  of  the  Duke  of  Bullone  [Bouillon]  and  his  company, 
that  when  they  went  to  Jerusalem,  as  soon  as  they  saw  the  high  tur- 
rets they  gave  a  mighty  shout,  that  even  made  the  earth  ring,  crying 
out,  'Jerusalem,  Jerusalem  !2  so  when  the  saints  shall  all  meet  in  the 
heavenly  Jerusalem,  oh  how  will  they  make  even  heaven  to  ring  again, 
crying  out,  Immortality!  immortality!  immortality! 

And  thus,  I  suppose,  I  have  clearly  and  fully  made  good  that  great 
truth,  to  wit,  that  the  best  and  greatest  things  are  reserved  for  believers 
till  they  come  to  heaven.  I  shall  now  give  you  a  brief  account  of  the 
reasons  of  this  point ;  and  then  come  to  the  application  and  bringing 
home  of  this  precious  truth  to  our  own  souls.  Now  the  reasons  of  the 
point  are  these. 

Reason  1 .  First,  Because  it  is  his  good  will  and  pleasure  to  reserve 
the  best  things  for  his  people  till  last:  Luke  xii.  32,  'Fear  not,  little 
flock'  (there  are  two  diminutives  in  the  Greek3), '  for  it  is  your  Father's 
good  pleasure  to  give  you  the  kingdom.'  As  it  is  God's  good  pleasure 
to  give  you  a  kingdom,  so  it  is  his  good  pleasure  not  to  give  you  the 
kingdom  till  last,  2  Tim.  iv.  7,  8.  Edward  the  Sixth  could  not  give  his 
kingdom  away  ;  if  he  could,  it  had  not  come  as  it  did  to  Queen  Mary ; 
but  our  heavenly  Father  doth  now  give  a  kingdom  of  grace,  and  will  at 
last  also  give  a  kingdom  of  glory,  to  them  that  walk  uprightly,  Ps. 
lxxxiv.  11.     But, 

Reason  2.  Secondly,  TJiat  he  may  keep  the  hearts  of  his  people  in  a 
longing  and  in  a  waiting  frame,  for  the  enjoyment  of  those  great  and 
glorious  things  that  he  hath  reserved  for  them  till  last :  Heb.  xiii.  1 4, 
'  Here  we  have  no  continuing  city,  but  we  seek  one  to  come.'4  The 
greater  and  better  the  things  are  that  are  laid  up  for  us,  the  more  we 

1  Aug.  de  civ.  Dei.  1.  xxii.  c.  xxx.  s  Immortalised  by  Tasso. — G. 

8  ftixgiv  -ro'ifiviov,  Little,  little  in  their  own  esteem,  and  in  the  world's  account. 
4Heb.xi.  14-16;  Col.  iii.  1-5. 


436  A  STRING  OF  PEARLS.  [1    PETER  I.   4. 

should  long  and  wait  for  the  happy  enjoyment  of  them.  Abraham 
waited  Long  for  a  son,  and  Hannah  waited  long  for  a  child,  and  Joseph 
waited  long  for  his  advancement,  and  David  waited  long  for  the  crown, 
the  kingdom;  and  they  had  all  a  most   happy  issue.     The  longer  we 

wait,  the  better  wo  shall  speed  ;'  as  that  emperor's  son  said,  the  longer 
the  cooks  are  preparing  the  meat,  the  hitter  will  he  the  cheer;  mean- 
ing, the  longer  he  stayed  for  the  empire,  the  greater  it  would  lie. 
The  longer  we  wait  for  happiness,  the  more  at  last  we  shall  have  of 
happiness.  The  great  things  of  eternity  are  worth  nothing,  if  they 
are  not  worth  a  longing  and  a  waiting  for.     But, 

Reason  3.  Thirdly,  God  hath  reserved  the  best  and  greatest  things 
for  his  people  till  last,  and  that  because  else  they  were  above  all  men 
in  (he  world  the  most  miserable:  1  Cor.  xv.  19,  'If  in  this  life  only 
Ave  have  hope  in  Christ,  we  are  of  all  men  most  miserable.'  No  men 
usually  out  of  hell  are  so  much  afflicted,  tempted,  oppressed,  scorned, 
despised,  and  neglected  as  they  are.  Here  they  have  their  hell,  they 
had  need  of  a  heaven  to  come;  here  they  are  clothed  with  shame,  they 
had  need  hereafter  to  be  crowned  with  honour,  or  else  they  would  he 
the  unhappiest  men  in  all  the  world  ;  here  the  life  of  a  believer  is  filled 
multis  et  multiplicibus  miseriis,  with  many  and  multiplied  miseries: 
with  miseries  of  body,  with  miseries  of  mind.  Multiplied  miseries  at- 
tend him,  at  bed  and  board,  at  home  and  abroad.  Every  condition  is 
full,  and  every  relation  is  full,  of  miseries  and  calamities;  and  therefore 
one  saith  well,  Quomodo  potest  amari  hose  vita,  tantas  habens  amari- 
tudines?  Quomodo  etiam  dicitur  vita,  tot  generans  mortes  ?2  How 
can  tins  life  be  loved,  which  is  so  full  of  loathsome  bitterness  ?  Yea, 
how  can  it  be  called  a  life,  which  bringeth  forth  so  many  deaths  ?  Yet 
be  is  a  fool,  saith  one,3  that  looketh  upon  a  godly  man  under  trouble 
and  sorrow,  and  thinketh  him  to  be  unhappy,  because,  as  a  fool,  atten- 
dit  quid  natitur,  et  non  attendit  quid  il/i  servetur,  he  attendeth  what 
he  suffereth,  and  doth  not  attend  what  is  reserved  for  him.  If  the  best 
things  were  not  reserved  for  believers  till  last,  they  should  have  the 
saddest  portion  of  all  men,  viz.,  a  hell  here,  and  a  hell  hereafter  ;  and 
so  sinners  should  have  but  one  hell,  and  saints  two,  which  would  be 
blasphemy  to  affirm.     But, 

Reason  4.  Fourthly,  God  reserves  the  best  things  for  his  people  till 
last,  for  the  greater  terror  and  horror,  conviction  and  confusion  of 
wicked  and  ungodhj  ■/ktsovs,  who  now  revile  them,  and  judge  them 
to  be  the  unhappiest  men  in  all  the  world.  Oh  !  but  when  the  Lord 
shall  in  the  sight  of  all  the  world  gloriously  own  them,  and  put  royal 
robes  upon  their  backs,  and  golden  crowns  upon  their  heads,  then,  Oh  ! 
what  a  shame,  what  covering  of  the  face,  what  terror,  what  trembling, 
with  Hainan,  will  possess  the  hearts  of  wicked  men.4  The  great  honour 
and  glory  that  God  will  put  upon  his  people  at  last,  will  be  to  wicked 
men  what  the  handwriting  upon  the  wall  was  to  Belshazzar,  Dan. 
v.  1-8.  Oh  !  it  will  make  their  countenance  to  change,  their  thoughts 
to  be  troubled,  the  joints  of  their  loins  to  be  loosed,  and  their  knees 
dashed  one  against  another.     Now  that  word  shall  be  eminently  made 

1  Waiting  is  bonvm  utile,  a  profitable  good. 

1  A  Keuipia,  de  Imitat.  Christi,  1.  3,  c.  '2(>.  *  Augustine  in  Vs.  xci. 

4  Ps.  lviii.  11  ;   Lam.  iv.  2  ;  Esther  vi.  G,  et  seq. 


1  Peter  I.  4.]  a  string  of  pearls.  437 

good  :  '  He  setteth  the  poor  on  high  from  affliction,  and  maketh  him 
families  like  a  flock.  The  righteous  shall  see  it  and  rejoice,  and  all 
iniquity  shall  stop  her  mouth,'  Ps.  cvii.  41,  42.  Oh  !  what  trouble  of 
mind,  what  horror  of  conscience,  what  distraction  and  vexation,  what 
terror  and  torment,  what  weeping  and  wailing,  what  crying  and  roaring, 
what  wringing  of  hands,  what  tearing  of  hair,  what  dashing  of  knees,  what 
gnashing  of  teeth,  will  there  be  among  the  wicked,  when  they  shall  see  the 
saints  in  all  their  splendour,  dignity,  and  glory  !  '  When  they  shall  see 
Abraham,  Isaac,  and  Jacob,  and  all  the  prophets  in  the  kingdom  of  God, 
and  themselves  shut  out  for  ever,'  Luke  xiii.  28.  Now  shall  the  wicked 
lamentingly  say,  Lo  !  these  are  the  men  that  we  counted  fools,  mad- 
men, and  miserable.  Oh  but  now  we  see  that  we  were  deceived  and 
deluded  !  Oh  that  we  had  never  despised  them  !  Oh  that  we  had 
never  reproached  them  !  Oh  that  we  had  never  trampled  upon  them  ! 
Oh  that  we  had  been  one  with  them  !  Oh  that  we  had  imitated  them  1 
Oh  that  we  had  walked  as  they,  and  done  as  they,  that  so  we  might 
now  have  been  as  happy  as  they  !  Oh  but  this  cannot  be  !  Oh  this 
may  not  be  !  Oh  this  shall  never  be  !  therefore  Oh  that  we  had  never 
been  born  !  Oh  that  now  we  might  be  unborn !  Oh  that  we  might 
be  turned  into  a  bird,  a  beast,  a  toad,  a  stone  !  Oh  that  we  were  any- 
thing but  what  we  are  !  or,  Oh  that  we  were  nothing  !  Oh  that  now 
our  immortal  souls  were  mortal !  Oh  that  we  might  so  die,  that  we 
may  not  eternally  die  !  but  it  is  now  too  late.  Oh  we  see  that  there 
is  a  reward  for  the  righteous  !  and  we  shall  suddenly  feel,  that  by  all 
the  contempt  that  we  have  cast  upon  these  glorious  shining  saints, 
whose  splendour  and  glory  doth  now  darken  the  very  glory  of  the  sun, 
Dan.  xii.  3 ;  we  have  but  treasured  up  wrath  against  the  day  of  wrath, 
Rom.  ii.  4-7 ;  we  have  but  added  fuel  to  those  burning  coals,  to  those 
everlasting  flames,  in  which  we  must  now  lie  for  ever,  Ps.  cxl.  10.    But, 

Reason  5.  Fifthly,  The  Lord  hath  reserved  the  best  things  for  his 
people  till  they  come  to  heaven,  that  so  he  may  save  his  honour  and 
secure  his  glory.  Would  it  make  for  the  honour  and  glory  of  God,  to 
put  his  children,  his  servants,  upon  doing  hard  things,  and  upon  suffer- 
ing great  things,  and  at  last  to  put  them  off  with  nothing  ?  Surely  it 
would  not ;  and  therefore  the  Lord,  to  save  the  honour  of  his  great 
name,  hath  reserved  the  best  wine  till  last,  the  best  and  choicest  favours 
for  his  people  till  they  come  to  heaven,  John  ii.  10.  The  sweetest 
honey  lies  at  the  bottom.  I  cannot  see  how  God  should  save  his  glory, 
if  he  should  put  his  children  always  upon  sowing,  and  never  suffer 
them  to  reap,  2  Cor.  ix.  6,  7  ;  that  they  should  still  be  sowing  in  tears, 
if  at  last  they  should  not  reap  in  joy,  Ps.  cxxvi.  4-6.  Men  that  love 
but  their  names  and  honour  in  the  world,  will  not  be  served  for  nought, 
and  will  God  ?  Will  God,  who  is  infinitely  more  tender  of  his  name 
and  honour,  than  any  created  being  can  be  of  theirs  ?  Isa.  xlii.  8, 
xlviii.  11. 

I  have  read  of  Alphonsus,  a  king  of  Spain,  who  when  a  knight  falling 
into  want  and  being  arrested  for  debt,  there  was  a  petition  to  the  king 
to  succour  him,  Ay,  said  the  King,  if  he  had  spent  his  estate  in  mine, 
or  in  the  commonwealth's  service,  it  were  reason  he  should  be  provided 
for  by  me,  or  the  commonwealth.  Men  of  honour  will  provide  for  them 
that  spend  themselves  in  their  service ;  and  will  not  God  ?  Will  not  God 


438  A  STRING  OF  PEARLS.  []    PETER  I.  4. 

do  as  much,  yea  more,  for  them  that  spend  themselves  in  his  service  ? 
Surely  he  will,  Heb.  xi.  16.  'But  now.  they  desire  a  better  country, 
that  is,  an  heavenly  :  wherefore  God  is  not  ashamed  to  be  called  their 
God  ;  for  he  hath  prepared  for  them  a  city.'  As  if  he  had  said,  Had  not 
(iikI  prepared  for  them  a  city,  had  he  not  made  some  blessed  provision 
for  them,  who  left  so  much  for  him,  who  did  so  much  for  him,  and  who 
Buffered  such  great  and  bitter  things  for  him,  they  might  well  have 
complained  that  they  had  but  a  bad  bargain  of  it,  and  that  God  was  a 
hard  master;  and  so  God  should  have  been  ashamed.  Had  not  God 
made  such  happy  and  blessed  provision  for  them  who  had  run  through 
so  many  dangers  and  deaths  for  his  sake,  had  he  not  provided  and  laid 
up  for  them,  according  to  his  promise,  and  suitable  to  his  greatness  and 
goodness,  his  dignity  and  glory,  it  would  have  put  God  to  the  blush,  to 
speak  after  the  manner  of  men.  I  have  read  concerning  Dionysius  of 
Sicily,  that  being  extremely  delighted  with  a  minstrel  that  sung  well, 
he  promised  to  give  him  a  great  reward,  and  that  raised  the  fancy  of 
the  man,  and  made  him  play  better  ;  but  when  the  music  was  done,  and 
the  man  waited  for  his  reward,  the  king  dismissed  him  empty,  telling 
him  that  he  should  carry  away  as  much  of  the  promised  reward  as  him- 
self did  of  the  music,  and  that  he  had  paid  him  sufficiently  with  the 
pleasure  of  the  promise  for  the  pleasure  of  his  song.  But  it  will  not 
stand  with  the  honour  of  the  King  of  kings  to  put  off  his  servants  so 
poorly,  whose  prayers,  praises,  and  tears,  have  been  most  sweet  and 
delightful  music  to  him  ;  no,  he  will  do  like  himself  at  last,  and  that 
his  children  know.  It  troubled  a  martyr  at  the  stake,  that  he  was 
going  to  a  place  where  he  should  ever  be  a-receiving  wages,  and  do  no 
more  work.     But, 

Reason  6.  Sixthly,  That  he  may  make  his  children  temptation-proof, 
he  hath  reserved  for  them  the  best  things  till  they  come  to  heaven. 
The  great  things  that  God  hath  reserved  for  believers  in  heaven,  was 
that  which  made  those  worthies,  of  whom  this  world  was  not  worthy, 
temptation-proof;  as  you  may  see  in  that  10th  of  the  Hebrews,  33d, 
34th,  35th,  verses,  and  throughout  the  11th  chapter  of  that  Epistle.  The 
pleasures,  the  treasures,  the  dignities  and  glories  that  are  reserved  for 
believers  in  heaven,  make  them  bravely  and  nobly  to  resist  all  those 
temptations  that  they  meet  with  from  a  tempting  world  or  a  tempting 
devil. 

Austin  blessed  God,  that  his  heart  and  the  temptation  did  not  meet 
together.  By  the  precious  things  that  are  reserved  for  believers  in  hea- 
ven, God  keeps  their  hearts  and  temptations  asunder.  When  Basil  was 
tempted  with  money  and  preferment,  saith  he,  Pecuniam  da  qua 
'permaneat  ac  continuo  duret,  gloriam  quoe  semper  Jioreat,  give  me 
money  that  may  last  for  ever,  and  glory  that  may  eternally  flourish.1 
Satan  made  a  bow  of  Job's  wife,  of  his  rib,  as  Chrysostom  speaks,  and 
shot  a  tentation  by  her  at  Job,  thinking  to  have  shot  him  to  the  heart, 
'Curse  God  and  die;'  but  Job's  sincerity  and  integrity,  and  his  hopes  of 
immortality  and  glory,  was  a  breastplate  that  made  him  temptation- 
proof.  Ah  Christians !  do  not  you  daily  find,  that  the  glorious  tilings 
reserved  for  you  in  heaven,  do  mightily  arm  you  against  all  the  tempta- 
tions that  you  meet  with  on  earth  ?  I  know  you  do.     But, 

1  Basil  iii  xl.  Mariyrs- 


1  Peter  I.  4.]  a  string  of  pearls.  439 

Reason  7.  Seventhly,  God  hath  reserved  the  best  things  for  his 
people,  till  they  come  to  heaven,  because  they  are  not  in  this  mortal 
and  frail  condition  able  to  bear,  they  are  not  able  to  take  in  the  glory 
that  is  reserved  for  them,  2  Cor.  iv.  17.1  Glory  is  such  a  great,  such  an 
exceeding,  such  an  excessive,  such  an  eternal  weight,  that  no  mortal  is 
able  to  bear  it.  We  must  have  better  and  larger  hearts,  and  we  must 
have  stronger  and  broader  backs,  before  we  shall  be  capable  of  bearing 
that  excellent,  exceeding,  and  excelling  weight  of  glory  that  is  reserved 
in  heaven  for  us.  Nay,  glory  is  such  a  weight,  that  when  the  saints 
shall  enter  into  it,  if  then  the  Lord  should  not  put  under  his  everlasting 
arms  and  bear  them  up  by  his  almighty  power,  it  were  impossible  they 
should  be  able  to  bear  it.  In  this  our  frail  mortal  state,  we  are  not 
able  to  bear  the  appearance,  the  presence,  the  glory  of  one  angel. 

Ah  !  how  much  less  then  are  we  able  to  bear  the  weight  of  all  that 
glory  that  is  reserved  for  us,  and  of  which  1  have  given  you  some 
glimpses  in  what  I  have  already  said.     But, 

Reason  8.  Eighthly  and  lastly,  The  Lord  hath  reserved  the  best  things 
for  his  people  till  they  come  to  heaven,  because  while  they  are  in  this 
world  they  are  under  age.  They  are  not  come  to  fall  age.2  Here 
saints  are  in  their  non-age,  but  when  they  come  to  heaven,  then  they 
come  to  their  full  age,  and  then  they  shall  have  the  inheritance  by  the 
Father  of  mercies  freely  and  fully  settled  upon  them.  Children  in  their 
non-age  are  under  tutors  and  governors,  but  when  they  come  to  age, 
then  is  the  inheritance  settled  upon  them  :  so  here,  it  is  not  for  us  in 
our  non-age,  to  mount  into  the  clouds,  to  pierce  this  fulness  of  light,  to 
break  into  this  bottomless  depth  of  glory,  or  to  dwell  in  that  unapproach- 
able brightness.3     This  is  reserved  till  we  come  to  full  age. 

And  thus  I  have  given  you  the  reasons  why  God  hath  reserved  the 
best  and  greatest  things  for  his  people  till  they  come  to  heaven.  We 
shall  now  come  to  the  use  and  application  of  this  point  to  our  own 
souls,  remembering  that  close  application  is  the  very  life  and  soul  of 
teaching.  And  as  a  man  doth  not  attain  to  health  by  reading  of  Galen, 
or  knowing  Hippocrates  his  aphorisms,  but  by  the  practical  application 
of  them  to  remove  the  disease ;  so  no  man  will  attain  to  true  happiness 
by  hearing,  reading,  or  commending  what  I  have  spoke  or  writ,  but 
by  a  close  application  and  bringing  home  of  all  to  his  own  soul.  The 
opening  of  a  point  is  the  drawing  of  the  bow  ;  but  the  application  of 
the  point  is  the  hitting  of  the  mark,  the  white  ;  and  therefore, 

(1.)  First,  If  God  hath  reserved  the  best  things  for  believers  till  last, 
then  by  the  rule  of  contraries  the  worst  things  are  reserved  for  un- 
believers till  last.4"  Here  wicked  men  have  their  heaven,  hereafter  they 
shall  have  their  hell.  The  time  of  this  life  is  the  day  of  their  joy  and 
triumph  ;  and  when  this  short  day  is  ended,  everlasting  lamentations, 
mournings,  and  woes  follow.  Luke  xvi.  22-25,  '  The  rich  man  also 
died,  and  was  buried  ;  and  in  hell  he  lift  up  his  eyes,  being  in  torments, 
and  seeth  Abraham  afar  off,  and  Lazarus  in  his  bosom.  And  he  cried, 
and  said,  Father  Abraham,  have  mercy  on  me,  and  send  Lazarus,  that 

1  The  apostle  allude th  to  the  Hebrew  and  Chaldee  words,  Chabodh  and  Jahar,  which 
signify  both  weight  and  glory. 

2  Gal.  iv.  1-4 ;  Ephes.  iv.  10-14.  3  Bernard,  Cant.  Serm.  38. 
*  Job  xxi.   7-22;  PjJ.  lxxiii.  3-12  compared  with  the  17th,   18th,  12th,  20th  verses ; 

Rev.  xxi.  8. 


110  A  STRING  OF  PBABLS.  [1  PETEB  I.   k 

he  may  dip  the  tip  of  his  finger  in  water,  and  cool  my  tongue;  for  I 
am  tormented  in  this  flame.  But  Abraham  said,  Son,  remember  that 
thou  in  thy  lifetime  receivedst  thy  good  things,  and  likewise  Lazarus 
evil  things  :  I >iit  now  he  is  comforted,  and  thou  aii  tormented.' 

Ah  sinners !  sinners!  thai  day  is  hastening  upon  you.  wherein  you 
shall  have  punishment  without  pity,  misery  without  mercy,  sorrow 
without  Buccour,  pain  without  pleasure,  and  torments  without  end  : 
Ps.  xi.  6,  'Upon  the  wicked  he  shall  rain  snares,  fire  and  brimstone^ 
and  an  horrible  tempest:  this  shall  be  the  portion  of  their  cup.'  Ps. 
exl.  10.  •  Let  horning  coals  fall  upon  them:  let  them  be  cast  into  the 
fire  ;  into  deep  pits,  that  they  rise  not  up  again.' 

Chrysologus,  upon  that  passage  in  the  Gospel,  that  the  angels  carried 
away  poor  Lazarus  into  Abraham's  bosom,  and  hell  swallowed  up 
the  rich  glutton,  saith  :  Ecce  fratres,  mors  pauperis  totam  vitam 
divitis  vicit,  et  elatio  sola  pauperis  totam  divitis  pompam  transcendit 
et  fjloriam.1  Behold  !  brethren,  the  very  death  of  the  poor  man  excelleth 
the  whole  life  of  the  wicked,  and  the  carrying  away  only  of  the  poor 
man  transcendeth  all  the  pomp  and  glory  of  the  rich  man. 

Charon,  in  Lncian,  requesting  Mercurius  to  shew  him  Jupiter's  palace 
above,  How!  says  Mercurius,  that  such  a  caitiff  as  thou,  whose  conver- 
sation hath  been  altogether  with  black  shades  and  impure  ghosts,  shouldst 
set  thy  foot  in  that  pure  place  of  light  ?  What  a  dishonour  and  dero- 
gation were  that  to  the  place  ! 

Ah,  sinners  !  sinners  !  what  a  dishonour  would  it  be  to  God,  to  Christ, 
to  angels,  to  saints,  to  heaven,  if  such  wretches  as  you  are  should  be 
admitted  iuto  that  royal  palace,  that  heavenly  paradise,  above. 

Ah  !  your  portion  is  below,  and  you  are  already  adjudged  to  those  tor- 
ments that  are  endless,  easeless,  and  remediless,  where  the  worm  never 
dies,  and  the  fire  never  goes  out,  Rev.  xiv.  11.  The  day  is  coming  upon 
you,  sinners,  when  all  your  sweet  shall  be  turned  into  bitter;  all  your 
glory  into  shame  ;  all  your  plenty  into  scarcity  ;  all  your  joys  into 
sot  rows;  all  your  recreations  into  vexations  ;  and  all  your  momentany 
comforts  into  everlasting  torments. 

Now  you  reign  as  kings,  you  look  big,  you  speak  proudly,  you  carry 
it  highly,  you  walk  contemptuously ;  but  there  is  an  after-reckoning 
a-coming  that  will  appal  you,  and  torture  you  for  ever. 

The  time  of  this  life  is  your  summer;  but  there  is  a  winter  a-coming 
upon  you  that  shall  never  have  end.  God  could  not  be  just  if  your  w<  >rst 
were  not  yet  to  come;  neither  could  he  be  just  if  the  saints' best  were  not 
vet  tocome.  The  timeof  this  lifeis  thesaints'liell.and  the  sinners' heaven ; 
but  the  next  life  will  be  the  saints'  heaven,  and  the  sinners'  hell.     But, 

(2.)  Secondly,  Then  patiently  wait  for  the  enjoyment  of  those  great 
things  that  ore  reserved  for  yon-  in  heaven.  Men  will  wait,  and  wait 
long,  for  some  outward  good  ;  and  will  not  vou  for  the  best  and  greatest 
good  ?  Are  there  not  many  things  that  speak  out  the  greatness  of  that 
glory  that  is  reserved  for  you  ?  as  the  price  that  Christ  hath  paid  for  it, 
and  the  great  and  glorious  things  by  which  it  is  shadowed  out  to  us  ?  as 
I  a  man,  Jerusalem,  paradise  ;  and  the  dignity  of  the  inhabitants,  there 
being  none  admitted  underthedegreeof  a  king ;aud  thegreatand  glorious 
earnest  of  the  Spirit;  and  the  great  care,  cost,  and  charge  that  God  hath 
1  Chrysologus,  Serm.  121. 


1  Peter  I.  4.]  a  string  of  pearls.  441 

been  at  to  prepare  and  fit  souls  for  the  enjoyment  of  it.1  What  do  all 
these  things  speak  out,  but  that  the  glory  that  is  reserved  for  believers 
is  great  glory;  and  is  it  not  then  worth  a  waiting  for  ?  Let  not  Satan's 
slaves  wait  more  patiently  for  a  few  ounces  of  gold,  than  you  do  for  the 
kingdom  of  heaven. 

Again,  as  the  things  reserved  for  you  in  heaven  are  great,  and  there- 
fore wait,  so  they  are  certain  and  sure  ;  and  therefore  wait,  oh  patiently 
wait  for  the  enjoyment  of  them  !   Heb.  vi.  16-19.     When  the  beggar 
at   the  door  is  sure  of  speeding,  he  will  wait  patiently,  he  will  wait 
unweariedly.     The  glorious  things  reserved  in  heaven  for  you,  they  are 
made  sure  and  certain  to  you  by  word,  by  covenant,  by  oath,  by  blood, 
by  the  earnest,  by  the  first-fruits,  and  by  Christ's  taking  possession  of 
them  in  your  rooms,  in  your  steads,  Eph.  ii.  6,  John  xiv.  1-4  ;  therefore 
patiently  wait  for  the  enjoyment  of  them.     O  Christians  !  it  is  but  a 
very  short  time  that  God  hath  proposed  to  be  between  grace  and  glory, 
between  our  title  to  the  crown  and  our  wearing  the  crown  ;  between  our 
right  to  the  heavenly  inheritance,  and  our  possession  of  the  heavenly 
inheritance.     Ah,  Christians  !  bear  up  bravely,  bear  up  sweetly,  bear  up 
patiently,  for  it  will  be  but  a  little,  little,  little  while,  before  he  that  shall 
come  will  come,  and  will  not  tarry,  Heb.  x.  35-37,  ^'  7«f  iii%(ov  oeov  6gov; 
and  when  he  doth  come,  he  will  not  come  vacuis  manibus,  empty- 
handed  ;  no,  when  he  comes,  he  brings  his  reward  with  him;  Rev.  xxii. 
1 2  ;  when  he  comes,  he  will  reward  thee  for  every  prayer  that  thou  hast 
made,  and  for  every  sermon  that  thou  hast  heard,  and  for  every  tear 
that  thou  hast  shed,  and  for  every  hour  that  thou  hast  patiently  waited  ; 
and  therefore  wait  patiently  till  the  promised  crown  be  set  upon  thy 
head.     But, 

(3.)  Thirdly,  If  the  best  things  are  reserved  for  believers  till  they 
come  to  heaven,  oh  then,  let  no  believer  envy  nor  be  troubled  at  the 
outward  prosperity  and  felicity  of  the  men  of  the  world.  What  is 
darkness  to  light,  chaff  to  wheat,  dross  to  gold,  gall  to  honey,  pebbles 
to  pearls,  earth  to  heaven  ?  No  more  is  all  the  glory  and  felicity  that 
wicked  men  have  in  possession  to  those  great  and  glorious  things  that 
saints  have  in  reversion  ;  and  therefore,  O  believer,  let  not  wicked 
men's  prosperity  be  thy  calamity  !2 

There  is  a  truth  in  that  saying  of  Chrysostom,3  prwstat  serpentem 
provolutum  in  visceribus  habere,  quam  invidiam,  a  man  were  better 
have  a  serpent  tumbling  in  his  bowels  than  envy ;  for  if  a  serpent  have 
food  given  it,  it  will  not  feed  upon  a  man  ;  but  the  more  food  is  given 
to  envy,  the  more  it  gnaweth  him  in  whose  bowels  it  is.  It  is  the  jus- 
tice of  envy  to  kill  and  torment  the  envious.  Envy,  it  tortures  the 
affections,  it  vexes  the  mind,  it  inflames  the  blood,  it  corrupts  the  heart, 
it  wastes  the  spirits  ;  and  so  it  becomes  man's  tormentor  and  man's 
executioner  at  once.  Take  heed,  Christians,  take  heed  of  an  envious 
eye,  for  that  usually  looks  upon  other  men's  enjoyments  through  a 
multiplying  glass,  and  so  makes  them  appear  greater  and  bigger  than 
they  are;  and  this  increases  torment,  this  often  makes  a  hell. 

It  is  reported  of  Panormitanus,  that  a  question  being  asked  before 

1  Rev.  xxi. ;  i.  5,  6 ;  Eph.  i.  13.  14 ;  Col.  i.  12. 

2  Ps.  xxxvii.  1 ;  lxxiii.  3-7  ;  Job  xxi.  7-13 ;  Jer.  xii.  1,  2. 
8  Chrys.  in  ii.  ad  Corin.  Homil.  xix. 


442  A  STRING  OF  TEARLS.  [1  PETER  I.  4. 

king  Frederick,  what  was  good  for  the  eye-sight,  and  the  physicians 
answering  some  one  thing,  some  another,  Sannizarius  answered,  that 
envy  was  very  good  ;  at  which  the  company  smiling,  he  gave  this  reason 
for  it,  because  that  envy  makes  all  things  appear  bigger  than  they  are. 
Ah,  Christians!  envy  is  a  serpent,  a  devil,  that  should  be  abhorred  and 
shunned  more  than  hell  itself.  O  Christian!  with  what  heart  canst 
thou  envy  wicked  men's  prosperity  and  worldly  felicity,  if  thou  dost 
but  look  up  to  thine  own  glory,  and  seriously  consider  of  their  Bad 
reckoning  and  future  calamity?  Dives  was  one  day  rustling  in  his 
purple  robes,  riches,  and  worldly  glory,  and  the  next  day  he  was  rolling 
and  roaring  in  the  flames  of  hellish  misery ;  and  how  soon  this  may  be 
the  portion  of  those  thou  enviest,  who  can  tell?  and  therefore  rather 
pity  them  than  envy  them.  None  need  more  prayer  and  pity  than 
those  that  want  hearts,  than  those  that  have  neither  skill  nor  will  to 
pity  themselves,  to  pray  for  themselves ;  and  such  are  wicked  men  under 
their  outward  prosperity  and  worldly  glory,  Job  xxi.  7-20.     But, 

(4.)  Fourthly,  If  the  best  things  are  reserved  for  believers  till  they 
come  to  heaven,  oh  then  let  all  believers  be  contented,  though  they  have 
but  short  commons  in  this  world!  He  that  is  an  heir  to  a  great  estate, 
though  in  his  non-age  he  be  kept  short,  yet  this  comforts  and  contents 
him,  that  though  things  are  now  short  with  him,  it  will  be  but  a  little 
while  before  the  inheritance  is  settled  upon  him,  and  this  makes  him 
bear  up  sweetly  and  contentedly  under  all  his  wants  and  straits, 
Philip,  iv.  12-14,  1  Tim.  vi.  G-8.  Ah,  Christians!  Christians!  though 
for  the  present  your  wants  may  be  many,  and  God  may  cut  you  short 
in  many  desirable  enjoyments,  yet  it  will  not  be  long  before  the  crown, 
the  inheritance,  be  fully  settled  upon  you,  and  then  you  shall  never 
know  what  want  means  more,  what  short  commons  means  more  ;  there- 
fore be  content  with  your  present  condition,  with  your  present  portion, 
though  it  be  never  so  little,  never  so  mean :  Heb.  xiii.  5,  '  Let  your  con- 
versation be  without  covetousness  ;  and  be  content  with  such  things  as 
you  have'  (or  as  the  Greek  hath  it,  roTg  xagouaiv,  the  things  that  are  pre- 
sent1). At  this  time  the  Hebrews  had  been  plundered  of  all  their 
goods,  and  goodly  things,  chap.  x.  34,  and  so  had  nothing,  or  that  which 
is  as  good  as  nothing,  left,  yet  they  must  be  content  with  present  things. 
When  they  had  changed  their  raiment  for  rags,  their  silver  for  brass,  their 
plenty  for  scarcity,  their  houses  for  holes  and  caves,  and  dens,  yet  then 
they  must  be  contented  with  present  things.  When  men  cannot  bring 
their  means  to  their  minds,  then  they  must  bring  their  minds  to  their 
means,  and,  when  this  is  done,  then  a  little  will  serve  the  turn.2  A 
very  little  will  serve  to  carry  a  man  through  his  pilgrimage,  and  to  bear 
his  charges  till  he  comes  to  his  home,  till  he  comes  to  heaven  ;  a  little 
will  serve  nature,  less  will  serve  grace,  though  nothiug  will  serve  a  man's 
lusts.  I  have  read  of  one  Didymus,  a  godly  preacher,  who  was  blind  ; 
Alexander,  a  godly  man,  being  with  him,  asked  him  whether  he  was 
not  much  troubled  and  afflicted  for  waut  of  his  sight?  Oh  yes!  said 
Didymus,  the  want  of  my  sight  is  a  very  great  grief  and  affliction  to 
me  ;  whereupon  Alexander  chid  him,  saying,  Hath  God  given  thee  the 

1  Contenli  prxsentihus.     So  Beza. 

2  If  thou  live  according  to  nature,  thou  wilt  never  be  poor;  if  according  to  opiniuu,  thou 
wilt  never  be  rich,  suid  the  heathen. — Jerome. 


1  Peter  I.  4]  a  string  of  pearls.  44-3 

excellency  of  an  angel,  of  an  apostle,  and  art  thou  troubled  for  the  want 
of  that  which  rats,  and  mice,  and  brute  beasts  have?  And  so  Augus- 
tine, upon  the  12th  Psalm,  brings  in  God  rebuking  a  discontented 
Christian  thus  :  What  is  thy  faith  ?  have  I  promised  thee  these  things? 
what !  wert  thou  made  a  Christian  that  thou  shouldst  flourish  here  in 
this  world?1  So  may  I  say  to  Christians  that  are  discontented,  dis- 
quieted, and  disturbed  about  the  want  of  this  or  that  worldly  comfort: 
Why  are  you  troubled  about  the  want  of  this  or  that  worldly  enjoyment? 
you  that  have  an  interest  in  God,  an  interest  in  the  covenant,  a  right 
to  Christ,  a  title  to  heaven;  you  that  have  so  much  in  hand  and  more 
in  hope;  you  that  have  so  much  in  expectation  and  so  much  in  rever- 
sion ;  why  do  you  sit  sighing  for  the  want  of  this  outward  comfort,  and 
complaining  for  the  want  of  that  outward  contentment,  considering 
what  great  and  glorious  things  are  reserved  in  heaven  for  you  ?  It  was 
said  of  the  great  Duke  of  Guise,  that  though  he  was  poor,  as  to  his 
present  possessions,  yet  he  was  the  richest  man  in  France  in  bills,  bonds, 
and  obligations  ;  because  he  had  engaged  all  the  noblemen  in  France 
unto  himself  by  advancing  of  them.  A  Christian,  though  a  Lazarus  at 
Dives's  door  ;  yet,  in  respect  of  his  propriety2  in  God  and  his  interest  in 
the  covenant,  he  is  the  richest  and  the  happiest  man  in  all  the  world :  and 
why  then  should  he  not  be  content.  Well !  remember,  Christian,  that 
the  shortest  cut  to  riches  and  all  worldly  contentments  is  by  their  con- 
tempt. It  is  great  riches,  it  is  the  best  riches  not  to  desire  riches  ; 
and  God  usually  gives  him  most  that  covets  least.  When  two  monks 
came  to  king  William  Rufus  to  buy  an  abbot's  place,  and  endeavoured 
to  outbid  each  other,  a  third  monk  that  came  to  wait  on  them  was 
asked  what  he  would  give,  he  answered,  Not  a  penny  ;  I  came  to  wait 
on  him  that  shall  have  the  place  ;  upon  which  the  king  gave  the  waiter 
the  place.  Just  so  doth  God  often  carry  it  towards  his  people  in  this 
world  ;  they  that  seek  it  least  shall  have  most.  Solomon  begs  a  wise 
heart,  and  God  gives  him  that,  and  abundance  of  gold  and  silver  and 
honour,  and  what  not,  into  the  bargain.  The  best  way  to  have  much, 
is  to  be  contented  with  a  little. 

I  have  read  of  Dionysius  [Plutarch],  how  he  took  away  from  one  of 
his  nobles  almost  his  whole  estate,  and  seeing  him  nevertheless  con- 
tinue as  cheerful  and  well  contented  as  ever,  he  gave  him  that  again, 
and  as  much  more.  This  is  a  common  thing  with  God,  as  Job  and 
many  thousands  can  witness  ;3  the  best  way  to  have  a  pound  is  to  be 
contented  with  a  penny,  the  best  way  to  have  hundreds  is  to  be  con- 
tented with  pounds,  and  the  best  way  to  have  thousands  is  to  be  con- 
tented with  hundreds.  Ah  !  thou  unquiet  and  discontented  Christian, 
canst  thou  read  over  that  saying  of  Cato,  a  heathen,  and  not  blush  ? 
Si  quid  est  quo  utar,  utor :  si  non,  scio  quis  sum ;  raihi  vitio  ver- 
tunt,  quia  multis  egeo ;  et  ego  Mis,  quia  nequeunt  egere.*  I  have 
neither  house,  nor  plate,  nor  garments  of  price  in  my  hands  ;  what  I 
have,  I  can  use ;  if  not,  I  can  want  it ;  some  blame  me,  because  I  want 
many  things,  and  I  blame  them,  .because  they  cannot  want.  How 
many  thousand  Christians  in  these  knowing  and  professing  days  might 

1  If  there  were  any  happiness  in  riches,  the  gods  would  not  want  them,  said  Seneca. 
[See  this  quoted  before  in  '  Mute  Christian.' — G.]  2  '  Property.' — G. 

3  Job  i.  and  the  last  of  Job  compared.  4  Aulus  Gellius  reports  this  of  him. 


H  !>  A  STRING  OF  PEABLS.  [1  PeTEE  I.  4. 

this  heathen  put  to  the  blush!  O  Christians!  Christians!  let  the 
remembrance  of  the  crown,  the  kingdom,  the  treasures,  pleasures,  and 
glories  thai  are  reserved  in  heaven  for  yen,  make  you  bear  up  sweetly 
and  contentedly  under  all  your  outward  wants  in  this  world.     But, 

(5.)  Fifthly,  If  the  best  and  greatest  things  are  reserved  for  believers 
till  they  come  to  heaven,  then  make  not  a  judgment  of  the  saints'  con- 
dition by  their present  date.1  If  you  do,  you  will  'condemn  the  g<  ae- 
ration of  the  just.'  What  though  they  are  now  in  rags,  it  will  not  be 
lone-  before  they  are  clothed  in  their  royal  robes;  what  though  they  are 
now  abased,  it  will  not  be  long  before  they  shall  in  the  Bight  of  all  the 
world  be  highly  advanced  ;  what  though  they  are  now  under  many 
wants,  it  will  not  be  long  before  they  shall  be  filled  with  all  fulness; 
what  though  they  are  now  under  many  trials  and  afflictions,  yet  it  will 
not  be  long  before  all  tears  shall  be  wiped  away  from  their  eyes,  and 
their  sighing  turned  into  singing,  'and  everlasting  joys  shall  be  upon 
their  heads;'  and  therefore  do  not  judge  of  their  condition  by  their 
present  state.  If  you  will  needs  be  judging,  then  look  that  you  judge 
righteous  judgment,  John  vii.  24;  then  look  more  at  the  latter  end  of 
a  Christian  than  the  beginning.  Remember  the  patience  of  Job,  James 
v.  11,  and  consider  what  end  the  Lord  made  with  him.  Look  not  upon 
Lazarus  lying  at  Dives's  door,  but  lying  in  Abraham's  bosom  ;  look  not 
to  the  beginning  of  Joseph,  who  was  so  far  from  his  dream,  that  the  sun 
and  moon  should  reverence  him,  that  for  two  years  he  was  cast  where 
he  could  neither  see  sun  nor  moon  ;  but  behold  him  at  last  made  ruler 
over  all  Egypt,  and  reigning  fourscore  years  like  a  king,  Gen.  xxxvii.  9, 
xli.  40-46.  Look  not  upon  David,  as  there  was  but  a  step  between  him 
and  death,  nor  as  he  was  envied  by  Saul,  and  hated  by  his  courtiers-; 
but  behold  him  seated  in  his  royal  throne,  where  he  reigned  forty  years 
gloriously,  and  died  in  his  bed  of  honour,  ami  his  son  Solomon,  and  his 
nobles  about  him.  When  Israel  was  dismissed  out  of  Egypt,  it  was 
with  gold  and  ear-rings,  Exod.  xi.  ;  and  when  the  Jews  were  dismissed 
out  of  Babylon,  it  was  with  great  gifts,  jewels,  and  all  necessary  uten- 
sils, Ezra  i.  'Mark  the  perfect  man,  and  behold  the  upright;  the  end 
of  that  man  is  peace,'  Ps.  xxxvii.  37.  Whatever  the  wants,  the  straits, 
the  troubles,  the  trials  of  the  saints  are  in  this  world,  yet  their  end  shall 
be  peace,  their  end  shall  be  glorious  ;  the  best  things  are  reserved  for 
them  till  last ;  and  therefore  do  not,  oh  do  not  judge  of  their  condition 
by  their  present  state,  but  rather  judge  of  them  by  their  future  condi- 
tion, by  that  glory  that  is  reserved  for  them  in  heaven.     But, 

(6.)  Sixthly,  If  the  greatest  and  choicest  things  are  reserved  for 
believers  till  they  come  to  heaven,  why,  then,  let  believers  keep  up  in 
thei/r  otvn  souls  a  lively,  hopeful  expectation  of  enjoyi/ng  these  great 
and  glorious  tilings  that  are  laid  up  for  them.  The  keeping  up  of 
those  hopes  will  be  the  keeping  up  of  your  hearts ;  the  keeping  up  of 
these  hopes  will  be  the  bettering  of  your  hearts;  the  keeping  up  of 
these  hopes  will  make  every  bitter  sweet,  and  every  sweet  more  sweet ; 
the  keeping  up  of  these  hopes  will  make  you  bear  much  for  God,  and 
do  much  for  God.2 

1  Ps.  lxxiii.  12-15;  Mat.  vii.  1,  2;  1  Cor.  iv.  5. 

-  lJotn.  viii.  24,  25,  ii.  5  ;  Titus  i.  2 ;  Acts  xxvi.  7  ;  Titus  iii.  7  ;  Col.  i.  5  ;  1  Thes. 
v  8  ;    1  Peter  i.  3  ;   1  John  iii.  2,  3. 


1  Peter  I.  4.]  a  string  of  pearls.  445 

When  Alexander  went  upon  a  hopeful  expedition,  he  gave  away  his 
gold ;  and  when  he  was  asked  what  he  kept  for  himself,  he  answered, 
jSpem  major  urn  et  meliorum,  the  hope  of  greater  and  better  things. 

Ah  !  Christians,  there  is  no  work  so  high  and  noble,  there  is  no  work 
so  hard  and  difficult,  there  is  no  work  so  low  and  contemptible,  but  the 
hopes  of  the  great  things  reserved  in  heaven  for  you  will  put  you 
upon  it. 

Galen  speaks  of  a  fish  called  uranoscojms,1  which  hath  but  one  eye, 
and  that  is  so  placed  that  it  is  always  looking  upwards  towards  heaven  ; 
and  so  should  a  Christian's  eye  of  hope  be  always  fixed  on  God,  on 
promises,  on  heaven,  on  the  inheritance  of  the  saints  in  light,  and  on 
all  those  precious  and  glorious  things  that  are  laid  up  for  them  in  that 
royal  palace  where  Christ  is  all  in  all. 

A  devout  pilgrim  travelling  to  Jerusalem,  and  by  the  way  visiting 
many  brave  cities,  with  their  rare  monuments,  and  meeting  with  many 
friendly  entertainments,  would  often  say,  I  must  not  stay  here,  this  is 
not  Jerusalem,  this  is  not  Jerusalem;  so  saith  a  Christian  in  the  midst 
of  all  his  worldly  delights,  comforts,  and  contents,  oh  these  are  not  the 
delights,  the  comforts,  the  contents  that  my  soul  looks  for,  that  my  soul 
expects  and  hopes  to  enjoy.  I  look  and  hope  for  choicer  delights,  for 
sweeter  comforts,  for  more  satisfying  contents,  and  for  more  durable 
riches. 

Ah,  saints  !  ah,  souls  !  Shall  the  great  heirs  of  this  world  live  upon 
their  hopes,  and  keep  up  their  hopes,  that  their  inheritances  shall  in 
time  be  settled  respectively  upon  them  ?  and  will  not  you,  will  not  you 
live  upon  your  hopes,  and  keep  up  your  hopes  of  enjoying  all  the  trea- 
sures, pleasures,  and  glories  that  are  reserved  in  heaven  for  you  ?  A 
Christian's  motto  always  is,  or  always  should  be,  Spero  meliora,  I  hope 
for  better  things  ;  I  hope  for  better  things  than  any  the  world  can  give 
to  me,  or  than  any  that  Satan  can  take  from  me.  A  Christian  is  always 
rich  in  hope,  though  he  hath  not  always  a  penny  in  hand.     But, 

(7.)  Seventhly,  If  there  be  such  great  and  glorious  things  reserved 
for  you  in  heaven,  then  do  nothing  unworthy  of  your  dignity,  nor  of 
that  glory  that  is  laid  up  for  you.2  Your  calling  is  high,  your  honour 
is  great,  your  happiness  is  matchless ;  you  have  so  much  in  promises, 
so  much  in  expectation,  and  so  much  in  reversion,  as  cannot  be  con- 
ceived, as  cannot  be  expressed  ;  therefore,  do  not  you  stoop  to  sin,  nor 
bow  down  to  Satan,  nor  comply  with  the  world. 

When  Alexander  was  moved  to  run  with  some  persons  of  inferior 
rank,  he  refused,  saying,  It  was  not  fit  for  Alexander  to  run  in  a  race 
with  any  but  princes  and  nobles. 

Ah,  Christians  !  are  you  not  more  nobly  born  ?  are  you  not  better 
bred  ?  have  you  not  more  royal  hopes  than  to  stoop  to  lust,  or  to  do  as 
the  men  of  the  world  do  i 

Antigonus,  being  invited  to  dinner  where  a  notable  harlot  was  to  be 
present,  asked  counsel  of  Menedemus,  his  tutor,  what  he  should  do,  and 
how  he  should  carry  himself  ?  His  tutor  bade  him  remember  that  he 
was  a  prince,  that  he  was  the  son  of  a  king,  and  this  would  preserve  him.3 

1  au^avo<rxoT»s,  the  heaven-gazer.     Cf.  Pliny,  xxxii.  7,  24,  sec.  69  ;  xi.  52,  sec.  146 G. 

*  Heb.  xi.  38  ;  Philip,  iii.  14  ;  Isa.  lxiii.  4  ;  1  Cor.  ii.  9. 

*  Diog.  Laertius,  ii.  125-144  ;  Athen.  1.  c. — G. 


446  A  STRING  OF  PEARLS.  [1  PETER  I.  4. 

Ah  !  Christians  !  nothing  will  preserve  you  from  being  base,  like  the 
remembrance  of  your  present  dignity,  and  of  that  future  glory  that  is 
laid  up  for  you. 

Ah,  Christians  !  you  are  kings  elected,  you  are  heirs-apparent  of  a 
crown,  of  a  glorious  crown,  of  a  weighty  crown,  of  an  incorrupt  iUr 
crown,  of  an  everlasting  crown  of  glory  !  '  Oh  why  then  should  you  be 
crowning  yourselves  with  rosebuds  ?  why  then  should  you  take  up  in 
the  low  enjoyments  and  poor  contentments  of  this  world  ? ] 

It  was  a  generous  speech  of  that  heathen  Themistocles,  who,  coming 
by  a  thing  that  seemed  to  be  a  pearl  in  the  dark,  scorned  to  stoop  for 
it,  but  bade  another  stoop,  saying,  Stoop  thou  for  this  pearl,  for  thou 
art  not  Themistocles.  Oh  let  the  men  of  the  world  stoop  and  take  up 
the  world,  oh  let  them  whose  practice  speaks  them  out  to  be  of  the 
world,  and  to  be  worshippers  of  that  golden  calf,  the  world,  let  these 
dance  about  it,  bow  down  to  it,  and  take  up  in  it ;  but  let  the  heirs  of 
heaven  divinely  scorn  to  bow  down  to  earth,  or  to  take  up  in  it,  or  to 
be  much  taken  with  it.  It  was  a  good  saying  of  Seneca,  Major  sum  et 
ad  majora  natus,quam  ut  mancipium  sim  corporis  mei,  I  am  too  great, 
and  born  to  greater  things  than  that  I  should  be  as  a  slave  to  my  body.2 

Ah,  Christians  !  you  are  too  great,  and  born  to  greater  things,  than 
that  you  should  be  slaves  to  your  bodies,  or  slaves  to  your  lusts,  or 
slaves  to  the  world  ;  can  you  seriously  consider  of  the  great  things  that 
are  reserved  in  heaven  for  you,  and  not  set  your  feet  upon  those  things 
that  the  men  of  the  world  set  their  hearts  upon  ?  Can  you  look  up  to 
your  future  glory,  and  not  blush  to  be  taken  with  the  glory  of  this 
world  % 

"What  Alexander  the  Great  said  to  one  of  his  captains  that  was  called 
Alexander,  Recordare  nominis  Alexandri,  remember  the  name  of 
Alexander,  and  see,  said  he,  that  you  do  nothing  unworthy  of  the  name 
of  Alexander.3  So  say  I,  Kemember,  0  Christian  thy  name ;  remem- 
ber thy  dignity  and  glory,  and  see  that  thou  dost  nothing  unworthy  of 
the  one  or  the  other.     But, 

(8.)  Eighthly,  If  the  best  and  greatest  things  are  reserved  for  the 
saints  till  they  come  to  heaven,  then  let  them  desire  and  long  to  be 
■possessed  of  those  blessed  things  that  are  reserved  in  heaven  for  them.* 
Oh,  how  do  the  heirs  of  this  world  long  to  have  their  estates  in  their 
own  hands  !  how  do  they  long  to  have  their  inheritances  settled  upon 
them !  some  of  them  wishing  their  relations  dead  that  stand  between 
them  and  their  inheritances  ;  and  others,  of  a  little  better  nature,  wish- 
ing them  in  the  bosom  of  Abraham,  that  they  might  come  to  inherit, 
and  that  they  might  suck  the  sweet,  and  take  up  their  rest,  in  their 
worldly  inheritances.  And  shall  not  the  saints  desire  and  long  to  be 
in  a  full  and  happy  possession  of  that  crown,  of  that  inheritance,  of 
those  jewels  that  are  reserved  in  heaven  for  them  ?  O  Christians  ! 
how  is  it,  why  is  it,  that  your  heavenly  Jerusalem,  your  mansions  above, 
your  glorious  treasures,  suffer  not  an  holy  violence,  in  respect  of  your 
earnest  wishes  and  burning  desires  after  them  ? 

1  Oh.  say  not  of  this  world  as  Poter  of  his  little  heaven,  Bonum  est  esse  hie,  it  is  good 
to  he  here.  s  Sen.  Epist.  lxvi.  3  Plutarch,  Alexander. — G. 

4  Tota  vita  boni  Christiani,  sanctum  desiderivm  est,  the  whole  life  of  a  good  Christian  is 
an  holy  wish,  saith  one.    [Bernard  Serin.  Canticles. — G.] 


1  Peter  I.  4.]  a  string  of  pearls.  447 

The  primitive  Christians  did  so  hunger  and  thirst,  look  and  long, 
wish  and  desire  after  this  heavenly  kingdom,1  this  glorious  inheritance, 
that  the  Roman  State  had  a  jealousy  of  them,  as  if  they  had  affected 
their  kingdom  and  their  worldly  glory.  But  where  is  that  spirit  now 
to  be  found  ?  Most  men  live  now  as  if  there  were  no  heaven,  or  else 
as  if  heaven  were  not  worth  a  seeking,  worth  a  desiring  ;  as  if  heaven 
were  a  poor,  low,  contemptible  thing. 

Bat  ah,  Christians  !  you  have  learned  better;  and  therefore  be  you 
much  in  desiring  and  longing  to  get  into  that  glorious  city,  where  streets, 
walls,  and  gates  are  all  gold,  yea,  where  pearl  is  but  as  mire  and  dirt, 
and  where  are  all  pleasures,  all  treasures,  all  delights,  all  comforts,  all 
contents ;  and  that  for  ever.  This  word  '  for  ever'  is  a  bottomless  depth, 
a  conception  without  end  ;  it  is  a  word  that  sweetens  all  the  glory 
above,  and  that  indeed  makes  heaven  to  be  heaven.  I  can  hardly  call 
him  a  Christian  that  doth  not  long  more  after  spirituals,  and  after  the 
great  things  that  are  reserved  in  heaven  for  the  saints,  than  Ulysses 
did  for  the  smoke  of  his  house  after  ten  years'  absence.2     But, 

(9.)  Ninthly,  If  the  best  and  greatest  things  are  reserved  for  the 
saints  till  they  come  to  heaven,  then,  Oh  let  not  the  men  of  the  world 
envy  the  saints,  whilst  they  are  here  in  this  wilderness. 

Ah  !  sinners,  sinners,  the  people  of  God  have  but  little  in  hand  ; 
though  they  have  much  in  hope;  they  have  but  little  in  the  bag  what- 
ever they  may  have  in  the  bank ;  they  have  but  little  in  the  cistern 
whatever  they  may  have  in  the  fountain ;  they  have  but  little  in  posses- 
sion whatever  they  may  have  in  reversion  ;  and  therefore  do  not  envy 
them,  James  ii.  5.  Who  but  monsters  will  envy  the  child  in  his  cradle, 
or  in  the  arms,  or  in  his  non-age,  though  he  be  an  heir  to  a  great  estate, 
inasmuch  as  it  is  out  of  his  hand,  and  he  is  not  in  the  possession  of  it  ? 
and  yet  such  monsters  this  world  affords,  who  are  filled  with  envy 
against  Christ's  precious  ones,  though  their  estates  are  out  of  their 
hands.  Old  Jacob  speaking  of  his  son  Joseph,  saith,  that  'the  archers 
have  sorely  grieved  him,  and  shot  at  him,  and  hated  him,'  Gen.  xlix.  23 ; 
and  Jerome,  expounding  the  words,  noteth,  Hie  invidiam  cum  arcu  et 
sagittis  introduci  ad  sagittandum  quod  immaculatum  est,  that  here 
envy  is  brought  in  with  bow  and  arrows  shooting  at  that  which  is 
immaculate,  and  where  there  is  no  spot  to  be  a  mark  for  it !  or  else,  as 
an  archer  doth  set  up  some  white  thing  to  be  the  mark  at  which  he 
shoots,  so  it  is  the  whiteness  of  some  good  thing  or  other,  against  which 
envy  shoots.3  Such  is  the  wrath,  the  rage,  the  hatred,  the  envy  of 
wicked  men  against  the  saints,  that  they  will  still  be  envying  of  them 
upon  one  score  or  another.  Such  was  Saul's  envy  to  David,  that  David 
chooses  rather  to  live  under  king  Achish,  an  enemy,  than  to  live  under 
Saul's  envy;  nay,  such  was  Saul's  envy  against  David,  that  when  David 
played  on  his  harp,  to  cure  him  of  the  evil  spirit  that  haunted  him,  that  he 
threw  his  spear  at  him  to  destroy  him,  malens  a  malo  spiritu  torqueri, 
quam  Davidem  vivere,  choosing  rather  to  be  tormented  with  an  evil 
spirit,  than  that  David  should  live.4  And  such  was  Cain's  envy  to  Abel, 
that  though  he  had  but  one  brother,  nay,  though  there  was  but  one 

1  Justin  Martyr,  Apol.  ii.  *  Jerome  in  qvcestionih.  FTcbrce. 

*  Odyssey,  i.  57. — G.  *  Bern  de  inter  domo.  c  2. 


448  A  STRING  OF  PEARLS.  [1  PETER  I.  4. 

brother  in  all  the  world,  yet  enraged  envy  will  wash  her  hands  in  that 
brothel's  blood. 

Chiysologus  noteth  of  the  rich  glutton,  who  would  have  Lazarus  to 
be  Bent  to  him,  that  being  still  cruel  and  envious  towards  Lazarus,  he 
would  have  him  to  be  sent  Ad  infer  mini  de  f/remio,  de  solio  subU/lM 
ad  profundi «« 1  mum,  chaos,  ad  formcidorirm  .shidorem,  de  sancta  quieU 
beatorum,  to  hell  from  the  bosom  of  Abraham,  to  the  bottomless  gulf 
iron)  the  highest  throne  of  glory,  to  the  gnashing  and  grinding  of  tor- 
ments bom  the  holy  rest  of  the  blessed.  The  truth  is,  envy  sticks  so 
close  to  the  heart  of  wicked  men,  that  courtesies  provoke  it;1  offices  of 
lave  and  respect  swell  it,  and  an  eminency  in  gifts  and  graces  enrages 
it  ;  no  man  of  worth  hath  ever  escaped  it.  Neither  mine  accusers,  nor 
my  crimes,  saith  Socrates,  can  kill  me,  but  envy  only,  which  hath,  and 
doth,  and  will  destroy  the  worthiest  that  ever  were  ;  and  therefore,  the 
same  person  wishes  that  envious  men  had  more  eyes  and  more  ears 
than  others,  that  so  they  might  be  tormented  more  than  others,  by  be- 
holding others'  happiness.  Well !  sinners,  if,  notwithstanding  all  that 
hath  been  said,  you  will  still  be  envious  against  those  gracious  souls 
that  have  but  little  in  hand,  though  they  have  much  in  hope  ;  if  you 
will  be  envious  against  those  who  stand  between  you  and  wrath,  between 
you  and  hell;  if  you  will  be  envious  against  those  to  whom,  as  instru- 
ments, you  are  beholding  for  all  the  mercies,  comforts,  and  contents, 
that  you  enjoy  in  this  world,  then  know,  that  your  envy  will  torture 
you,2  your  envy  will  slay  you,  your  envy  will  prepare  the  hottest,  darkest, 
and  lowest  place  in  hell  for  you.     But, 

(10.)  Tenthly,  If  the  best  things  are  reserved  for  believers  till  they 
come  to  heaven,  then  let  not  any  outward  losses  trouble  you,  nor 
deject  you.  What  is  thy  loss  of  a  house  made  with  hands  to  one  eternal 
in  the  heavens  ?  what  is  thy  loss  of  rags  to  the  royal  robes  above?  what 
is  thy  loss  of  earth  to  the  gain  of  heaven  ?  what  is  thy  loss  of  husband, 
wife,  child,  friends,  to  the  enjoyment  of  God,  Christ,  angels,  and  the 
spirits  of  just  men  made  perfect?  2  Cor.  v.  1  ;  Rev.  vi.  11,  vii.  9,  13,  14. 

When  Paulinus  Nolanus  his  city  was  taken  from  him  by  the  bar- 
barians, he  prayed  thus  to  God  :  Lord  !  let  ine  not  be  troubled  at  the 
loss  of  my  gold,  silver,  honour,  &c;  for  thou  art  all,  and  much  more 
than  all,  these  unto  me.3 

When  Demetrius  asked  Stilpo4  what  loss  he  had  sustained  when  his 
wife,  his  children,  and  country  were  all  burned,  he  answered,  that  he 
had  lost  nothing,  counting  that  only  his  own  which  none  could  take 
from  him,  to  wit,  his  virtues.  What  an  unlovely,  what  an  uncomely, 
thing  would  it  be  to  see  a  rich  heir,  upon  the  loss  of  a  ribbon  out  of  his 
hat,  or  upon  the  loss  of  a  glove  from  his  hand,  &c,  to  stand  sighing  and 
grieving,  vexing  and  lamenting;  or  to  see  a  prince,  upon  the  burning 
up  of  his  stables  and  outhouses,  to  stand  wringing  his  hands  and  beat- 
in.;  Ids  breasts,  and  to  cry  out,  Undone,  undone  !  when  his  royal  palace 
is  safe,  his  crown  safe,  his  treasures  safe  !  As  unlovely,  yea,  a  more  un- 
lovely and  uncomely,  thing  it  is  to  see  a  saint  upon  the  account  of  losing 

1  Envy  is  like  certain  flies  called  cantharides,  who  light  specially  upon  the  fairest 
wheat,  and  most  blown  roses. 
>   I'rov.  xiv.  30;  Job  v.  2  ;  Mat.  xxiii.  13-15.  8  Cf.  ante.—  G. 

*  A  philosopher  of  Megara. 


1  Peter  1. 4.]  a  string  of  pearls.  449 

wife,  child,  friend,  &c,  to  cry  out,  Undone,  undone  !  no  sorrow  to  my 
sorrow  !  no  loss  to  ray  loss  !  when  his  great  all  is  safe  ;  when  his  crown, 
his  heaven,  his  happiness,  his  blessedness,  is  safe.  Basil,  bringing  in  Job 
comforting  his  wife  under  all  their  sad  losses  and  calamities,  makes  him 
speak  thus:1  Semper  prospere  agere  solius  est  Dei;  bibisti  liquidum 
vitce  laticem  et  turbidum  jam  toleranter  bibe,  it  belongeth  to  God  only 
always  to  enjoy  contentment.  Thou  hast  drunk  of  the  clear  waters  of 
this  life  ;  now  drink  of  them  patiently  when  they  are  troubled.      But, 

(11.)  Eleventhly,  If  the  best  things  are  reserved  for  believers  till  they 
come  to  heaven,  then  let  believers  live  cheerfully  and  walk  comfortably 
up  and  down  in  this  world.2   Ah  !  how  cheerfully  and  merrily  do  many 
great  heirs  live  !     Though  for  the  present  things  goes  hard  with  them, 
the  hopes  of  a  good  inheritance  makes  them  sing  care  and  sorrow  away. 
It  is  not  for  the  honour  of  Christ,  nor  for  the  glory  of  the  gospel,  to  see 
the  heirs  of  heaven  look  so  sadly  and  walk  so  mournfully  and  dejectedly, 
as  if  there  were  no  heaven,  or  as  if  there  was  nothing  laid  up  for  them 
in  heaven.     It  becomes  not  the  sons  of  glory,  with  Rachel,  to  give  so 
much  way  to  weeping  as  to  refuse  to  be  comforted,  Neh.  viii.  10.     Dost 
thou  not  remember,  O  Christian,  that  the  joy  of  the  Lord  is  thy  strength, 
thy  doing  strength,  thy  bearing  strength,  thy  prevailing  strength.     What! 
hast  thou  forgotten  that  '  the  joy  of  the  Lord  is  thy  strength'  to  live,  and 
thy  strength  to  die  ?     If  not,  why  with  Cain  dost  thou  walk  up  and  down 
with  a  dejected  countenance,  with  a  cast-down  countenance  \     A  beau- 
tiful face  is  at  all  times  pleasing  to  the  eye,  but  then  especially  when 
there  is  joy  manifested  in  the  countenance.     Joy  in  the  face  puts  a  new 
beauty  upon  a  person,  and  makes  that  which  before  was  beautiful  to 
be  exceedingly  beautiful ;  it  puts  a  new  lustre  upon  beauty ;  so  doth 
joy  put  a  lustre  and  a  beauty  upon  a  Christian;  and   upon  all  his 
words,  his  ways,  his  works.     It  was  this  that  made  the  faces  of  several 
martyrs  to  shine  as  if  they  had  been  the  faces  of  angels.     One  observes3 
of  Chispina,  that  she  was  cheerful  when  she  was  apprehended,  and  joy- 
ful when  she  was  led  to  the  judge,  and  merry  when  she  was  sent  into 
prison;  so  when  she  was  bound,  when  she  was  brought  forth,  when  she 
was  lifted  up  in  a  cage,  when  she  was  heard,  when  she  was  condemned. 
In  all  these  things  she  rejoiced ;  so  that  they  who  were  miserable 
thought  her  to  be  miserable,  who  indeed  was  happy  under  a  spirit  of 
joy.      When   Ca?sar  was   sad,   he   used   to  say  to   himself,    Gogita  te 
Ccesarem  esse,  think  thou  art  Caesar.    Ah,  Christians !  when  you  are  sad 
and  dejected,  think  of  your  dignity  and  glory  ;  think  of  all  those  pre- 
cious and  glorious  things  that  are  reserved  in  heaven  for  you. 

It  becomes  not  Christians,  who  have  so  much  in  reversion,  to  be  like 
Angelastus,  grandfather  to  Crassus,  who  never  laughed  in  all  his  life 
save  once,  and  that  was  when  he  saw  a  mare  eating  of  thistles;  nor 
like  Anaxagoras  [of]  Clazomense,  who  was  never  seen  to  laugh  or  smile 
from  the  day  of  his  birth  to  the  day  of  his  death.  Christians,  I  desire  to 
leave  that  serious  and  sad  word  upon  your  hearts  :  Deut.  xxviii.  47,  48, 
'  Because  thou  servest  not  the  Lord  thy  God  with  joyfulness  and  with 

1  Basil,  Homil.  xxiii. 

2  Ps.  xxxiii.  1,  lxxix.  12 ;  Isa.  xli.  16  ;  Joel  ii.  23 ;  Zech.  x.  7  ;  Philip,  iii.  1,  iv.  4. 

3  Augustine  in  Ps.  cxxxvii. 

VOL.  I.  F  f 


450  A  STRING  OF  PEARLS.  [1   PETER  I.  4. 

gladness  of  heart,  for  the  abundance  of  all  things;  therefore  shalt  thou 
serve  thine  enemies,  which  the  Lord  shall  send  against  thee,  in  hunger, 
and  in  thirst,  and  in  nakedness,  and  in  want  of  all  things  :  and  he  shall 
put  a  yoke  of  iron  upon  thy  neck,  until  he  hath  destroyed  thee.'  Sad 
souls  !  it  will  be  your  wisdom  to  make  this  scripture  your  daily  com- 
panion, and  to  ponder  it  seriously  in  your  hearts,  as  Mary  did  the  say- 
ing of  the  angel.  God  takes  it  so  unkindly  at  his  people's  hands  that 
they  should  he  sad,  and  sighing,  lamenting,  and  mourning,  when  they 
should  be  a-rejoicing  and  delighting  themselves  in  the  Lord  for  the 
abundance  of  his  mercies,  that  he  threatens  to  pursue  them  with  all 
sorts  of  miseries  and  calamities  to  the  very  death.  A  sad,  dejected 
spirit  opens  many  foul  mouths  that  God  would  have  stopped,  and  sads 
many  precious  souls  that  God  would  have  gladded,  and  discourages 
many  weak  Christians  and  young  beginners  whom  God  would  have 
encouraged  and  animated  ;  and  therefore  we  need  not  wonder  if  God 
should  deal  so  sadly  and  severely  with  such  sad  souls,  who  make  little 
of  sadding  many  at  once,  viz.,  God,  Christ,  the  Spirit,  and  many  precious 
ones,  '  of  whom  this  world  is  not  worthy/  Surely  there  is  infinitely  more 
in  the  great  and  glorious  things  that  are  reserved  for  believers  in 
heaven,  to  joy  and  rejoice  them,  than  there  can  be  in  all  the  troubles 
and  trials,  afflictions  and  temptations,  that  they  meet  with  in  this 
world,  to  sad,  grieve,  and  deject  them.  Ah,  Christians !  the  great  and 
glorious  things  that  are  reserved  in  heaven  for  you,  will  afford  you  such 
an  exuberancy  of  joy,  as  no  good  can  match,  as  no  evil  can  overmatch. 
Witness  the  joy  of  the  martyrs,  both  ancient  and  modern.  Oh  how  my 
heart  lcapeth  for  joy,  saith  one,  that  I  am  so  near  the  apprehension  of 
eternal  bliss  I1      But, 

(12.)  Twelfthly,  If  the  best  and  greatest  things  are  reserved  for  be- 
lievers till  they  come  to  heaven,  why  then  let  not  believers  be  unwill- 
ing to  die  ;  yea,  let  them  rather  court  it,  and  ivhen  it  comes,  sweetly 
welcome  it,  1  Cor.  v.  1,  2,  7,  Philip,  i.  21,  There  is  no  way  to  paradise 
but  by  this  flaming  sword  ;  there  is  no  way  to  those  heavenly  treasures, 
but  through  this  dark  entry  ;  there  is  no  way  to  life,  immortality,  and 
glory,  but  by  dying ;  there  is  no  coming  to  a  clear,  full,  and  constant 
fruition  of  God,  but  by  dying.  Augustine  upon  those  words,  Exod. 
xxxiii.  20,  21,  'Thou  canst  not  see  my  face  and  live/  makes  this  short  but 
sweet  reply,  '  Then,  Lord,  let  me  die,  that  I  may  see  thy  face.'  '  Shall 
I  die  ever?'  saith  one.2  'Yes  ;  or  shall  I  die  at  all?  yea,  why  then, 
Lord,  if  ever,  why  not  now,  why  not  now  !'  So  St  Andrew,  saluting  the 
cross  on  which  he  was  crucified,  cried  out,  '  Take  me  from  men,  and  re- 
store me  to  my  Master/  So  Lawrence  Sanders,  when  he  was  come  to 
the  stake  at  which  he  was  to  be  burnt,  kissed  it,  saying,  '  Welcome  the 
cross  of  Christ,  welcome  everlasting  life.'3 

Ah,  Christians  !  can  you  read  over  those  instances,  and  not  blush, 

1  Sec  [Fox.]  Act.  and  Mon.  106S-70.  &c. 

,J  Monica,  mother  of  An^ustinc. — G. 

3  So  Moses,  Jacob,  and  old  Simeon.  So  Cowper,  Nnzianzon,  Faninns,  Cyprian,  young 
Lord  Harrington,  and  others,  &c.  Pracipit  vt  quisque  vitam  siiam  futuri  denderio  laboret, 
prasentium  tcedio. — Bernard.  [The 'funeral'  sermon  of  'young' Lord  Harrington  was 
preached  l>y  Richard  Stock,  and  contains  some  touching  BayingB  of  above  kind.  Cf  our 
Memoir,  prefixed  to  Stock  on  Malachi,  in  the  series  of '  Commentaries  '  issued  by  the 
present  Publisher.     '•■] 


1  Peter  I.  4.]  a  string  of  pearls.  451 

and  not  be  troubled  that  these  worthies  should  be  so  ready  and  so  will- 
ing to  die,  that  they  might  come  to  a  happy  fruition  of  those  glorious 
things  that  were  reserved  in  heaven  for  them,  whilst  you  are  unwilling 
to  die  ;  whilst  your  desires  are  rather,  with  Peter,  to  build  tabernacles 
here,  than  to  be  in  a  full  fruition  of  God,  and  in  a  happy  possession  of 
your  heavenly  mansions,  Mat.  xvii.  4,  John  xiv.  2,  3.  Cyprian  tells  of 
a  bishop,  who,  being  near  his  death,  and  unwilling  to  die,  and  praying 
to  God  for  a  longer  life,  an  angel  appeared  unto  him,  and,  with  an 
angry  countenance  in  reproving  him,  said,  Pati  timetis,  exire  de  vita 
non  vultis,  quid  faciam  vobis  ?1  Ye  fear  to  suffer,  ye  will  not  go  out  of 
this  life,  what  shall  I  do  unto  you?  Ah,  Christians,  Christians!  how 
justly  may  that  father  be  angry  with  his  child  that  is  unwilling  to  come 
home,  and  that  husband  with  his  wife  who  is  unwilling  to  ride  to  him 
in  a  rainy  day,  or  to  cross  the  seas  to  enjoy  him?  And  is  not  this  your 
case  ?  is  not  this  your  case  ?  I  know  it  is.  Well,  Christians  !  let 
me  a  little  expostulate  the  case  with  you,  that  if  it  be  possible  I  may 
work  your  hearts  into  a  willingness  to-  die,  yea,  to  desire  death,  to  long 
for  death,  that  so  you  may  come  to  a  full  fruition  of  whatever  is  reserved 
in  heaven  for  you :  and  that  I  may,  I  beseech  you,  Christians,  tell  me, 

[1.]  First,  Can  death  dissolve  that  glorious  union  that  is  between 
you  and  Christ  ?  No  ;  Rom.  viii.  35-39.  Why,  why  then  are  you 
unwilling  to  die,  as  long  as  in  death  your  union  with  Christ  holds 
good  ?  As  in  death  Saul  and  Jonathan  were  not  parted,  2  Sam.  i.  23, 
so  in  death  a  believer  and  Christ  is  not  parted,  but  more  closely  and 
firmly  united.  That  is  not  death,  but  life,  that  joins  the  dying  man  to 
Christ ;  and  that  is  not  a  life,  but  death,  that  separates  the  living  man 
from  Christ.  As  it  is  impossible  for  the  leaven  that  is  in  the  dough  to 
be  separated  from  the  dough  after  it  is  once  mixed,  for  it  turneth  the 
nature  of  the  dough  into  itself;  so  it  is  impossible,  either  in  life  or 
death,  for  the  saints  ever  to  be  separated  from  Christ ;  for  Christ,  in 
respect  of  union,  is  in  the  saints  as  nearly  as  the  leaven  in  the  very 
dough,  so  incorporated  one  into  another  as  if  Christ  and  they  were  one 
lump,  John  xvii.  20,  21  ;  xv.  1-6.     But, 

[2:]  Secondly,  For  I  shall  but  touch  upon  things,  tell  me,  O  Chris- 
tian, who  art  unwilling  to  die,  Whether  death  can  dissolve  or  untie 
that  marriage-knot  that  by  the  Spirit  on  Christ's  side,  and  by  faith  on 
thine,  is  knit  between  Christ  and  thy  soul  ?  No.  Death  cannot  untie 
that  knot,  Hosea  ii.  19,  20.  Why,  why  then,  O  Christian,  art  thou 
unwilling  to  die,  as  long  as  the  marriage-knot  holds  fast  between  Christ 
and  thy  soul  ?  Mat.  xxv.  1,  2  ;  Rom.  vii.  1-4.  I  readily  grant  that 
death  dissolves  that  marriage-knot  that  is  knit  between  man  and  wife  ; 
but  death  nor  devil  can  never  dissolve  the  marriage-knot  that  is  knit 
between  Christ  and  the  believing  soul.  Sin  cannot  dissolve  that  mar- 
riage-knot that  is  knit  between  Christ  and  a  believer  ;  and  if  sin  cannot, 
then  certainly  death,  that  came  in  by  sin,  cannot.  Though  sin  can  do 
more  than  death,  yet  sin  cannot  make  null  and  void  that  glorious 
marriage  that  is  between  Christ  and  the  soul ;  therefore  a  Christian 
should  not  be  unwilling  to  die  :  Jer.  iii.  1-5,  12-14,  compared.     But, 

[3.]  Thirdly,  Can  death,  0  Christian,  dissolve  that  glorious  cove- 
nant that  God  hatJi  taken  thee  into  ?     No  ;  Death  can  never  dissolve 

1  Cyprian,  de  immortalitate. 


t52  A  BTRING  OF  PEARLS.  [1  PeTBB  I.  i, 

that  covenanl  :  Jer.  \x.\ii.  40,  'And  I  will  make  an  everlasting  cove- 
nant with  them,  that  I  will  not  turn  away  from  them  to  do  them  good  ; 
but  I  will  put  my  fear  in  their  hearts,  that  they  shall  not  depaxi  from 
me.'  Though  Abraham  be  dead,  yet  God  i.-  Abraham's  God  still,  Mat. 
xxii  30—32.  By  covenant,  and  by  virtue  of  this  everlasting  covenant, 
Abraham  shall  ho  raised  and  glorified.  Oh'!  then,  why  shouldst  thou  be 
afraid  of  death  ?  why  shouldst  thou  ho  unwilling  to  die  1 

When  David  was  upon  his  dying  hod,  he  drew  his  strongest  consola- 
tion out  of  this  woll  of  salvation, — the  covenant  :  -  Sam.  xxiii.  5,  'Al- 
though my  house  be  not  so  with  God,  yet  he  hath  made  with  mean 
everlasting  covenant,  ordered  in  all  things,  and  sure  ;  for  this  is  all  my 
salvation,  and  all  my  desire,  although  he  make  it  not  to  grow.9  Dear 
! uarts  !  the  covenant  remains  firm  and  good  between  you  and  the  Lord. 
both  in  life  and  in  death  ;  and  therefore  there  is  no  reason  why  you 
should  be  unwilling  to  die.  There  are  throe  things  that  are  impossible 
for  God  to  do,  viz.  to  die,  to  lie,  or  deny  himself,  or  that  gracious  cove- 
nant that  he  hath  ma.de  with  his  people  ;  and  therefore  death  should 
be  more  desirable  than  terrible  to  gracious  souls.     But, 

[4.]  Fourthly,  Tell  me,  0  Christian,  can  dealh  dissolve  that  love 
that  ie  between  the  Lord  and  thy  soul  ?  Ps.  cxvi.  15  ;  Deut.  vii.  7,  8. 
No,  death  cannot;  for  his  love  is  not  founded  upon  any  worth  or  ex- 
cellency in  me,  nor  upon  any  work  or  service  done  by  me,  but  his  love 
is  free  ;  he  loves  because  he  will  love.  All  motives  to  love  are  taken 
out  of  that  bosom  that  is  love  and  sweetness  itself.  His  love  is  ever- 
lasting, it  is  like  himself:  Jer.  xxxi.  3,  'I  have  loved  thee  with  an 
everlasting  love;  therefore  with  loving-kindness  have  I  drawn  thee;' 
John  xiii.  1,  '  Whom  he  loved,  he  loved  to  the  end  ;'  Isa.  liv.  8-10,  'In 
a  little  wrath  I  hid  my  face  from  thee  for  a  moment ;  but  with  ever- 
lasting kindness  will  I  have  mercy  on  thee,  saith  the  Lord  thy  Re- 
deemer. For  this  is  as  the  waters  of  Noah  unto  me  :  for  as  I  have 
sworn  that  the  waters  of  Noah  should  no  more  go  over  the  earth  ;  so 
have  I  sworn  that  I  will  not  be  wroth  with  thee,  nor  rebuke  thee.  For 
the  mountains  shall  depart,  and  the  hills  be  removed  ;  but  my  kind- 
ness shall  not  depart  from  thee,  neither  shall  the  covenant  of  my  peace 
be  removed,  saith  the  Lord  that  hath  mercy  on  thee.'  The  love  of 
Jesus  Christ  was  to  Lazarus  when  dead  (John  xi.  11),  'Our  friend 
Lazarus  sleepeth/  By  all  which  it  is  most  evident  that  death  cannot 
dissolve  that  precious  love  that  is  between  the  Lord  and  his  children. 
( )h  !  why  then  are  they  afraid  to  die  ?  Why  then  do  not  they  long  to 
die,  that  they  may  be  in  the  everlasting  arms  of  divine  love  ?  The 
Love  of  the  Lord  is  everlasting  ;  it  is  a  love  that  never  dies,  that  never 
decays,  nor  waxes  cold.  It  is  like  the  stone  albestos,1  of  which  Solinus 
writes,  that  being  once  hot,  it  can  never  be  cooled  again.  Death  is 
nothing  but  a  bringing  of  a  loving  Christ  and  loving  souls  together. 
Why,  then,  should  not  the  saints  rather  desire  it,  than  fear  it  or  be 
I'ismayed  at  it  ?     But, 

[5.]  Fifthly,  Can  death,  0  thou  believing  soul,  dissolve  those  gra- 
cious grants,  or  tliose  grants  of  grace  thai  tin'  Lord  hath  vouchsafed  to 
'  as  the  grant  of  reconciliation,  the  grant  of  acceptation,  the  -rant 
of  justification,  the  grant  of  adoption,  the  grant  of  remission,  &c,  2  Cor. 

1  '  Asbestos.' — G. 


1  Peter  I.  4.]  a  strixg  of  pearls.  453 

iii.  21-23;  No  ;  death  cannot  dissolve  any  of  these  gracious  grants  . 
Rom.  xi.  29,  '  for  the  gifts  and  calling  of  God  are  without  repentance/ 
Why  then,  O  Christian,  art  thou  unwilling  to  die  ?  Indeed,  were  it  in 
the  power  of  death  to  make  void  any  of  those  noble  and  gracious  grants 
that  God  hath  vouchsafed  to  thee,  thou  mightest  be  afraid  and  unwilling 
to  die;  but  that  being  a  work  too  great,  and  too  hard  for  death  to 
accomplish,  why  shoufdst  thou  not,  in  a  holy  triumphing  way,  say  with 
the  apostle,  '  O  death,  where  is  thy  sting  ?  O  grave,  where  is  thy  vic- 
tory ?  The  sting  of  death  is  sin,  and  the  strength  of  sin  is  the  law. 
But  thanks  be  to  God,  which  giveth  us  the  victory,  through  our  Lord 
Jesus  Christ,'  1  Cor.  xv.  55-57.  A  Christian,  upon  the  account  of  what 
is  laid  up  for  him,  may  and  ought  divinely  to  out-brave  death,  as  this 
precious  saint  did.  A  little  before  she  breathed  out  her  last  into  the 
bosom  of  Christ,  she  called  for  a  candle  ;  Come,  saith  she,  and  see 
death  ;  and  this  she  spake  smilingly,  out-braving  death  in  a  holy  sense. 
Being  free  both  from  the  pains  of  death,  and  from  the  fear  of  death,  she 
knew  him  in  whom  she  had  believed,  2  Tim.  i.  12.  She  knew  right  well 
that  death  could  not  dissolve  those  gracious  grants  that  God  had 
vouchsafed  to  her ;  and  therefore  when  she  came  to  it,  she  made  no 
more  of  it  to  die  than  we  do  to  dine.     But, 

[6.]  Sixthly,  Tell  me,  Chridians,  did  not  Christ  come  to  deliver  yon, 
from  the  fear  of  death  ?     Yes  ;  he  did  come  into  the  world,  and  did 
take  our  nature  upon  him,  that  he  might  deliver  us  from  the  fear  of 
death,  Heb.  ii.  14,  15.     Why,  then,  should  you  be  unwilling  to  die  ? 
Tell  me,  hath  not  Christ  disarmed  death  of  all  its  hurting  power,  and 
taken  away  its  sting,  that  it  cannot  harm  you  \     Yes,  he  hath,  1  Cor 
xv.  55-57.     Why  then  should  you  be  unwilling  to  die  ?   Tell  me,  souls, 
will  not  Christ  be  with  you  in   that  hour  ?  will  he  not  stand  by  you, 
though   others   should  desert  you  ?     Yes  ;  we  have  it  under  his  own 
hand  that  he  will  be  present  with  us,  and  that  he  will  neither,  living  nor 
dying,  leave  us,  nor  forsake  us,  Ps.  xxiii.  4,  Heb.  xiii.  5,  6.     Why  then 
should  you  be  unwilling  to  die  ?     Tell  me,  O  trembling  Christians, 
shall  death  be  any  more  to  you  than  a  change  ?  a  change  of  place,  a 
change  of  company,  a  change  of  employment,  a  change  of  enjoyment  f 
No,  certainly  !    Death  to  us  will  be  but  a  change ;  yea,  the  happiest 
change  that  ever  we  met  with,  Job  xiv.  14,  John  xi.  26,  1  Thes.  iv.  14  ; 
why  then  should  you  be  unwilling  to  die,  seeing  that  to  die  is  nothing 
but  to  change  earth  for  heaven,  rags  for  robes,  crosses  for  crowns,  and 
prisons  for  thrones,  &c.  ?     But  tell  me  once  more,  Christians,  hath  not 
Jesus  Christ,  by  his  lying  in  the  grave,  sanctified  the  grave,  and  per- 
fumed and  sweetened  the  grave  ?    Hath  he  not,  by  his  blood  and  death, 
purchased  for  you  a  soft  and  easy  bed  in  the  grave  ?     Yes  ;  we  believe 
he  hath  done  all  this  for  us.     Oh  why  then  should  you  be  unwilling  to 
die  ?     Once  more,  tell  me,  Christians,  will   not  Jesus  Christ  raise  you 
out  of  the  grave  after  you  have  taken  a  short  nap  ?     Will  he  not  cause 
you  to  hear  his  voice  ?     Will  he  not  call  you  out  of  that  withdrawing- 
room,  the  grave,  and  bring  ycu  to  immortality  and  glory  ?     Yes  ;  we 
believe  he  will,  John  vi.  39,  40,  1  Cor.  i.  5,  1  Thes.  iv.  14-18.     Oh  why 
then  should  you  be  unwilling  to  die  ?     Oh  why  should  you  not,  upon 

1  Ejus  est  timere  mortem  qui  ad  Christum  no  lit  ire,  Let  him  fear  death  that  is  loth  to  go 
to  Christ — Cyprian. 


454  A  STRING  OF  PEARLS.  [1   PETER  I.  4. 

all  these  accounts,  long  for  it,  and  whenever  it  comes,  readily  and  will- 
ingly, cheerfully  and  sweetly,  embrace  it?  O  Christians,  Christians: 
let  but  your  hopes  and  your  hearts  be  more  fixed  upon  the  things  that 
are  reserved  in  heaven  lor  you,  and  then  you  will  neither  fear  death, 
nor  feel  it  when  it  comes.     But, 

1 7.]  Seventhly,  Death  will  'perfectly  cure  you  of  all  corporal  and 
spiritual  diseases  at  once:  as  the  aching  head  and  the  unbelieving 
heart;  the  ulcerous  body  and  the  polluted  soul.1  Now  your  bodies  are 
full  of  ails,  full  of  aches,  full  of  diseases,  full  of  distempers,  so  that  your 
wisest  physicians  know  not  what  to  say  to  you,  nor  what  to  do  with  you, 
Dor  how  to  cure  you.  It  is  often  with  your  bodies  as  it  was  with  the 
civil  and  ecclesiastical  body  of  the  Jews,  which  from  'the  sole  of  the 
feet,  even  to  the  crown  of  the  head,  was  full  of  wounds,  bruises,  and 
putrefying  sores,'  Isa.  i.  6.  But  now  death  will  perfectly  cure  you  of 
all ;  death  will  do  that  for  you  that  you  could  not  do  for  yourselves; 
death  will  do  that  for  you  that  all  your  friends  could  not  do  for  you; 
death  will  do  that  for  you  that  the  ablest  and  wisest  physicians  could 
nor  do  for  you.  It  will  cure  you  of  every  ache,  of  every  ail,  &c.  At 
Stratford  Bow,  in  Queen  Mary's  days,2  there  was  burnt  a  lame  man  and 
a  blind  man  at  one  stake.  The  lame  man,  after  he  was  chained,  casting 
away  his  crutch,  bade  the  blind  man  be  of  good  comfort,  for  death,  said 
he,  will  cure  us  both :  thee  of  thy  blindness,  and  I  of  my  lameness. 

Ah,  Christians  !  death  will  cure  you  of  all  your  infirmities,  of  all  your 
distempers;  and  why,  then,  should  you  be  unwilling  to  die?  Maecenas 
in  Seneca  had  rather  live  in  many  diseases  than  die ;  but  I  hope  better 
things  of  you,  for  whom  Christ  hath  died. 

And  as  death  will  cure  all  your  bodily  diseases,  so  it  will  cure  all  your 
soul-distempers  also.  Death  is  not  mors  hominis,  but  mors  pea  <0'i 
not  the  death  of  the  man,  but  the  death  of  his  sin ;  peccatum  erat 
nbstetrix  mortis,  et  mors  sepulclirum  peccati,  sin  was  the  midwife  that 
brought  death  into  the  world,  and  death  shall  be  the  grave  to  bury  sin.3 
Death  shall  do  that  for  a  Christian  that  all  his  duties  could  never  do, 
that  all  his  graces  could  never  do,  that  all  his  experiences  could  never 
do,  that  all  ordinances  could  never  do.  It  shall  at  once  free  him  fully, 
perfectly,  and  perpetually  from  all  sin,  yea,  from  all  possibility  of  ever 
sinning  more. 

The  Persians  had  a  certain  day  in  the  year  in  which  they  used  to  kill 
all  serpents  and  venomous  creatures  ;  such  a  day  as  that  will  the  day 
of  death  be  to  their  sins  who  are  interested  in  a  Saviour.  When  Sam- 
sod  died,  the  Philistines  also  died  together  with  him;  so  when  a  be- 
liever dies,  his  sins  die  with  him.  Death  came  in  by  sin,  and  singoeth 
out  by  death.  As  the  worm  kills  the  worm  that  bred  it,  so  death  kills 
sm  that  bred  it,  Heb.  xii.  23,  Rom.  vi.  7,  1  Cor.  xv.  26. 

And  why,  then,  should  Christians  be  afraid  of  death,  or  unwilling  to 
die,  seeing  death  gives  them  a  writ  of  ease  from  infirmities  and  weak- 
nesses,  from  all  aches  and  pains,  griefs  and  gri pings,  distemper  and 
jes,  both  of  body  and  soul? 

Homer  reports  of  his  Achilles,  that  he  had  rather  be  a  servant  to  a 

1  Ulttmus  morboruvi  medicu s  mors.  2  [Foxe]  Act.  ami  .Mon.  fol.  1773. 

s  Quid  est  mors  nisi  sepultura  vitiorum  ?     What  is  death  but  the  burial  ol  vices? — Am- 
brose de  bono  mortis,  c.  4. 


1  Peter  I.  4.]  a  string  of  pearls.  455 

poor  country  clown  here  in  this  world,  than  to  be  a  king  to  all  the  souls 
departed;1  and  the  truth  is,  the  most  famous  heathens  have  preferred 
the  meanest  life  on  earth  above  all  the  hopes  they  had  of  a  better  life  ; 
but  I  hope  better  things  of  you,  Christians  ;  and  that  upon  this  very 
ground,  that  death  will  certainly  and  perfectly  cure  you  of  all  bodily 
and  soul  distempers  at  once.     But, 

[8.]  Eighthly,  7s  not  your  dying  day  an  inevitable  day  ?  Why,  yes, 
yes.  Why,  then,  should  you  be  afraid  to  die  ?  Why  should  you  be 
unwilling  to  die,  seeing  that  your  dying  day  is  a  day  that  cannot  be 
put  off?  The  daily  spectacles  of  mortality  which  we  see  before  our 
eyes  clearly  evince  this  truth,  that  all  must  die.2  Itis  a  statute-law  in 
heaven  that  all  must  die.  All  men  and  women  are  made  up  of  dust, 
and  by  the  law  of  heaven  they  must  return  to  dust.  All  have  sinned, 
and  therefore  all  must  die.  The  core  of  that  apple  which  Adam  ate 
sticks  in  the  throats  of  all  his  children,  and  will  at  length  choke  them 
all  one  by  one.3 

Masius*  out  of  Jacob  Ediscenas  Syrus,  saith  that  when  Noah  went 
into  the  ark,  he  took  the  bones  of  Adam  with  him,  and  that  when  he 
came  out  of  the  ark,  he  divided  them  among  his  sons,  giving  the  head, 
as  the  chiefest  part,  unto  his  first-born,  and  therein  as  it  were  saying 
unto  them,  Let  not  this  delivery  from  the  flood  make  you  secure ;  be- 
hold your  first  parent,  and  the  beginning  of  mankind ;  you  must  all, 
and  all  that  come  from  you,  go  unto  the  dust  to  him.  What  day  is 
there  that  passes  over  our  heads  wherein  the  Lord  doth  not,  by  others' 
mortality,  preach  many  sermons  of  mortality  to  us  ?  and  therefore  why 
should  we  be  unwilling  to  pay  that  debt  that  all  owe,  and  that  all  must 
pay,  and  that  so  many  daily  pay  before  our  eyes  ?     But, 

[9.]  Ninthly,  A  believers  dying  day  is  his  best  day,5  and  why  then 
should  he  be  unwilling  to  die  ?  Eccles.  vii.  1,  'A  good  name  is  better 
than  precious  ointment ;  and  the  day  of  death  than  the  day  of  one's 
birth.'  In  respect  of  profit,  pleasure,  peace,  safety,  company,  glory,  a 
believer's  last  day  is  his  best  day  ;  and  when  then  should  a  believer  be 
unwilling  to  die  ?  In  a  printed  sermon  on  this  very  text,  I  have  proved 
this  truth  at  large,  and  to  that  I  refer  you,  who  desire  further  satisfac- 
tion about  this  truth.6     But, 

[10.]  Tenthly,  A  believer's  dying  day  is  his  resting  day  ;  it  is  his 
resting  day  from  sin,  from  sorrow,  from  affliction,  from  temptation,  from 
desertion,  from  dissension,  from  vexation,  from  persecution,  and  from 
all  bodily  labour.7  And  therefore  why  should  a  believer  be  unwilling 
to  die,  seeing  that  for  him  to  die  is  no  more  but  to  rest  ?  But  of  this 
rest  I  have  spoken  largely  before ;  and  therefore  a  touch  may  be  enough 
in  this  place.     But, 

[11.]  Eleventhly,  The  saints'  dying  day  is  their  reaping  day.  Now 
they  shall  reap  the  fruit  of  all  the  prayers  that  ever  they  have  made, 
and  of  all  the  sermons  that  ever  they  have  heard,  and  oi*  all  the  tears 

1  Odyssey,  xi.  488.— G. 

2  Eccles.  ii.  16  ;   Zech.  i.  5 ;  Heb.  ix.  27  ;  Gen.  iii.  19  ;  Rom.  vi.  23. 

3  See  Brooks's  Will  in  Appendix  to  Memoir. — G. 

4  Masius  in  ult.  cap.  Josh.,  ver.  32.  [Andrew  Masius,  a  learned  writer,  died  1573. 
His  '  Commentary'  on  Joshua  (1574)  was  reprinted  in  the  '  Critici  Sacri.' — G.] 

5  Ambrose,  de  fide  resurrectionis.  speaks  of  some  who  lamented  men's  births  and  cele- 
brated their  deaths,  &c.  6  His  'Believer's  Last  Day  is  his  Best  Day,'  1U57. G. 

7  Rev.  xiv.  13,  xxi.  4  ;  Job  iii.  13-16 ;  Isa.  lvii.  I,  2. 


456  A  STRING  OF  PEARLS.  [1   PETER  I.  4. 

that  ever  tliey  have  shed,  and  of  all  the  sighs  and  groans  that  ever  they 
have  fetched,  and  of  all  the  good  words  that  ever  they  have  spoke,  and 
of  all  the  good  works  that  ever  they  have  done,  and  of  all  the  great 
things  that  ever  they  have  Buffered  ;  yea,  now  they  shall  reap  the  fruit 
of  many  good  services,  which  themselves  had  forgot,  2  Cor.  ix.  6;  Gal. 
vi.  7-9.  '  Lord,  when  saw  we  thee  hungry,  and  fed  thee;  or  thirsty,  and 
gave  thee  drink ;  or  naked,  and  clothed  thee  ;  or  sick,  or  in  prison,  and 
visited  thee?'  Mat.  xxv.  34-4J.  They  had  done  many  good  works  and 
forgot  them,  but  Christ  records  them,  remembers  them,  and  rewards 
them.  Sabinus  in  Seneca  could  never  in  all  his  lifetime  remember 
those  three  names  of  Homer,  Ulysses,  and  Achilles;  and  as  had  memo- 
ries have  many  Christians  in  spirituals.  But  our  Lord  Jesus,  as  he 
hath  a  soft  and  tender  heart,  so  he  hath  an  iron  memory ;  he  remem- 
bers not  only  the  best  and  greatest  services,  but  also  the  least  and 
lowest  services  that  have  been  done  by  his  people,  and  he  remembers 
them  to  reward  them.  A  bit  of  bread,  a  cup  of  cold  water,  shall  not  pass 
without  a  reward.  Therefore  it  is  good  counsel  one  gives,1  Nv/nqwam 
ijitiini  venial  Dominus,  inveniat  imparatos,  sed  semper  wltw  suspensoi 
expansosque  sinus  habentes,  ad  lairgam  Dammi  benedictionem,  Let  the 
Lord  when  he  cometh  never  find  us  unready,  but  always  with  our  faces 
looking  up  towards  him,  always  having  our  bosoms  open,  our  laps 
spread  abroad,  as  looking  to  receive  a  large  blessing  from  him.  Chris- 
tians, however  Christ  may  seem  to  forget  your  labour  of  love,  and  to 
take  no  notice,  or  but  little,  of  many  good  services  that  you  have  done 
for  him,  his  name,  his  gospel,  his  people,  yet  when  you  die,  when  you 
come  to  heaven,  you  shall  then  reap  a  plentiful,  a  glorious  crop,  as  the 
fruit  of  that  good  seed,  that  for  a  time  hath  seemed  to  be  buried  and 
lost,  Prov.  xi.  25  ;  Ps.  cxxvi.  5,  6.  When  mortality  shall  put  on  im- 
mortality, you  shall  then  find  that  bread  which  long  before  was  cast 
upon  the  waters,  Eccles.  xi.  1-6.  Therefore  be  not,  O  Christian,  afraid 
to  die !  be  not,  O  Christian,  unwilling  to  die  !  for  thy  dying  day  will 
be  thy  reaping  day.     But, 

[12.]  Twelfthly,  Thy  dying-clay,  0  believer  !  will  be  thy  triumph- 
ing day,  John  xi.  26.  Mow  thou  shalt  gloriously  triumph  over  sin, 
Satan,  the  world,  thy  own  base  heart,  yea,  and  over  death  itself.  I 
readily  grant,  that  if  you  consider  believers  in  Christ,  as  he  was  a  public 
person,  they  have  then  already  triumphed  over  principalities  and 
powers ;  what  Christ  did  in  his  greatest  transaction,  he  did  as  a  public 
person,  representing  all  his  chosen  ones ;  he  suffered  as  a  public  per- 
son, representing  all  his  elect  ;  he  died  as  a  public  person,  repre- 
senting all  his  precious  ones ;  he  rose,  he  ascended,  and  now  he  sits  in 
heaven  as  a  public  person,  representing  all  his  children  :  Eph.  ii.  6, 
'  And  hath  raised  us  up  together,  and  made  us  sit  together  in  heavenly 
places  in  Christ  Jesus/  Christ  hath  taken  up  his  children's  rooms  in 
heaven  aforehand  ;  Christ  hath  already  taken  possession  of  heaven  in 
their  names,  in  their  steads,  they  do  now  sit  together  in  heavenly 
places  in  Christ  Jesus.'2  And  so  when  Jesus  Christ  spoiled  '  princi- 
palities and  powers,  and  triumphed  openly  over  them  on  the  cross,'  he 

1  Bernard.  Ser.  xvii.  in  Cant. 

2  Eph.  iv.  8  ;  Col.  ii.  14,  15  ;  a  plain  allusion  to  the  Roman  triumphs  ;  1  John  ii.  13, 14  ; 
Rom.  viii.  37  ;  1  John  iv.  4,  5. 


1  Peter  I.  4.]  a  string  of  pearls.  457 

did  this  as  a  public  person,  representing  all  his  children  who  triumphed 
in  his  triumph  over  all  the  powers  of  darkness  ;  and  therefore,  in  this 
sense,  believers  have  already  triumphed  ;  yea,  and  I  readily  grant,  that 
believers,  even  in  this  life,  by  virtue  of  their  union  and  communion 
with  Christ,  and  by  virtue  of  his  gracious  presence,  influence,  and  assist- 
ance, they  do  always  triumph,  as  the  apostle  speaks  :  2  Cor.  ii.  14, 
'  Now  thanks  be  unto  God,  which  always  causeth  us  to  triumph  in 
Christ/  Believers  now  are  more  than  conquerors,  they  are  triumphers 
over  the  world,  the  flesh,  and  the  devil.  Christ  so  routed  Satan  upon 
the  cross,  saith  Ignatius,  that  he  never  since  either  hears  or  sees  the 
cross,  but  he  falls  a-shaking  and  trembling.  Believers,  by  holding  forth 
to  Satan  the  cross  of  Christ  in  the  arms  of  faith,  and  by  their  laying 
hold  onhis  cross  and  pleading  his  cross,  they  do  easily,  they  do  fre- 
quently overcome  him  and  triumph  over  him.  But  notwithstanding  all 
this,  ah  !  how  often  doth  the  best  of  saints  find  the  world,  the  flesh,  and 
the  devil  triumphing  sadly  over  them  ?  Now  a  Christian  triumphs 
over  Satan,  Rom.  vii.  14-25  ;  by  and  by  Christ  withdraws,  and  then 
Satan  triumphs  over  him.  Now  the  believer  leads  captivity  captive ; 
anon  the  believer  is  led  captive  ;  this  day  a  saint  gets  the  wind  and 
the  hill  of  Satan,  and  beats  him  quite  out  of  the  field  ;  the  next  day 
Satan  draws  forth  and  falls  on  with  new  forces,  with  new  arguments, 
with  fresh  strength,  and  then  puts  a  Christian  to  a  retreat,  ay,  too 
often  to  a  rout.  In  many  a  battle  a  Christian  is  worsted,  and  much 
ado  he  hath  to  come  off  with  his  life.  Oh  but  now  death,  that  brings  a 
Christian  to  a  full,  perfect,  complete,  absolute,  and  perpetual  triumph 
over  the  world,  the  flesh,  and  the  devil.  Now  a  Christian  shall  for 
ever  have  the  necks  of  these  enemies  under  his  feet ;  now  these  enemies 
shall  be  for  ever  disarmed,  so  that  they  shall  never  be  able  to  make 
resistance  more,  they  shall  never  strike  stroke  more,  they  shall  never 
affront  a  believer  more,  they  shall  never  lead  a  believer  captive  more, 
&c.  Oh  why  then  should  believers  be  afraid  to  die,  be  unwilling  to  die, 
seeing  that  their  dying  day  is  their  triumphing  day  V     But, 

[13.]  Thirteenthly,  As  a  believer's  dying-day  is  his  triumphing-day, 
so  a  believer's  dying-day  is  his  marriage-day,  Hosea  ii.  19,  20.  In 
this  life  we  are  only  betrothed  to  Christ ;  in  the  life  to  come  we  shall 
be  married  to  Christ.  Here  Christ  and  the  believer  is  near,  but  death 
will  bring  Christ  and  the  believer  nearer  ;  here  Christ  and  the  believer 
is  asked,  and  all  things  are  agreed  on  between  them,  only  the  marriage- 
knot  must  be  tied  in  heaven,  the  marriage-supper  must  be  kept  in 
heaven,  Rev.  xix.  5-10.  And,  therefore,  several  of  the  martyrs  on  their 
suffering-days,  on  their  dying-days,  they  have  invited  several  to  their 
marriage,  as  they  have  phrased  it,  knowing  right  well,  that  their  dying- 
days  would  be  their  marriage-days  to  Christ ;  the  very  thoughts  of 
which  hath  so  raised  and  cheered,  so  warmed  and  inflamed  their  hearts, 
that  they  have  made  nothing  of  death,  that  they  have  outbraved  death, 
that  they  have,  to  the  great  joy  of  their  friends,  and  to  the  amazement 
and  astonishment  of  their  enemies,  more  resolutely,  friendly,  and 
sweetly  embraced  death,  than  they  have  their  nearest  and  dearest 
relations.     But  in  the 

1  The  Romans  used  in  all  their  hattles  to  lose  at  first,  to  win  at  last ;  it  is  so  with 

Christians. 


458  A  STRING  OF  PEARLS.  [1  PETER  I.  4. 

(14.)  Fourteenth  place,  A  Christian's  dying  day  is  his  transplanting- 
day.  Death  transplants  a  believer  from  earth  to  heaven,  from  misery 
to  glory,  Job  xiv.  14.  Death  to  a  saint  is  nothing  but  the  taking  of 
a  sweet  flower  out  of  this  wilderness,  and  planting  of  it  in  the  <>ardeu 
ot  paradise  ;  it  is  nothing  but  a  taking  of  a  lily  from  among  thorns, 
and  planting  of  it  among  those  sweet  roses  of  heaven  which  God 
delights  to  wear  always  in  his  bosom.  Death  is  nothing  but  the  taking 
off  of  a  believer  fully  from  the  stock  of  the  first  Adam,  and  the  planting 
of  him  perfectly  and  perpetually  into  that  glorious  stock,  the  second 
Ada  m,  the  Lord  Jesus,  who  is  blessed  for  ever.  Death  is  nothing  but 
the  taking  off  the  believer  from  a  more  barren  soil,  and  planting  of  him 
in  a  more  fruitful  soil.  Here  some  Christians  bring  forth  thirty,  others 
sixty,  and  others  a  hundred-fold,  Mat.  xiii.  8.  23;  but  heaven  is.so  fruit- 
ful a  soil,  that  there  are  none  there  but  such  as  abound  in  the  fruits  of 
ri-liteousness  and  holiness,  but  such  as  bring  forth  a  thousand-fold,  yea, 
many  thousand-fold.  Here  our  hearts  are  like  the  isle  of  Patmos,  which 
brings  forth  but  little  fruit ;  but  when  they  shall  by  death  be  trans- 
planted to  heaven,  they  shall  be  like  the  tree  in  Alcinous's  garden,  that 
had  always  blossoms,  buds,  and  ripe  fruits,  one  under  another.1 

In  the  island  of  St  Thomas,  on  the  back  side  of  Africa,  in  the  midst 
of  it  is  a  hill,  and  over  that  a  continual  cloud,  wherewith  the  whole 
island  is  watered  and  made  fruitful.  Such  a  cloud  will  Jesus  Christ  be 
to  all  those  precious  souls  that  shall  be  transplanted  from  earth  to 
heaven. 

Oli  !  why,  then,  should  believers  be  unwilling  to  die,  seeing  that  their 
dying  day  is  but  a  transplanting  day  of  their  souls  from  earth  to  heaven, 
from  a  wilderness  to  a  paradise  ?     But  in  the 

[15.]  Fifteenth  place,  As  a  believer's  dying  day  is  the  day  of  his 
transplantation,  so  his  dying  day  is  the  day  of  his  coronation.  Here 
believers  are  kings  elected,  but  when  they  die,  they  are  kings  crowned ; 
now  they  have  a  crown  in  reversion,  but  then  they  have  a  crown  in 
possession  ;  now  they  have  a  crown  in  hope,  but  then  they  shall  have  a 
crown  in  hand,  James  i.  12,  Rev.ii.  10.  Death  will  at  last  bring  the  soul 
to  a  crown  without  thorns,  to  a  crown  without  mixture,  to  a  righteous 
crown,  to  a  glorious  crown,  to  an  everlasting  crown.  Though  a  crown 
be  the  top  of  royalty,2  and  though  beyond  it  the  thoughts  and  wishes  of 
mortal  men  extend  not,  yet  most  may  say  of  their  earthly  crowns  as 
that  king  said  of  his  :  O  crown  !  more  noble  than  happy  !  But  death 
will  set  such  a  crown  upon  a  believer's  head  as  shall  always  flourish,  ami 
as  Bhall  make  him  happy  to  all  eternity.  Here  the  believer,  as  his 
Saviour  before  him,  is  crowned  with  thorns,  but  death  will  turn  that 
crown  of  thorns  into  a  crown  of  pure  gold,  Ps.  exxxii.  18,  xxi.  3. 

Upon  a  triumph,  all  the  Emperor  Severus  his  soldiers,  for  the  greater 
pomp,  were  to  put  on  crowns  of  bays  on  their  heads,  but  there  was  one 
Christian  among  them  that  wore  this  crown  on  his  arm  ;  and  it  being 
demanded  why  he  did  so,  he  answered,  Non  decet  Christianum  in  hoc 
vita  corona/rij  it  becomes  not  a  Christian  to  wear  his  crown  in  this  life. 
The  truth  is,  a  Christian's  crown  never  sits  so  fast,  nor  never  so  well 

1   Bomer  Od.  vi.  12,  &c,  62,  &c.  ;  an<l  of.  Hyginus.     Fab.  125,  126.— G. 

-  Still  another  Shukosperiau  word,  '  The  round  and  top  of  sovereignty  :'  Macbeth,  iv. 
1,  &■.,  &e.— G. 


1  Peter  I.  4.]  a  string  of  pearls.  459 

becomes  him,  as  when  it  is  put  on  by  a  hand  of  death.  Here  most 
princes'  crowns  are  the  fruits  of  unrighteousness,  but  death  will  at  last 
put  upon  the  believer  a  crown  of  righteousness,  or  a  righteous  crown, 

2  Tim.  iv.  7,  8;  and  so  it  is  called,  not  only  because  it  is  purchased  by 
the  righteousness  of  Christ,  but  also  to  difference  it  from  those  unright- 
eous crowns,  or  crowns  of  unrighteousness,  that  the  princes  of  this 
world  put  upon  their  own  heads.  „  Earthly  crowns  are  corruptible,  but 
death  will  put  on  the  heads  of  believers  an  incorruptible  crown,  1  Cor. 
ix.  25. 

Worldly  crowns  are  fading  and  withering.  Though  king  William  the 
Conqueror  was  crowned  three  times  every  year,  during  his  reign,  at 
three  several  places,  viz.,  Gloucester,  Winchester,  and  Westminster, 
yet  how  soon  did  his  crown  fade  and  wither? 

But  death  will  put  such  a  crown  upon  the  believer's  head  as  shall 
never  fade  nor  wither,  1  Pet.  v.  4.  Worldly  crowns  are  tottering  and 
shaking  ;  most  princes'  crowns  hang  but  on  one  side  of  their  heads,  and 
all  their  interest,  power,  and  policy  cannot  make  them  sit  fast  on  both 
sides.  But  death  will  put  upon  the  heads  of  believers  an  immortal 
crown,  an  unmoveable  crown,  an  everlasting  crown,  an  eternal  crown, 
a  crown  that  none  can  shake,  that  none  can  take,  that  none  can  conquer 
or  overcome,  2  Cor.  iv.  14-18,  Rev.  ii.  10. 

Oh,  why  then  should  Christians  be  afraid  to  die,  or  unwilling  to  die, 
seeing  that  their  dying  day  is  but  their  coronation  day?  Who  would 
be  unwilling  to  ride  to  a  crown  through  a  dirty  lane  or  a  rainy  day  ? 
But  in  the 

[16.]  Sixteenth  place,  A  gracious  soul  shall  never  die  till  his  work 
be  finished,  and  he  prepared  to  die:  and  why  then  should  he  be  unwill- 
ing to  die  when  his  work  is  done,  and  he  prepared  to  go  home  ?  When 
God  hath  no  more  work  for  you  to  do  in  this  world,  why  then  should 
you  be  unwilling  to  die,  to  go  home?  Now,  till  your  work  be  finished 
that  God  hath  cut  out  for  you  in  this  world,  no  power  nor  policy  shall 
ever  be  able  to  cut  off  the  thread  of  your  lives  ;  in  despite  of  all  the 
world,  and  all  the  powers  of  hell,  you  shall  do  that  work,  be  it  more  or 
less,  that  God  hath  appointed  you  to  do  in  this  world.  The  life  of 
Christ  was  very  often  in  danger,  both  among  pretended  friends  and  pro- 
fessed foes,  but  yet  he  still  escapes  all  the  snares  that  they  had  laid  for 
him,  and  all  the  pits  that  they  have  digged  for  him,  and  that  upon  this 
very  ground,  '  That  his  time  was  not  yet  come,  his  hour  was  not  yet 
come  :'  John  vii.  30,  '  Then  they  sought  to  take  him :  but  no  man  laid 
hands  on  him,  because  his  hour  was  not  yet  come  ;'  viii.  19,  20,  '  Then 
said  they  unto  him,  Where  is  thy  Father?  Jesus  answered,  Ye  neither 
know  me,  nor  my  Father:  if  ye  had  known  me,  ye  should  have  known 
my  Father  also.  These  words  spake  Jesus  in  the  treasiuy,  as  he  taught 
in  the  temple:  and  no  man  laid  hands  on  him ;  for  his  hour  was  not 
yet  come.'1  God  can  and  will  secure  his  people  from  the  rage  and 
malice  of  their  enemies  by  a  secret  and  invisible  hand  of  providence, 
till  they  have  finished  the  work  that  he  hath  set  them  about  in  this 
world.  David  was  surrounded  with  enemies  on  all  hands,  but  yet,  in 
spite  of  them  all,  he  keeps  up  till  his  work  was  done :  Acts  xiii.  36,  '  For 
David,  after  he  had  served  his  own  generation  by  the  will  of  God,  fell 
1  God  often  bridles  wicked  men's  malice  and  fury  invisibly. 


160  A  STRING  OF  PEARLS.  [1  PETER  I.  4. 

on  sleep.'  Though  many  thrust  sore  at  him,  yet  he  did  not  fall  asleep, 
he  ilid  not  die  till  he  had  served  his  generation.  Bonds  and  afflictions 
waited  od  Paul  in  every  city,  Acts  xx.  23  ;  so  in  that  2  Cor.  xi.  28-28, 
■  In  Btripes  above  measure,  in  prisons  more  frequent,  in  deaths  often. 
<  >f  the  Jews,  five  times  received  I  forty  stripes  save  one'  (the  Lord  com- 
manded that  the  number  of  strokes  should  not  exceed  forty,  Deut. 
\xv.  8,  and  therefore  the  Jews,  that  they  might  not  transgress  that  law, 
gave  one  less);  'thrice  was  I  beaten  with  rods,  once  was  1  stoned,  thrice 
1  suffered  shipwreck,  a  night  and  a  day  I  have  been  in  the  deep,  in 
journeying  often,  in  perils  of  waters,  in  perils  of  robbers,  in  perils  by 
mine  own  countrymen,  in  perils  by  the  heathen,  in  perils  in  the  city, 
in  perils  in  the  wilderness,  in  perils  in  the  sea,  in  perils  amongst  false 
brethren.  In  weariness  and  painfullness,  in  watchings  often,  in  hunger 
and  thirst,  in  fastings  often,  in  cold  and  nakedness/  Acts  xvi.  23,  xiv. 
17.  And  yet  notwithstanding  all  these  hazards,  hardships,  dangers, 
deaths,  Paul  lives,  and  bravely  bears  up  till  his  work  was  done,  his  course 
finished:  2  Tim.  iv.  7,  8,  '  I  have  fought  a  good  fight,  I  have  finished 
my  course,  I  have  kept  the  faith  ;'  and  so  in  that  Rev.  xi.  7,  The  beast 
that  ascended  out  of  the  bottomless  pit,  and  that  made  war  against  the 
two  witnesses,  could  not  overcome  them,  nor  kill  them,  till  they  had 
finished  their  testimony.  Christians  shall  live  to  finish  their  testimony, 
and  to  do  all  that  work  that  God  hath  cut  out  for  them  to  do,  in  spite 
of  all  the  beasts  in  the  world,  in  spite  of  hell  or  antichrist. 

It  was  so  with  Ambrose  ;  a  certain  witch  sent  her  spirits  to  kill  him, 
but  they  returned  answer,  that  God  had  hedged  him  in,  as  he  did  Job, 
so  that  they  could  not  touch  him.  Another  came  with  a  sword  to  his 
bedside  to  have  killed  him  ;  but  he  could  not  stir  his  hand,  till  repent- 
ing, he  was  by  the  prayer  of  Ambrose  restored  to  the  use  of  his  hands 
again.  No  means,  no  attempts,  could  cut  him  off  till  his  work  was 
done. 

So  for  Luther,  a  poor  friar,  to  stand  so  stoutly  against  the  pope,  this 
was  a  great  miracle  ;  but  that  he  should  prevail  against  the  pope  as  he 
did,  this  was  a  greater  ;  and  that  after  all  he  should  die  in  his  bed, 
notwithstanding  all  the  enemies  he  had,  and  the  several  designs  they 
had  to  have  destroyed  him,  this  was  the  greatest  of  all;  and  yet  for  all 
that  the  pope  or  the  devil  his  father  could  do,  Luther,  when  he  had 
finished  his  testimony,  dies  in  his  bed.  Oh  !  why  then  should  any 
Christian  be  unwilling  to  die,  seeing  he  shall  not  die  till  his  work  be 
done,  till  his  testimony  be  finished  ? 

And  as  a  believer  shall  not  die  till  his  work  be  done,  so  he  shall  not 
die  till  he  be  prepared  to  die.  A  believer  is  always  habitually  prepared 
to  die  ;  ay,  even  then  when  he  is  not  actually  prepared  ;  yet  then  he 
is  habitually  prepared  to  die,  for  he  hath  not  his  ark  to  build,  nor  his 
lamp  to  trim,  nor  his  oil  to  buy,  nor  his  pardon  to  seal,  nor  his  peace 
to  make,  nor  his  graces  to  get,  nor  his  interest  in  Christ  to  seek,  nor 
divine  favour  to  secure,  nor  a  righteousness  to  look  after,  &c.  That 
promise  is  full  of  honey  and  sweetness  that  you  have  in  Job  v.  26, 
'  Thou  shalt  come  to  thy  grave  in  a  full  age,  like  as  a  shock  of  corn 
cometh  in  in  his  season.'  The  husbandman  brings  not  his  corn  into 
Ins  barn  till  it  be  full  ripe,  no  more  will  God  take  his  children  out  of 
this  world  till  they  are  fit  for  another  world ;  he  will  not  transplant 


1  Peter  I.  4. J  A  string  of  pearls.  461 

them  from  earth  till  they  are  fit,  till  they  are  prepared  for  heaven.  It 
is  with  Christians  as  it  is  with  the  fruits  of  the  earth  ;  some  are  ripe 
sooner,  some  later ;  but  as  we,  so  God  will  gather  none  till  they  are 
ripe  for  glory.  Some  souls,  like  some  fruits,  are  ripe  betimes  ;  other 
Christians,  like  other  fruit,  are  a  longer  time  of  ripening  ;  and  so  God 
gathers  his  fruit  in  as  they  ripen,  some  sooner,  some  later,  but  none  till 
they  are  in  a  measure  ripe  for  heaven.  And  why,  then,  should  Chris- 
tians be  unwilling  to  die,  seeing  they  shall  not  die  till  they  are  prepared 
to  die  ?  I  do  not  say  they  shall  not  die  till  they  think  they  are  fit  to 
die,  or  till  they  say  they  are  prepared  to  die  ;  for  they  may  be  graciously 
prepared  and  sweetly  fitted  to  die,  and  yet  may  judge  otherwise,  by 
reason  of  Satan's  sleights,  or  some  spiritual  distemper  that  may  hang 
upon  them,  or  from  a  natural  fear  of  death,  and  some  great  unwilling- 
ness to  die  ;  but  they  shall  not  die  till  they  are  either  actually  or 
habitually  prepared  to  die,  till  they  are  ripe  for  glory ;  and  therefore 
be  not,  oh  be  not,  Christians,  unwilling  to  die.     But  in  the 

[17.]  Seventeenth  place,  When  a  righteous  man  dies,  he  shall  leave 
a  sweet  savour  behind  him,  his  name  shall  live  tuhen  he  is  dead,  Heb. 
xi.  Are  not  the  names  of  the  patriarchs,  prophets,  apostles,  martyrs, 
and  other  saints,  a  sweet  savour  to  this  very  day?  We  know  there  is 
no  sweet  savour  to  that  they  have  left  behind  them :  Ps.  cxii.  6,  '  The 
righteous  shall  be  had  in  everlasting  remembrance/  Prov.  x.  7,  '  The 
memory  of  the  just  is  blessed::'  the  Septuagint  thus  translates  it,  'The 
memory  of  the  just  is  with  praises.'  Many  are  the  praises  that  wait  on 
the  name  of  the  just  when  their  bodies  are  in  the  dust ;  no  scent  so 
sweet  as  that  which  the  just  man  leaves  behind  him :  Eccles.  vii.  1, 
'  A  good  name  is  better  than  precious  ointment. ,]  He  doth  not  say  a 
great  name,  a  name  arising  from  outward  greatness,  but  a  good  name, 
a  name  arising  from  inward  goodness,  and  manifested  by  outward  holi- 
ness ;  that  is  the  name  that  is  better  than  precious  ointment.  Oint- 
ment only  reaches  the  nostrils,  but  a  good  name  reaches  to  the  cheering 
and  the  warming  of  the  heart:  The  Chaldee  reads  this  verse  thus : 
Melius  est  nomen  bonum  quod  comparabunt  justi  in  hoc  sceculo,  quam 
unguentum  unctionis,  quod  fuerit  inunctum  super  capita  regum  et  sacer- 
dotum  :  better  is  the  good  name  which  the  just  shall  obtain  in  this 
world,  than  the  ointment  of  anointing  which  was  poured  upon  the 
heads  of  the  kings  and  priests.  Though  a  believer  may  not  leave  great 
sums  of  money  behind  him,  nor  yet  thousands  nor  hundreds  a-year  be- 
hind him,  yet  he  shall  leave  a  good  name  behind  him,  which  answers 
to  all,  nay,  which  outweighs  all  the  riches,  gallantry,  and  glory  of  this 
world.  That  heathen  [Plautus]  hit  right -who  said,  Ego  si  bonam  famam 
servasso,  sat  dives  ero.  If  I  may  but  keep  a  good  name,  I  have  wealth 
enough.  It  is  a  greater  mercy  to  leave  a  good  name  behind  us  than 
to  leave  the  riches  of  a  kingdom,  yea,  of  a  world,  behind  us.  But  in 
the, 

[18.]  Eighteenth  place,  Death  is  nothing  but  the  believer's  inlet  into 
glory.  Death  is  the  gate  of  life,  it  is  the  gate  of  paradise  ;  it  is  the  mid- 
wife to  bring  eternity  to  bed.  When  Jacob  saw  the  chariots  that  were 
to  bring  him  to  Joseph,  his  spirit  revived,  Gen.  xlv.  27.     Ah,  Christian! 

1  The  initial  letter  t3  of  the  Hebrew  word  tob,  that  is,  for  good,  is  bigger  than  ordinary, 
to  shew  the  exceeding  excellence  of  a  good  name. 


402  A  STRING  OF  PEARLS.  [1  PETER  I.  4. 

death  is  that  chariot  that  will  bring  thee  not  only  to  a  sight  of  Jacob 
and  Joseph,  but  also  to  a  blessed  sight  of  God,  Christ,  angels  and  'the 
spirits  of  just  men  made  perfect,  Heb.  xii.  23,  24.  Here  we  meet  with 
many  inlets  to  sin,  to  sorrow,  to  affliction,  to  temptation  ;  but  death,  of 
all  inlets,  is  the  most  happy  inlet ;  it  lets  the  soul  into  a  full  fruition  of 
God,  to  the  perfection  of  grace,  and  to  the  heights  of  glory  ;  and  why, 
then,  should  a  gracious  soul  be  unwilling  to  die?  But  I  must  hasten 
to  a  close ;  therefore  in  the, 

[19.]  Nineteenth  place,  Was  Jesus  Christ  so  willing  to  leave  heaven, 
his  Father's  bosom,  his  crown,  his  dignity,  his  glory,  his  royal  attend- 
ance, to  come  into  this  world  to  suffer  the  saddest  and  the  heaviest 
t/rl tigs  that  ever  was  thought  of,  that  ever  was  heard  of,  for  thy  sins, 
for  thy  sake  ?  and  wilt  thou  be  unwilling  to  die,  and  to  go  to  him  who 
hath  suffered  so  much,  who  hath  paid  so  much,  who  hath  prepared  so 
much  for  thee?1  Ah,  Christian,  Christian!  why  dost  thou  not  rather  rea- 
son thus  with  thy  own  soul:  Did  Christ  die  for  me,  that  I  might  live  with 
him  ?  I  will  not  therefore  desire  to  live  long  from  him.  All  men  go 
willingly  to  see  him  whom  they  love,  and  shall  I  be  unwilling  to  die, 
that  I  may  see  him  whom  my  soul  loves  ?  Oh,  I  will  not !  oh,  I  dare 
not !  oh,  1  may  not !  Others  venture  through  many  dangers  and  many 
deaths  to  see  their  friends  and  relations,  and  why  then  shouldst  not 
thou,  O  Christian  !  be  willing  to  venture  through  death  to  the  Lord  of 
life,  to  him  that  is  thy  crown,  thy  comfort,  thy  head,  thy  husband,  thy 
heaven,  thy  all  ?  &c.     But,  in  the 

[20.]  Twentieth  and  last  place,  Consider,  O  believer !  that  thou 
always  standest  before  God  in  the  righteousness  of  Jesus  Christ,  who  is 
(■ailed  the  Lord  our  righteousness,  and  who,  of  God,  is  made  unto  thee 
wisdom,  righteousness,  sanctification,  and  redemption,  Jer.  xxiii.  6 ;  J 
Cor.  i.  30;  Whilst  thou  livest  thou  standest  before  God,  not  in  the 
righteousness  of  thy  duties,  nor  in  thy  gracious  dispositions,  which  are 
but  weak  and  imperfect,  but  in  the  pure,  perfect,  matchless,  and  spot- 
less righteousness  of  Jesus  Christ.  And  when  thou  diest  thou  appear- 
est  before  God  in  the  same  glorious  righteousness,  so  that  thou  mayest 
appear  before  God's  unspotted  justice  and  holiness  with  the  greatest 
boldness  and  comfort  that  is  imaginable,  upon  the  account  of  that 
righteousness  with  which  thou  art  clothed:  Ps.  xlv.  13j  'The  king's 
daughter  is  all  glorious  within'  (there  is  her  inward  glory  ;  grace  makes 
the  soul  glorious  within) ;  'her  clothing  is  of  wrought  gold'  Some  read 
it  purled  work,  or  closures  of  gold,  enamelled  with  gold  ;  such  as  pre- 
cious stones  were  set  in,  which  were  exceeding  splendid  and  glorious, 
and  which  shadowed  forth  the  glorious  righteousness  of  our  Lord  Jesus, 
Exod.  xxviii.  11,  14  ;  xxxix.  1-5,  &c.  This  clothing  of  wrought  gold  is 
the  glorious  righteousness  of  our  Lord  Jesus.  Now,  in  life  and  in 
death,  the  believer  stands  before  God  in  the  glorious  golden  robes  of 
Christ's  righteousness ;  and  hence  it  is  that  believers  are  said  to  be  all 
fair  and  without  spot,  and  to  be  without  spot  or  wrinkle,  and  to  be 
complete  in  Christ,  and  to  be  without  fault  before  the  throne  of  God  ;2 
and  why  then  should  a  believer  be  unwilling  to  die  and  appear  before 
God  ?     By  reason  of  this  clothing  of  wrought  gold,  you  stand  spotless, 

1  One  of  the  fathers  longer!  to  die,  that  he  might  see  that  head  that  was  crowned  with 
thorns.  2  Cant.  iv.  7;  Eph.  v.  1!7  ;  Col.  ii.  10;  Rev.  xiv.  4,  5. 


1  Peter  I.  4.]  a  string  of  pearls.  463 

blameless,  and  faultless  before  God.  This  golden  clothing',  this  glorious 
righteousness  of  Christ,  is  as  truly  and  really  the  believer's,  and  as  fully 
and  completely  the  believer's,  as  if  it  were  his  very  own.  Ah  !  no 
clothing  to  this.  The  costly  cloak  of  Alcisthenes,  which  Dionysius  sold 
to  the  Carthaginians  for  a  hundred  talents,  was  indeed  a  mean  and 
beggarly  rag  to  this  embroidered  mantle  that  Christ  puts  upon  all 
believers.  And  therefore  a  Christian,  both  living  and  dying,  should 
say  with  the  psalmist,  'I  will  make  mention  of  thy  righteousness,  of 
thy  righteousness  only,'  Ps.  lxxi.  15,  16,  19.  Let  them  be  afraid  to  die, 
let  them  be  unwilling  to  die,  who  must  appear  before  God  in  their  sins, 
and  in  their  own  i-ighteousness,  which  at  best  is  but  as  filthy  rags,  Isa. 
lxiv.  6.  But  as  for  thee,  O  Christian,  who  shalt  always  appear  before 
God  in  clothing  of  wrought  gold,  be  not  thou  afraid  of  death,  be  not 
thou  unwilling  to  die,  but  rather  desire  it,  rather  long  for  it,  1  Cor.  xv. 
55-57,  because  thou  art  clothed  with  such  righteousness  as  will  bear 
thee  up  sweetly  in  it,  as  will  carry  thee  bravely  through  it,  and  as  will 
make  thee  triumph  over  it.  Christ's  righteousness  is  a  Christian's 
white  raiment,  in  which  he  stands  pure  before  God,  Rev.  iii.  18,  and 
Rev.  xix.  7,  8,  'Let  us  be  glad  and  rejoice,  and  give  glory  to  him  :  for 
the  marriage  of  the  Lamb  is  come,  and  his  wife  hath  made  herself 
ready.  And  to  her  was  granted  that  she  should  be  arrayed  in  fine 
linen,  clean  and  white  :  for  the  linen  is  the  righteousness  of  saints.' 
By  the  fine,  clean,  white  linen  which  is  here  called  the  righteousness, 
or,  as  the  Greek  hath  it,  the  righteousnesses  of  saints,  most  understand 
the  glorious  righteousness  of  Christ.1  Righteousness  is  an  Hebraism, 
noting  that  most  perfect  absolute  righteousness  which  we  have  in 
Christ;  white  is  a  natural  colour,  it  is  a  colour  of  purity,  ornament,  and 
honour.  It  was  the  habit  in  times  past  of  nobles,  saith  Drusius,  and 
others.  Now  in  this  pure,  clean,  white  linen  all  the  saints  are  clothed, 
and  so  presented  to  God  by  Jesus  Christ;  and  why  then  should  they  be 
unwilling  to  die  ?  Here  is  not  a  speck,  not  a  spot,  to  be  found  upon 
this  white  linen,  which  is  the  righteousness  of  saints,  which  should 
make  saints  rather  to  pursue  after  death,  than  to  fly  from  it,  or  to  be 
unwilling  to  welcome  it  when  it  comes. 

I  am  not  ignorant  that  this  unwillingness  to  die  most  usually  springs 
from  those  low  and  dark  apprehensions  men  have  of  God,  and  from 
weakness  of  faith,  and  from  coldness  of  love,  and  from  laying  the 
creatures  too  near  our  hearts,  and  from  our  little  communion  with  God, 
aud  our  rare  taking  of  turns  in  paradise,  and  from  our  not  treasuring 
up  a  stock  of  promises,  and  a  stock  of  experiences,  &c.  I  have  also 
considered  what  a  dishonour  to  God,  a  reproach  to  Christ,  a  grief  to  the 
Spirit,  a  scandal  to  religion,  a  blot  to  profession,  a  mischief  to  sinners, 
and  a  wrong  to  saints,  it  is,  for  Christians  to  be  unwilling  to  die,  or  to 
be  afraid  of  death,  which  hath  occasioned  me  to  muster  up  these  twenty 
considerations  to  work  you  to  be  willing  to  die;  and  if  these  will  not 
prevail  with  you,  I  profess  I  do  not  know  what  will. 

Obj.  I  would  be  willing  to  die,  if  I  had  but  assurance:  but  that  is  the 
jewel  I  want ;  and  therefore  I  am  unwilling  to  die. 

(1.)  First,  I  answer,  It  may  be  thou  hast  assurance,  though  not  such  a 
measure  of  assurance,  such  a  plerojjhory  or  full  assurance,  as  thou 
1  iiKaiu/mru,  i.  e.  say  some,  imputed  and  imparted  righteousness. 


464  A  STRING  OF  PEARLS.  [1  PeTEB  I.  4. 

desirest.  A  perfect,  complete,  absolute  ami  full  assurance  is  very  desir- 
able on  earth,  but  I  think  few  attain  to  it  till  they  come  to  heaven. 
This  sparkling  diamond  God  hangs  in  few  saints'  bosoms  till  they  come 
to  glory.     But, 

•j    8    sondly,  1  answer,  The  least  grace,  if  true,  'is  sufficient  to  sulfa- 
tion, Mat.  v.  3,  10;  and  therefore  the  sense  of  the  leasl  grace,  or  of  the 
measure  of  grace,  should  be  sufficient  to  assurance  of  salvation. 

.".  Thirdly,  The  time  of  death  is  one  of  the  most  usual  seasons  wherein 
Qod  gives  his  child/ren  tin-  sweetest  and  fullest  assurance  of  his  love,  of 
their  interest  in  him,  and  of  their  right  to  <il<>r>/.  When  there  was  but 
a  step,  a  si  lido,  between  Stephen  and  death,  then  he  saw  heaven  open, 
and  Christ  standing  at  the  right  hand  of  his  Father,  Acts  vii.  55-60. 

Mr  Glover,  though  he  had  been  long  under  clouds  and  much  darkness, 
yet  when  he  came  near  the  fire,  he  cried  out  to  his  friend,  O  Austin, 
Austin,  he  is  come,  he  is  come  !  meaning  the  Lord,  in  the  sweet  and 
glorious  discoveries  of  his  love  and  favour  to  him;  and  so  ho  died,  with 
a  in-art  full  of  joy  and  assurance.1 

Mr  Frogmorton,  a  precious  godly  minister,  lived  thirty-seven  years 
without  assurance,  after  the  Lord  had  wrought  savingly  upon  him,  and 
then  died  at  Master  Dod's,  having  assurance  but  an  hour  before  he  died.2 

I  could  here  give  you  divers  examples,  of  a  later  date,  of  many  pre- 
cious Christians  who  have  lived  close  with  God  many  years,  and  have 
been  much  in  seeking  of  assurance,  and  the  Lord  hath  hold  them  niY 
till  a  few  years  before  their  death,  and  then  he  hath  filled  their  souls  so 
full  of  the  sense  of  his  love,  and  the  assurance  of  their  everlasting  wel- 
fare, that  they  have  died  under  the  power  of  their  joys.  Assurance  is 
a  free  gift  of  God,  and  God  loves  to  give  his  gifts  to  his  children  when 
they  may  most  eheer  them,  and  be  of  greatest  use  and  service  to  them ; 
and  when  is  that,  but  at  the  day  of  death  ?  And  therefore  Christians 
should  not  be  unwilling  to  die  for  want  of  assurance,  because  that  is  a 
special  season  wherein  God  usually  gives  assurance  to  his  children. 

But, 

(4.)  Fourthly  and  lastly,  Thou  mayest  die  and  rjo  to  heaven  without 
assurance.  This  truth,  with  several  others  of  the  like  import,  that  may 
further  satisfy  such  as  are  unwilling  to  die,  I  have  made  good  in  that 
treatise  of  mine  called  'Heaven  on  Earth,'3  and  to  that  I  refer  the 
reader  for  further  satisfaction,  if  what  is  said  do  not  satisfy. 

The  next  inference,  then,  that  I  shall  make,  and  so  hasten  to  a  close, 
is  this : 

1  Clarke,  as  before. — G. 

2  The  aliove  incident  is  strikingly  told  in  Brooks's  favourite  folio,  and  may  here  he 
given  :— Mr  Frogmorton  was  a  man  of  high  reputation,  and  a  pious  and  zeaioiu  preacher 
of  the  word;  but  labouring,  in  the  decline  of  life,  under  a  consumption,  and  being 
oppressed  with  melancholy  apprehensions  about  the  safety  of  his  state,  be  removed  to 

\'shl>v,  near  Faosley,  in  Northamptonshire,  to  enjoy  the  counsel  and  advii f  the  vener- 
able Mr  John  Dod. "  A  little  before  he  died,  he  asked  Mr  Dod,  Baying  '  What  will  you 
say  of  him  who  is  going  out  of  the  world,  and  can  find  no  comfort?  '  Whet  will  you  say 
of  oni  Saviour  Cbrisl  V  replied  Mr  Dod,  '  who,  when  fa  was  going  out  of  the  world,  found 
no  comfort,  hut  cried,  "  My  God,  my  God,  why  hast  thou  forsaken  me?'"  This  adminis- 
tered consolation  to  Mr  Throgmorton's  troubled  mind,  and  he  departed  soon  after,  re- 
joicing in  the  Lord.'— Clarke's  '  Martyrologie,  as  before,  p.  172.— G. 
J  See  this  treatise  in  Vol.  II. — G. 


1  Peter  I.  4.]  a  string  of  pearls.  465 

If  the  best  things  are  reserved  for  believers,  then  let  not  Christians 
mourn  immoderately,  1  Thes.  iv.  13,  14.  Oh !  be  not  over-much 
afflicted  and  grieved  for  the  death  of  husband,  wife,  child,  sister,  friend, 
who  dies  in  the  Lord  ;  for  they  are  but  gone  to  take  possession  of  those 
great  and  glorious  things  that  are  reserved  in  heaven  for  them.  This 
deceased  saint  is  now  gone  to  her  home,  to  her  heaven,  to  her  God  that 
hath  loved  her,  to  her  Christ  that  hath  died  for  her,  and  to  her  crown 
that  was  prepared  for  her.  Abraham  mourned  moderately  for  his  dear 
deceased  Sarah,  Gen.  xxiii.  2,  as  is  imported  by  a  small  caph  in  that 
Hebrew  word  that  signifies  to  weep  ;  and  that  not  because  she  was  old 
and  over-worn,  as  some  Rabbins  say,  but  because  death  to  her  was  but 
an  inlet  into  glory  :  death  did  but  bring  her  to  a  happy  fruition  of  all 
those  glorious  things  that  God  hath  laid  up  for  them  that  love  him. 
Death,  that  seems  to  dispossess  a  Christian  of  all,  puts  him  into  a  pos- 
session of  all ;  of  all  joys,  of  all  comforts,  of  all  delights,  of  all  contents, 
of  all  happiness,  of  all  blessedness;  and  why  then  should  our  sorrow,  our 
tears  overflow  the  banks  of  moderation  ?  Sorrow  is  good  for  nothing 
but  for  sin.  Now  that  the  child  is  dead,  wherefore  should  I  fast  and 
weep  ?  said  David.  Grief  preceding  evil,  if  it  be  used  for  a  remedy, 
cannot  be  too  much  ;  but  that  which  follows  an  evil  past,  cannot  be  too 
little. 

When  Ezekiel  lost  his  wife,  the  delight  of  his  eyes,  he  must  not 
weep,  Ezek.  xxiv.  15-17.  When  Mary  the  mother  of  Jesus  stood  by  the 
cross  of  her  only  dear  Son,  she  wept  not,  as  Ambrose  saith,-  John  xix. 
25-27.  We  may  say  of  our  deceased  friend,  as  the  Jews  of  their  father 
Jacob,  Non  est  mortuus,  he  is  not  dead  ;  or  as  our  Saviour  of  Lazarus, 
'  He  is  not  dead,  but  sleepeth,'  John  xi.  1 1  ;  and  the  maid,  '  Why  trouble 
you  yourselves  ?  they  are  not  dead,  but  sleep/  To  die,  in  the  prophet 
Isaiah's  phrase,  is  but  to  lie  down  in  our  beds,  Isa.  xliii.  17 ;  lvii.  1,  2. 
So  Asa  the  king's  coffin  is  called  a  bed,  2  Chron.  xvi.  14.  And  when 
'  thy  days  shall  be  fulfilled,'  saith  Nathan  to  David,  '  and  thou  shalt  sleep 
with  thy  fathers  ;'  or,  as  the  original  hath  it,  '  and  thou  shalt  lie  down 
with  thy  fathers,'  2  Sam.  vii.  12.  Death  is  nothing  but  a  sleeping  with 
our  fathers,  or  a  lying  down  in  the  bed  with  our  fathers  and  friends, 
who  have  lain  down  before  us.  And,  therefore,  when  a  friend,  a  wife,  a 
child  dies,  and  leaves  this  world,  we  are  to  bid  them  but  good  night,  as 
the  primitive  Christians  used  to  do,  in  sure  and  certain  hope  to  meet 
them  in  the  morning  of  the  resurrection. 

The  ancients  were  wont  to  call  the  days  of  their  death  natalia,  not 
dying  days  but  birth-days.  It  hath  been  the  custom,  saith  Haymo,1 
when  a  child  of  God  departed  this  life,  to  call  it  not  the  day  of  his  death, 
but  the  day  of  his  nativity.  The  Jews  to  this  day  stick  not  to  call  their 
Golgothas  Batte  Cajim,  the  houses  or  places  of  the  living. 

The  Jews'  ancient  custom  was,  by  the  way  as  they  went  with  their 
corpse,  to  pluck  up  every  one  the  grass,  as  who  should  say,  they  were 
not  sorry  for  the  death  of  their  friends  and  relations,  as  men  without 
hope,  for  they  were  but  so  cropped  off,  and  should  spring  up  again  in 
due  season.2     Ah,  friends  !  if  you  will  needs  mourn,  then  mourn  for 

. 1  Bishop  of  Halberstat :  see  list  of  writings  in  Watt's  Bib.  Brit.,  sub  nomine. — G. 
2  The  Persian  kings  would  have  no  mournings,  nor  mourning  apparel  worn  in  their 
presence. 

VOL.  I.  G  S 


466  A  STRING  OF  PEARLS.  [1  PETER  I.  4. 

yourselves,  mourn  for  your  sins,  mourn  for  the  barrenness  and  baseness 
of  your  own  hearts  ;  but  do  not  mourn,  at  least  excessively,  for  the  death 
of  any  Christian  friend  or  relation,  seeing  that  death  gives  them  a  quiet 
and  full  possession  of  all  that  glory  and  happiness  that  is  reserved  in 
heaven  for  them. 

The  next  use  is  cause  of  comfort  and  consolation  to  all  the  people  of 
God.  If  it  be  so  that  the  best  things  are  reserved  for  believers  till  they 
come  to  heaven,  then  this  may  serve  to  comfort  the  people  of  God, 
and  that, 

(1.)  First,  against  their  poor,  low,  and  mean  condition  in  this  world. 
Ah  !  poor  Christians,  what  though  you  have  little  in  hand,  yet  you  have 
much  in  hope;  though  you  have  little  in  possession,  yet  you  have  much 
in  reversion.  He  that  hath  but  little  in  present  possession,  yet  if  he 
hath  a  fair  estate  in  reversion,  he  comforts  himself,  and  solaces  his  spirit 
in  the  thoughts  of  it,  that  there  will  come  a  day  when  he  shall  live  like 
a  man,  when  he  shall  live  bravely  and  sweetly  ;  and  this  makes  him  sing 
care  and  sorrow  away.  Why  !  Christians,  do  you  do  so  :  you  have 
a  fine,  a  fair  estate  in  reversion,  though  you  have  but  little  in  posses- 
sion ;  and  therefore  bear  up  bravely  and  live  comfortably,  James  ii.  5  ; 
2  Tim.  iv.  7,  8 !  Ps.  xvi.  6. 

Christ,  who  was  the  heir  of  all,  yet  he  lived  poor  and  died  poor,  Mat. 
viii.  20.  As  he  was  born  in  another  man's  house,  so  he  was  buried  in 
another  man's  tomb.  When  Christ  died  he  made  no  will ;  he  had  no 
crown  lands;  only  his  coat  was  left,  and  that  the  soldiers  parted  among 
them.  If  thy  outward  condition  be  conformable  to  his,  there  is  no 
reason  why  thou  shouldst  be  discouraged,  for  thou  hast  a  rich  and  royal 
revenue  that  will  shortly  come  into  thy  hand,  and  then  thou  shalt 
never  know  what  poverty  and  penury  means  more  :  and  for  thy  comfort, 
know,  that  though  men  may  for  thy  poverty  despise  thee,  yet  the  Lord 
doth  highly  prize  thee.  It  was  a  good  saying  of  Basil,  Placet  sibi  Deus 
abstrusam  in  despecto  corpore  margavitam  conspicatus.1  God  pleaseth 
himself,  beholding  a  hidden  pearl  in  a  despised  and  disrespected  body. 
The  truth  is,  Christians,  if  there  were  any  real  happiness  in  the  things 
of  this  life,  you  should  have  them,  but  it  is  not  in  all  the  wealth  and 
glory  of  this  world  to  make  up  a  happiness  to  you  ;  and  therefore,  as  the 
enjoyment  of  them  should  not  swell  the  rich,  so  the  want  of  them  should 
not  trouble  the  poor.  The  angels  and  saints  departed  in  heaven  are 
happy,  and  yet  they  have  neither  silver  nor  gold;  they  are  blessed  and 
yet  they  have  none  of  the  gay  things  of  this  life,  they  have  none  of  the 
gallantry  and  glory  of  this  world.  You  have  now  your  worst,  your  best 
days  are  to  come;  it  will  not  be  long  before  you  shall  have  your  portion 
in  hand;  therefore  live  sweetly  and  walk  comfortably  up  and  down  this 
world.     But, 

(2.)  Secondly,  If  the  best  things  are  reserved  for  believers  till  they 
come  to  heaven,  then  this  may  serve  to  comfort  them  against  all  outward 
abasements  from  the  malignant  world?  What  though  you  are  counted 
as  the  scum,  the  dirt,  the  filth,  the  scraping,  the  offscouring  of  the 
world,  by  men  that  know  not,  that  see  not,  that  believe  not  what  great 
and  glorious  things  are  reserved  in  heaven  for  you  ?  Yet  at  last  you 

1  Basil,  Selu  oratione  16. 

2  No  man  is  able  to  bear  so  mucb  contempt  as  Cbriat  bears  daily,  saith  Luther. 


1  Peter  I.  4.]  a  string  of  pearls.  467 

shall  be  advanced  to  that  dignity,  and  be  made  partakers  of  that  felicity 
and  glory,  which  shall  work  amazement  and  astonishment  in  those  that 
now  despise  you  and  vilify  you.  Those  that  now  count  you  the  troublers 
of  their  Israel,  shall  be  troubled  with  a  witness,  when  they  shall  see  you 
with  crowns  upon  your  heads  and  the  royal  robes  of  glory  upon  your 
backs,  and  two-edged  swords  in  your  hands,  to  execute  the  vengeance 
written,  Ps.  cxlix.  4-9.  Men  that  know  their  future  greatness,  are 
not  troubled  at  reproaches ;  they  think  themselves  above  reproaches ; 
they  can  divinely  scorn  scorns  and  contemn  contempts.  Ah,  Christians  ! 
how  can  you  seriously  consider  of  your  future  greatness,  happiness,  and 
glory,  and  not  bear  up  sweetly  and  comfortably  against  all  the  contempt 
that  you  may  meet  with  in  this  world  ? 

And  thus  I  have  done  with  this  subject,  which  of  one  sermon  is 
multiplied  into  several,  by  a  good  hand  of  heaven  upon  me.  I  shall 
follow  this  poor  piece  with  my  weak  prayers,  that  it  may  be  a  mercy  to 
hearers,  readers,  and  writer. 


AN  ELEGY 

Upon  the  Death  of  Mrs  Mary  Blake,  the  Wife  of  Mr  Nicholas 
Blake,  of  London,  Merchant. 

Wheke  virtue,  seated  in  the  heart, 
Shining  forth  in  suiting  acts  of  life, 
Oh  !  what  delight  doth  it  impart 
To  pious  minds  !     Experience  rife 

Of  thee  we  have,  as  otherwise, 

So  in  this  godly  woman's  guise. 

Her  sweet  endowments,  pregnant  wit, 
And  holy  graces  from  above, 
How  made  they  her  an  object  fit 
No  less  for  wonder  than  for  love  ! 

Such  precious  fruit,  so  ripe,  though  green 

In  so  few  years,  is  seldom  seen. 

They  who  enjoyed  the  sight  and  sense 
Of  her  dear  converse,  to  her  close, 
Oh !  what  contentment  did  from  thence 
To  them  arise  !  chiefly  to  those 

Who  nearest  to  her  did  relate, 

In  blood,  in  grace,  or  married  state. 

Parents'  dear  comfort,  husband's  glory, 
Kindred's  honour,  friendship's  praise. 
To  after-times  a  fair  writ  story 
For  a  pattern  to  their  ways  : 

All  these  in  her  did  meet,  as  one 

That  suited  all  and  failed  none. 

Thus,  while  we  her  enjoyed,  she  was 
A  precious  cordial  to  us  all ; 
Rut  now,  being  taken  hence,  alas ! 
From  joys  unto  laments  we  fall. 

Thus  sith  her  loss  to  all  extends, 

Sorrow  doth  seize  on  all  her  friends. 


468  A  STRING  OF  PEARLS.  [1  PETER  I.  4. 


It  doth  indeed  ;  nor  do  we  find 
That  God  Almighty  doth  dislike 
Good  nature's  working  in  this  kind. 
When  us  in  ours  he  thus  doth  strike. 
Their  deathbeds,  while  in  this  sad  trim, 
We  may  besprink,  but  not  make  swim. 

Tears  from  our  eyes  like  precious  dew, 

As  from  a  lymbeck  may  drop  out, 

Not  flow,  as  usually  we  view, 

Like  common  water  from  a  spout. 
Why  should  they  ?  sith  to  our  relief 
We  have  cause  no  less  of  joy  than  grief? 

This  friend  of  ours  for  whom  we  weep 

Is  safely  come  unto  the  shore  ; 

She  is  not  dead,  but  fall'n  asleep, 

And  only  gone  to  bed  before. 
And  we,  when  ended  is  our  pain, 
Shall  sleep  with  her,  and  wake  again. 

Mean  season,  as  for  her,  we  know 
Where,  aud  with  whom,  and  how  she  dwells, 
In  heaven  with  Christ,  and  myriads  mo,; 
Whose  presence  all  delight  excels  ; 

And  there  she  sings  with  high  desire 

Her  hallelujahs  in  full  choir. 

All  this  she  studied  here,  but  never 

Could  fully  tell  what  it  should  be, 

Till  God  did  soul  from  body  sever, 

And  took  it  up  these  joys  to  see : 
There  let  her  rest,  until  we  meet 
Each  other  in  that  place  to  greet. 

Mart.  Blake. 


END  OF  VOL.  I. 


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